Flight Attendant Gets Approval for Surgery to Treat Back Injury From Rough Landing

The Washington Court of Appeals upheld a jury’s determination that a flight attendant was entitled to surgery to treat a back injury from a hard landing. Hillary Spanjer worked for Alaska Airlines as a flight attendant. She suffered injuries in 2018 during a plane’s hard landing while on duty. Spanjer sought treatment from Dr. Patrick Bays. He diagnosed Spanjer with a sacroiliac joint dysfunction. Bays referred Spanjer to Dr. Christopher Boone for an SI joint fusion surgery. The Department of Labor and Industries denied coverage for the surgery. An industrial app...