Ex-Geelong Grammar student launches legal action after school ski trip
A former Geelong Grammar schoolgirl has described the moment she plummeted 80m off an icy cliff during a ski trip, saying she thought she was going to die. Milla Austin is now suing the top private school over the incident, which doctors say could have killed her.
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A former student at one of the country’s top private schools has launched legal action after suffering horrific injuries when she fell 80m down an icy cliff during a school ski trip.
Milla Austin was skiing at Mt Buller with school friends in 2014 as part of Geelong Grammar’s year 9 Timbertop program when her ski got caught under a tree root near the top of Men’s Downhill, sending her plummeting down the slope.
Ms Austin, now 21, said she believed she was going to die as she tumbled down the icy and rocky terrain, shattering her pelvis and dislocating her hip so badly she will require a hip replacement, possibly before the age of 25.
Doctors told her if not for her helmet, she would have died.
The young woman has filed proceedings in the County Court against Geelong Grammar, claiming the school was negligent in failing to properly supervise the students and allowing them to travel to more challenging parts of the mountain during difficult weather conditions.
Ms Austin, once a keen runner, spent three months in hospital and underwent three surgeries in less than a year to try and fix her broken and displaced bones.
Six years on, she said she’s come to terms with the fact she’ll never run properly again and lives with the prospect of a full-hip replacement in the near future hanging over her.
Ms Austin said she feels like her “nervous system is broken” and suffers PTSD and nightmares about falling.
“I’m always feeling as though I’m in danger or under threat, even when things are fine,”
“It comes out in panic attacks … even little things can trigger me,” she said.
The Melbourne woman said the painful incident interfered with her education dramatically.
“I was in a wheelchair for a bit and on crutches. I couldn’t participate as I normally would have at school. It was devastating,” she said.
Ms Austin is claiming special damages for past and future medical expenses with subsequent surgeries expected to total almost $250,000.
Ms Austin is also seeking compensation for loss of income as the range of occupations she is physically fit to perform has been significantly narrowed.
“It’s definitely changed my life,” she said.
Slater and Gordon Public Liability lawyer Andrew Theodore said the incident wouldn’t have happened if Ms Austin and her classmates “had any, or adequate, supervision by school staff on the trip”.
“The school should not have allowed children under their care, such as Milla, to access such a dangerous ski run unaccompanied, particularly in poor ski conditions,” Mr Theodore said.
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