Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Aircraft; Weather
End of the first meal service. I was the galley FA. I had 2 carts in the galley that I was in the process of breaking down and putting away. There were 2 inserts on each cart and about 4 inserts on the counter. We (our bodies) suddenly went down to the floor; then up in the air; then down again. There was nothing to hold on to since there aren't enough handholds in the galley. I was slammed down onto the galley floor. I felt pain in my back and I must have hit my head; because I immediately got a headache. I fell between the 2 beverage carts and then all the inserts fell down around me. I don't remember any of the inserts hitting me. Because of the back pain; I couldn't move for about a minute or two. I crawled to the middle jumpseat and strapped in. We stayed strapped in for at least 20 minutes. When it was safe to get up; we started cleaning up the mess and my coworkers made me go up to [first class] to sit down and ice my back. I took 2 [pain relievers] and iced my back for 1 hour. After an hour; I got up and continued working. My back still hurt. The pilots never called to see if anyone was hurt.TurbulenceGalley handholds not in a good locationNot enough jumpseatsNo cockpit to crew communicationAdd galley handholds near the entrance of the galley (where the curtains are; near the jumpseats).Add 2 jumpseats across from the current jumpseats at 4LR (where the 2 compartments currently are). One compartment contains oxygen that could be moved to an overhead bin and the other compartment contains 2 baby bassinets that could be moved elsewhere. If the captain is truly in command of the flight; and is responsible for the ship; crew and passengers; he should ask to be sure no one was injured.The last row of coach; row 30; in the center should be blocked for us for safety. Luckily; they were available to us on this flight and the number 3 was able to get into one and strap in during this crazy turbulence.
A B787-8 Flight Attendant reported suffering injuries in a turbulence event; stating there are not enough handholds in the galley area of the aircraft.