Examples of Aviation Cases Tried to Juries
Only one or two claims out of a hundred actually go to trial. The following examples show the depth and breadth of our experience.
Observation Helicopter / Power Line Strike (Rural)
Crash of an observation helicopter which hit power lines in a rural part of the state, killing one passenger and leaving another with severe injuries. Issues of pilot error, government liability for failing to mark power lines, emotional damages for loss of a family member, and prognosis for recovery from orthopedic injuries.
Medical Helicopter / Mountain Crash
Medical helicopter crashed into the slope of a mountain while flying in thick clouds, leaving two dead and one severely injured. Issues of negligent piloting, weather observation, and personal grief and economic losses.
Observation Helicopter / Appalachian Crash
Crash of an observation helicopter in the Appalachians which injured the pilot and two passengers. Issues of helicopter product design and maintenance, fuel system failure, pilot error, and extent of medical treatment for injuries.
Commuter Airline / Post-Surgery Fracture
Fracture of bone surrounding a prosthesis after hip replacement surgery of a passenger who stepped off the stairs of a still-moving commuter airline to escape a fire on the engine on the opposite side of the aircraft. Issues of comparative fault and extent of medical treatment.
Commercial Jetliner / Pressurization Barotrauma
Injury to inner ear and tympanic membrane as a consequence of pressurization of a commercial jetliner leading to barotrauma. Issues of medical causation, flight standards, design of the aircraft pressurization system, and effect of eustachian tube anomaly under normal pressurization.
Logging Helicopter / Canada Crash
Crash of a logging helicopter in Canada which destroyed the aircraft and injured its pilot. Issues of negligent piloting, engine maintenance and documentation, turbine engine overhaul and inspection standards, crack growth calculation in titanium alloy, failure mechanism of part, and value of helicopter.
Grand Canyon Tour Plane / Engine Failure
Grand Canyon tour plane had an engine failure during takeoff and crashed into the forest, leaving eight severely injured European tourists. Issues of negligent piloting, negligent maintenance, and the extent of orthopedic and neurological injuries.
Commercial Airline / Overhead Storage Injury
Injury to neck from being struck by a carry-on suitcase which fell from overhead storage on a commercial airline. Issues include flight attendant standards, medical causation, fault of fellow passenger, and recoupment of payment from government.
Commercial Airliner / Pressurization Failure
Burst tympanic membrane caused by barotrauma suffered when a commercial airliner’s pressurization system failed.
Helicopter / Power Line Strike
Power line strike by helicopter leaving one dead and another with a shattered leg.