Aviation Accidents

If you or a loved one has been involved in an aviation crash, such as a helicopter, plane or jet, you have legal rights that need to be investigated immediately. Our affiliated firms concentrate their practice in aviation law. This law pertains to operations of aircraft and relating ground facilities. For example, if an aircraft were to strike a building with people in it and they were injured, they would also have an aviation type claim. Aviation attorneys handle cases similar to product liability claims which cover damages related to crashes which resulted in serious injury and wrongful death. These lawsuits are brought against an airline and private operators.

There are different types of cases. Of course, we have all heard of commercial airplane crashes which are frequent and are normally in the news media. However, there are many aviation cases, such as private airplanes or helicopter crashes which involve serious injury and wrongful death claims. In fact, many air crashes result from non-commercial flights, also known as personal or general aviation.

These cases are very technical and the litigation of an aviation crash in the United States or the International Court Systems are brought on behalf of clients residing virtually anywhere in the world. The relationship with the disaster aviation experts is very important in proving your claim. Aviation attorneys fight for compensation on behalf of plane crash victims and their family members, as well as survivors who were injured in aviation disasters.

The claims can be against companies and manufacturers in the aviation industry. You need a law firm who has the financial resources to prove an aviation case in that it is very expensive to re-create and hire expert witnesses.

Aviation law encompasses most areas of air travel, as well as operation and regulation of business issues related to air travel, and intricate knowledge of FAA Regulations, specific laws regarding the flight and in depth understanding of aviation.

This law includes litigation on behalf of families who are suffering from loss or injury due to an aircraft tragedy. Most aspects of the law fall under the Federal Aviation Administration.

By contacting this firm and its affiliated firms have handled only aviation law type claims. They are very complex and you will require a lawyer who has at least 20-30 years of experience. First, what needs to be done is to reconstruct the accident scene, and you need ground support vehicles and experts retained by the lawyers. They are called accident-reconstructionists. There must be full scale testing of the vehicle. Error is a major factor for many crashes. This is why understanding the cockpit controls and design is paramount in any of these types of cases. This can be difficult, because most aircrafts are destroyed during a fire on the ground. In many situations, radio contact is lost and it is important to discover the “black box” which contains all the discussions and noise during the flight and crash. New devices, including a high-end GPS, have been used to reconstruct the scene. After that all maintenance records need to be investigated and it has to be determined if any of the controls were jammed or not in working condition during the flight. There also has to be a proper runway and air-traffic control. If the runway is not adequate or the traffic control advisor does not give the right direction, this could be a major cause for the crash. One also has to look at the landing gear to see if it was properly engaged.

An aviation team needs experienced trial attorneys who have knowledge of the industry and are experienced pilots with technical and practical experience. The lawyers need to know how to work with the Department of Justice, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, to properly handle a case.

The background of an aviation lawyer includes military trained pilots, instructor pilots, as well as attorneys with aerospace engineering degrees. It is important to have this understanding of aviation laws and the understanding of the technical parts of a aircraft.

The types of claims which are brought include, but are not limited to wrongful death, negligence and product liability litigation. The lawyer needs to know how to investigate accidents of these types, access timely risk factors and understand the electrical utilities and other structural relationships of all moving parts in an aircraft.