Airline Accident Lawyers - Plane Crash Injury Compensation - Aviation Law
LAWYER HELPLINE: ☎ 855 804 7125Commercial airlines throughout the world account for hundreds of fatalities every year due to plane crashes and a similar number of fatalities occur in flights involving private planes and helicopters. If you or a loved one have suffered injury or loss due to an aviation or air accident you may be entitled to substantial monetary damages. Military and civil aircraft law is complex and it is essential that you are represented in your claim by specialist aviation accident lawyers who will ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. Our aviation air accident lawyers deal with plane crash compensation claims using a contingency fee arrangement which means if you don't succeed in receiving a financial settlement then your lawyer won't get paid. If you, or someone you know, have suffered injury due to a plane crash or air accident and you would like to know if it is possible to claim compensation, just call the helpline or complete the contact form or email our offices. A personal injury lawyer will telephone you you with free advice.
Small private plane accidents may also result in passenger injuries. These can be due to pilot error or due to mechanical error that directly results in airplane failure or other injurious event. The events tend to be catastrophic, with serious injury or death often as a result of negligence.
Compensation Awards
The highest verdict award usually comes from a plane crash that kill many or all on board. The families of the victims often joint a class action law suit and the settlement is split among relevant family members. Non-crash related injuries, both fatal and non-fatal occurring whilst on board an airplane may also attract an award of damages. If, for example, turbulence resulted in a victim injury or a piece of luggage fell out of an overhead bin and injured a passenger, there can be monetary damages if it is found that the airliner or pilot or another employee of the airline was negligent and, in part or in whole, was responsible for those injuries.
Plane Accident Causes
National governments throughout the world have enacted statutes and created administrative agencies to regulate air traffic including the operation of aircraft and the maintenance of aviation facilities. The main causes of an aviation accident include :-
- engine failures
- controlled flight into terrain
- negligent approach and landing
- loss of control as a result of pilot error
- weather (including turbulence)
- runway incursions
- violating FAA regulations :-
- structural or design problems with an aircraft
- flight service station employee negligence
- federal air traffic controllers’ negligence
- third party’s carrier selection negligence
- negligent maintenance or repair of the aircraft or replacement of components
- negligent refuelling of the aircraft
Negligence
Even if the pilot or a single employee is found to be negligent in an airline disaster, the entire airline is usually considered at fault and is involved in the lawsuit. As employers, they are responsible for the training and abilities of their employee and therefore are just as at fault as the employees themselves.
There are a number of things that can be the result of negligence on behalf of the airlines or an employee of the airlines. One can be malfunctioning, defective or faulty equipment. This can be from a design flaw or from the piece of equipment being made poorly in the first place. There can be shear stress on the metal due to improper metal usage or due to the product being made poorly in the first place. The product may suffer from defective design so that it fails quickly and doesn’t last as long as anticipated.
Maintenance
The accident or injury can be the result of poorly maintained equipment. This can be gleaned from the aero plane maintenance records which will show how often a piece of equipment was maintained. If there is a schedule for replacement of parts, this should be adhered to strictly and, if not, the mechanic or the airliner was negligent.
Engine Failure
Airplane engine failure can result in a crash. Engine failure can be the result of many things, including defective parts, acts of nature, parts not working correctly together and electronic failure. These can all be secondary to poor maintenance or to defective parts and are the responsibility of the manufacturer or the airlines.
Fuel Tank
There can be fuel tank explosions. These are usually catastrophic and result in a downed plane. Fuel tank explosions can be due to electrical problems or leakage within the fuel tank. Proper maintenance can prevent some of these complications. There are usually many fatalities in a fuel tank explosion, which usually occurs in the air.
Mechanical Failure
Mechanical error can cause a catastrophic failure of the airplane. Planes are to be maintained on a regular basis by certified airplane mechanics that are trained in detecting metal fatigue and problems with other parts on the plane. If this is not done properly or on a regular basis, there can be mechanical error that causes the plane to crash. Electrical failure can cause a plane to crash. Maintenance of electrical equipment and wiring must be done on a scheduled basis. If maintenance is not properly carried out, an electrical short can cause fire or loss electrical activity.
Pilot Error
An airplane can crash due to pilot negligence or error. This can often be confirmed by examining the black box and the cockpit data recorder. If pilot negligence or error is found, the airline company will be found to be liable and must pay for damages to the victims.
Ground Accident
Ground crashes at the airport account for some airline disasters. These are usually the result of pilot error or errors on the part of the flight controllers. Such disasters usually result in more injuries than in deaths but can be serious. If you are involved in a ground crash, you need to seek legal advice as to what your rights are. The most common ground crashes are runway accidents which are under the guidance of ground control at the airport.
Wake Turbulance
Wake turbulence can interfere with the way the plane flies and can cause injury due to debris dislodging from the plane. The injuries can be minor or severe including fatalities. You can seek damages if the airline could have done something to prevent the incident that caused the injury.
Weather Conditions
Sometimes dangerous weather conditions occur unexpectedly. It is, however, up to the pilot and radar control to attempt to steer the plane around these types of incidences. As dangerous weather conditions can usually be avoided, the pilot or weather radar control can be negligent in sending the plane through such weather.
Negligent Fueling
A catastrophe can be set off through negligent fueling operations. Proper fuel operations are the responsibility of the fuel operators and, as airline employees, they can lead to negligence on the part of the airlines or the airport. The result of a negligent fuel operation can mean a fire on the plane and catastrophic damage to the plane and those inside.
Class Action
The first step in making a claim for compensation is to contact an aviation and airline accident lawyer who has experience in handling accidents related to flying and airplanes. Sometimes families choose to hire the same set of attorneys and start a class action law suit. This is a law suit in which there is more than one client and the lawsuit is carried out on the behalf of many clients that share in the compensation awarded. A class action reduces overall legal costs and prevents duplication of activities which may occur when numerous claimants pursue separate claims.
Jurisdiction
The families of those killed in a plane accident or the person injured themselves becomes the plaintiff. They often do not have to pay the lawyer unless compensation is recovered. The lawyers for the plaintiff must do a fair amount of investigation to help determine who is at fault. The litigation can occur in Canada, even if the accident did not occur in the Canada. There have been accidents occurring in France, India, Uganda, Yugoslavia, Tenerife, Antarctica and Norway have been litigated in Canada. Many of these cases, and cases in which accidents have occurred in Canada, are settled out of court. This is because the cause of the accident becomes obvious and the airlines would like to pay out a sum of money rather than take the chance that the court will award a larger sum to the plaintiffs.
Airline Accident Lawyer
Airline crashes and incidents are usually traumatic events and involve more than one person. Family members can be stunned, confused and unsure of what to do. They may not even be thinking of litigation but they wonder who is at fault and how this could have happened. It is the result of the legal team you hire to determine exactly who is at fault in such a situation and whether or not their actions were negligent. If so, the family may be entitled to compensation for that negligence. Financial compensation can help the family find closure and be able to move on from so tragic an event.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an aviation or airline accident, you need to be represented by an airline accident lawyer who is skilled in accidents and injuries sustained as a result of air travel. There are qualified lawyers that only specialize in aviation law and they deal exclusively with financial compensation claim settlements against airline operators in the event of a plane crash. There are time limits relevant to plane accident compensation claims and you should urgently seek the advice of a specialist aviation lawyer if you were injured or a family member was killed as a result of an airline disaster. A specialist aviation lawyer will determine if the airline was negligent and thereby liable to settle a financial compensation claim for personal injury and loss. Financial settlements in airline disasters are often in the range of millions of dollars which may encourage the airline industry to change their policies to avoid further tragedy and to make their pre-flight aero plane checklist as thorough as possible.