If you or a loved one was injured in an aviation accident, it’s vital to understand your legal rights and how those rights may allow you to file a personal injury claim against the company or person responsible.
Adamson Ahdoot LLP’s team of experienced aviation accident lawyers will discuss the details of your case and can begin to uncover how and why the accident occurred. We offer a free consultation for your aviation accident case, and if you’re concerned about the cost of representation, don’t worry. We take every case on a no-win, no-fee basis.
Providing Support & Sound Legal Advice to Aviation Accident Victims
Whether you’re a passenger, crew member, pilot, or on the ground, our Los Angeles aviation accident lawyers can provide sound legal advice, support, and the resources you need to move forward with a personal injury claim.
Throughout the years, we’ve represented clients with aviation accident claims involving many different types of aircraft, including:
- Commercial airlines
- Air ambulance helicopters and aircraft
- Sightseeing helicopters
- Private jets
- Charter planes
- Training aircraft
- Skydiving planes
You can chat with us now or send us a contact form to learn what your legal rights may entitle you to. We aren’t afraid of large airline companies and their insurance companies and won’t hesitate to take your case to court if we can’t negotiate a fair aviation accident settlement.
We Handle Cases Involving All Types of Aviation Accident Injuries
At Adamson Ahdoot LLP, we’ve represented clients suffering from different types of airplane and helicopter accident injuries.
A few of the serious injuries we’ve helped clients get compensation for are:
- Closed or open head injuries
- Incomplete and complete spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Amputation or loss of limb injuries
- Whiplash and soft tissue injuries
- Eye injuries
- Burn injuries
- Back injuries
- Fractures
Immediately following an injury in a plane crash or hard landing, talk to one of our Los Angeles aviation accident lawyers. The aircraft’s insurance company will likely conduct an investigation right after the accident. This ensures important, vital evidence is not lost or tampered with. The sooner we can get on-site and conduct our investigation, the better chance we have of recovering necessary evidence.
These companies, much like car insurance companies, will do what they can to minimize their part in the accident to try and get out of paying you what you deserve. Our legal team of personal injury lawyers won’t let them get away with making you suffer again by undervaluing your claim.
Why Do Los Angeles Aviation Accidents Happen?
Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX as it is commonly referred to, is the world’s third-busiest airport and the largest airport on the West Coast. In 2020, more than 28 million passengers passed through nine terminals and 132 gates to get on more than 378,000 domestic and international flights.
In the same year, a staggering 2,330,000 tons of freight and 135,000 tons of mail were flown in and out of LAX. As you can imagine, accidents involving airplanes or crew members are not as unusual as they may seem.
Aviation accidents can happen because of:
- Pilot error
- Mechanical error
- Defective or faulty plane equipment or parts
- Repeated breaches of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s regulations
- Air traffic control error
- Software glitches
- Poorly maintained runways
- Poorly maintained aircraft and equipment
- Choosing a carrier without regard for everyone’s safety
- Dangerous weather conditions
- Electrical malfunction
It’s also important to remember that aircraft accidents don’t always happen in the air. These accidents can happen on the taxi, during takeoff, descent, or upon landing. Most aviation or aircraft accidents happen during the descent and final approach (approximately 57%).
Who Enforces the Aviation Accident Law?
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the FAA enforce aviation accident laws in the United States. Both agencies regulate air travel and handle private and commercial aviation accidents differently.
On the one hand, the FAA holds pilots, airport operators, employees, and airplane manufacturers to the highest standards. It also enforces current agency regulations by imposing civil or criminal penalties on negligent parties.
Meanwhile, the NTSB’s duties are to probe every civil aviation accident and propose safety standards for fewer aircraft accidents.
Determining Liability for a Plane Crash or Another Aviation Accident
In an aviation accident claim, responsibility is determined by what caused the incident. Negligent parties may include airplane owners, operators, manufacturers, maintenance providers, or, under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the federal government.
Proving negligence through aviation accident cases entails:
- Demonstrating that the party at fault didn’t operate, maintain, or design the aircraft to current industry standards
- Showing how the negligent party violated relevant regulations in some aviation accident lawsuits
Although each accident has different factors at play, many personal injury or death claims filed for aviation accidents involve negligence, product liability, or both. Federal laws may even affect these cases and the responsible party’s duty of care to you.
Negligence claims for plane crashes or minor aviation accidents may be brought against pilots, aircraft maintenance teams, or major airlines. Conversely, product liability makes product manufacturers and retailers responsible for one’s injuries or death while using faulty items. Showing that a defective product played a significant role in your accident may help you recover damages from its manufacturer or distributor.
Can an Airplane Owner or Operator Be Held Liable?
Airplane owners and operators are held to high standards of care. If these standards aren’t met, these individuals will be responsible for the damages incurred by passengers, ground crew members, and even the pilot.
In some cases, vicarious liability applies to aircraft owners. It’s similar to the potential liability placed on employers for worker negligence. Simply put, the responsibility shifts to the aircraft owner.
Can You File an Aviation Accident Claim Against a Commercial Airline?
You can file an aviation accident claim against a commercial airline or “common carrier.” However, it’s worth noting that such a company follows different standards than a private air carrier, which the FAA sets.
Since the FAA enforces fixed guidelines and procedures when reviewing a common carrier’s internal standards, you must understand its complicated rules and regulations to sue a commercial airline. That’s why hiring an aviation accident attorney with immense expertise in the agency’s legal standards is important.
Exploring Comparative Fault in Aviation Accidents
Most aviation accident suits hold the pilot and the aircraft manufacturer responsible, and it’s where the concept of “comparative fault” comes in. In this case, the judge or jury determines how liable each defendant is for the accident in court.
Pure comparative negligence is followed in California. If you were found to be partly liable for your injuries, your percentage of fault determines the amount of damages you get. For instance, a plaintiff could recover some form of compensation despite being 99% at fault for their accident.
How Long Do You Have to File an Airline Accident Lawsuit?
Whether your claim involves personal injury or wrongful death, you must file it within two years of the injury. The time limit becomes a year when the injury is discovered after the accident.
Cases against federal agencies follow a different statute of limitations. Depending on the nature of your case, you have six months or a year to file a lawsuit. The agency involved must respond to the claim within 45 days, and if they deny it, you can bring your case to court within six months. Otherwise, the statute of limitations for your federal lawsuit becomes two years from the accident date.
Getting Maximum Compensation for Your Los Angeles Aviation Accident Injuries
Our priority is obtaining maximum compensation for your injuries. We won’t leave any wiggle room for the insurance companies to try to limit the compensation owed to you.
To ensure we value your claim properly, we’ll consult with some of the best medical, investigative, and accident experts. Our firm is committed to asking for the resources you need today and what you’ll need for future rehabilitation and recovery.
Our Los Angeles aviation accident attorneys will work tirelessly to get you funds for the following:
- Hospital bills
- Rehabilitation bills
- Other types of future medical care
- Lost wages or income
- Physical disfigurement
- Lost earning capacity
- Emotional distress
- Physical pain
- Medication and medical device costs
- Other types of damages, like punitive damages discouraging the negligent party from committing another offense
If you file a wrongful death claim for a deceased loved one, the damages you may be entitled to include the loss of consortium or association and funeral expenses. A skilled aviation accident lawyer will review your case and determine what to recover through a legal claim.
Los Angeles Aviation Accidents Statistics
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 2023 was the safest year for flying worldwide. The overall all-accident rate, or the average of accidents per flight, decreased by 0.80 per million sectors throughout the year, while the fatality risk dropped to 0.03.
Contrastingly, North America’s all accident rate increased to 1.14 per million sectors in 2023. Landing gear damage caused most aviation accidents in the U.S. in 2023, yet the region recorded zero fatality risk.
Although the statistics cited above declare that air travel is safer than before, aviation accidents still happen. On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, tragically killing all 9 passengers aboard. At once, his legacy was extinguished. The cause of the crash was later revealed to be pilot error.
In 2019, a software glitch in Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes caused two major commercial airline crashes, resulting in the deaths of more than 345 people. In 2017, a Learjet airplane crash at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey was blamed on pilot error, specifically failure to comply with standard operating procedures.
Although commercial airline crashes get more notoriety, statistics gathered by the NTSB reveal that most U.S. aviation accidents involve private jets and planes. According to these statistics, more than 1,300 accidents involving private jets and planes occurred in a year alone.
Schedule a Consultation with an Experienced Aviation Accident Lawyer Today
Have you or a loved one suffered an injury in a plane or helicopter accident? There’s no better time to find out if you can collect compensation from those responsible for the accident.
Adamson Ahdoot’s knowledgeable Los Angeles airplane accident attorneys know how devastating aviation accident-related injuries can be and are prepared to stand against big airline companies and their insurance companies. They’ll help you build a convincing case and present it in court while you recover from your injuries and navigate significant changes after the accident.
No matter what type of injury you suffered, having a qualified aviation accident attorney by your side will let the insurance companies know you won’t be ignored and dismissed with a low settlement. Call the Adamson Ahdoot office toll-free at (800) 310-1606 to schedule a free consultation.
Call us today at (800) 310-1606 to schedule your free consultation today
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