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Category: <span>wrongful death</span>

Two planes collide over Westlake Village


A Cessna 172 and a Cessna 172RG Cutlass collided over Westlake Village eight miles east northeast of Ventura.

The Cutlass, registered to Ameriflyers of Florida LLC made an emergency landing on the Westlake Golf Course, Westlake Village, California. Three aboard sustained minor injuries in a belly landing at 2:15 p.m. near the third hole. They were hospitalized with minor injuries.

The second plane crashed in the Santa Monica Mountains, sparking a brush fire and a search and rescue effort. The pilot was found under the wreckage.

One of the planes had left Santa Monica Airport on an engine test flight and was heading east when it collided with the other.


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Air France, Airbus Playing “Hot Potato” with Responsibility

Air France denies responsibility for the Air France Flight 447 crash, saying that they had raised concerns about the sensors before the crash.

If they did so, it would seem the memorandum they presented indicates that they were aware of the problem, and therefore responsible. Though Air France “submitted a memorandum to show it had taken ‘all possible precautions” after a series of earlier sensor failures,’ ” it would seem the memorandum would indicate that they were aware of a problem, and should have cancelled flights until the problem was corrected. Certainly passengers were not made aware that there was a potentially serious issue.

If Airbus had really been concerned, they would have installed the $50,000 backup system used by other carriers in the event of a multiple airspeed sensor failure.

Watching Air France and Airbus (and Thales) shift blame for the crash back and forth is like watching a child’s game of “hot potato.” When they are finished passing the buck, who ever ends up officially responsible, the victims are still just as dead. Time for someone to “man up.”

There are rumors that a request will be made to Transport Minister Thierry Mariani to continue the search for the black box. Three earlier searches failed, seeking the Airbus SAS A330, which crashed into the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, killing all 228 people aboard. 6,700 square miles was searched for the acoustic pings, but the batteries are now dead, and searches changed to sonar imaging.

The BEA claims that only the black boxes will tell the truth of what happened but drags its feet in continuing the search. On May 6th 2010, a French deputy minister told the public that the black boxes had been found (meaning, apparently, that their general location had been pinned down.) That report was withdrawn. That fact, combined with the BEA reluctance to continue searching, has led to persistent rumors of a cover-up.

Private shareholders own 81.4% of Air France, 37% held by former Air France shareholders and 21% held by former KLM shareholders. The Government of France owns 18.6% of Air France—putting the BEA in the awkward position of heading an investigation where it has essentially owes 18.6% responsibility.

Air France was fined €310 million this month for price fixing. Read about their response to the fine


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Crash au large des Comores, les familles des victimes réclament justice

Publié le 5 février 2010 par Nabiha Gasmi

Prises en étau entre le droit européen, comorien, américain et français, et face à des compagnies d’assurances des plus alertes, les suites juridiques du crash de l’air bus A310-300 de la compagnie Yéménia qui s’est échoué au large des Comores le 29 juin dernier , tuant 152 passagers sur les 153 à bord, promettent d’être longues et scabreuses. Demeurant sans indemnités ni explications sur ce funeste vol, à Marseille, les familles de victimes réunies en collectif, n’ont eu d’autre alternative que de faire appel à des magnats du droit, le célèbre cabinet d’avocat américain : Masry & Vititoe.Toutes les infos

Caught between European, Comoros, American and French legal systems, the families of Yemenia flight 626 are suffering at the mercy of insurance companies, and struggling with the legal consequences of the crash of the Yemenia airlines airbus that crashed on June 29, 2009. After all this time, the families still have no compensation. Demanding explanations, families of victims gathered to appeal for help from the American lawyer Masry & Vititoe in Marseille, this Saturday. Google Translation


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Hudson Midair Collision Lawsuit

Five wrongful death lawsuits filed in Newark US District Court over the Hudson River Collision deaths of tourists Fabio Gallazzi, Giacomo Gallazzi, Tiziana Pedroni, Filippo Norelli and Michele Norelli allege the Federal Aviation Administration’s procedures for controlling Hudson River are out dated, and that the Teterboro supervisor was “grossly negligent, reckless and wanton” in leaving work to conduct personal business on government time and failing to monitor flight traffic.

Pilot Steven Altman, who was flying the piper that collided with the helicopter was named in the suit, as well as Liberty Helicopters Inc. and the Meridian Consulting Corporation Inc. Multiple parties are held responsible.


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Could it be Pilot Error in Yemenia Case?

I am not an attorney, however, I have a lot of experience with aviation crashes. I am watching the investigation here with great interest. I am a consultant/advisor/strategist to the U.S. law firm working this case with a French attorney firm. In terms of the investigation, relatively speaking (in terms of the length of time that is normally spent on crash investigations), it is still early days, and in my opinion, things could still go in another direction or many directions.

If preliminary investigations about the Yemenia crash head where they appear to be heading, then a primary cause of the crash is pilot error. Yes, weather may have been a factor, but the stress of dealing with the weather appears to have unnerved the pilots to the point where they botched landing the Airbus A310 on June 30 of this year, in the Comoros. It looks to investigators as if the pilots lost their orientation.

The flight data recorders have been recovered for this flight, but it is reported that there is a problem extracting the information. Bad weather and the primitive airport only seem to have exacerbated the main issue, which seems to have been pilot error, at least according to the initial investigation.

Investigators looking in detail at what happened that night at the Moroni Airport say that pilots failed to correctly line up the plane with the runway while being buffeted by storm winds, that the pilots lost control.

Investigators believe that the pilots became confused, lost sight of the horizon and failed to regain altitude.

If the cause is found to be pilot error, it could be good for the families who are awaiting compensation from the operator Yemenia Airlines.

Lawyers tell me that pilot error raises the maximum limits set out by International Aviation law (Warsaw) in this particular case and that (raising maximum limits), in my opinion, is good for the families of victims. The biggest tragedy is that no amount of money will bring back the loved ones who perished in this crash, but the push should be on to maximize the value of the human lives lost. With pilot error now in the picture, the limits of Warsaw in so far as Yemenia are concerned will be set aside as the attorneys for the victims work out each individual claim. Families have the right to maximize the value of the case. Even after the case is won, the loved ones will still be lost.

But let’s not just beat up the pilots. Look what they have to work with. If we look back at the A-310’s history, it does not appear to be the world’s best designed aircraft. Take, for example, the rudders. Many Airbus passenger jets are made of composite plastic that appears dangerously prone to disintegration. In March 2005, after taking off from Varadero, Cuba, the rudder came apart on a Canadian A310 airliner. The NTSB has raised questions about maximum capabilities, or “limit load” of Airbus series 300 rudders.

However, in the Yemenia crash, Investigators are looking at the cockpit for answers. The crew tried to react, but with the stress factors of the weather, pilots appear to have made various incorrect adjustments to the flight controls that investigators believe complicated their problems.

Families should not stop with only the operator YEMENIA Airline. Every factor should be considered, eventually. Families should find all possible defendants that could have contributed to the accident. Lost family members deserve it. An expert aviation attorney will do this on behalf of the family. An expert aviation attorney runs his own investigation, and does not fully depend on the official investigation. An expert aviation attorney will leave no stone unturned on the client’s behalf.

In fact, in my opinion, the case may eventually go in to investigating the mechanisms and technology, especially given airbus history. A good investigation pursues all avenues, and as I already stated, it is still relatively early in the investigation. We must keep an open mind because there is no telling at this point whether investigations (both the official ones and the attorneys’ behind the scenes investigations) will turn up failed components, which would result in additional defendants, and more filings in the most appropriate available forum. However, the immediate focus is the push to bring Yemenia Airlines to the negotiating table (either amicably or through the French courts.) The groundwork is already being laid to expedite the process of individual evaluation of each claim.

The families should know they aren’t in this alone; they can be wise and thoughtful about making the choice. In my opinion, they should not hire hire just any lawyer, nor the first lawyer to file a case. For more about hiring an aviation experienced lawyer, follow this link.


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$15 Million Settlement

We don’t always hear the numbers when cases are settled, so the news release that a $15 million settlement was okayed in Cook County, Illinois seemed to be a noteworthy news byte.

The ruling was in favor of the Chicago restaurant executive Michael Waugh who was killed in a 2006 crash.

Waugh, general manager of Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab Restaurant, was en route from Olathe, Kansas, when the Cessna 421B he was in crashed.

A major point in the case was that the plane was piloted by a Morgan Stanley senior financial advisor, who was not a professional pilot.


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Published Settlement: $15 million

What: Twin-engine Cessna 421B on approach to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling
Where: crashed into a storage yard
When: January 2006
Who: Michael Waugh ( general manager and chief operating partner of Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Chicago), Kenneth Knudson (founder of Sybaris), and Scott Garland (financial adviser at Morgan Stanley)
Why: Circuit Judge John Ward awarded $6 million to Waugh’s widow, with the rest being divided among the couple’s three young sons.

Wrongful death suiit: Morgan Stanley improperly allowed employees to fly personal planes to conduct business–a situation which other financial institutions prohibit.
Pilot Mark Turek, a Morgan Stanley senior vice president was charged with negligence.

George’s Point of View

Settlements are seldom published

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Massive Airbus Settlement Looks to be Unsettling

George’s Point of View

The insurance claim for the Air France crash promises to be huge; the cost of the aircraft alone will no doubt exceed a hundred million dollars. Between the international treaty that ensures aviation passenger’s rights, the legal system, insurers like AIG, AXA SA, Allianz SE, American International Group Inc., and the companies which are going to be liable (like Airbus and who ever manufactured those pitot tubes), the claims are going to be in the hundreds of millions.

Spouses, children and parents will be receiving compensation from the insurance, and from companies whose exact degree of liability will be decided through the courts (if not in them.)

IF it gets to the courts.

In situations like this, the insurance companies swoop down before the victims’ families can arm themselves with lawyers; in fact, insurance companies are a little like lawyers. Or worse. They’re like salespeople. They want that signature on the dotted line, and they want to get it for as little as possible. They want that release. To get it, they try to offer victims’ families the smallest possible carrot.

If they can induce families to sign a release, then the families sign away any future claims that might arise from product liability. When you sign that release, you waive the right to sue.

So I’m hoping the families don’t jump the gun here, and rush in to negotiate with the insurance companies without legal counsel on their side. When they sign those release forms, they just might be signing away justice for their loved ones.


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TAM Update

What: TAM Linhas Aereas Airbus A320 Flight JJ3054
Where: Sao Paulo Brazil Congonhas airport
When: July 17, 2007
Who: 199 fatalities
Why: Sao Paulo Institute of Criminology 16-month investigation places blame on government agencies for failing to ensure runway safety. Government failure to set rainy-day landing rules for the short runway whose new surface had not yet been grooved to drain rainwater.

NTSB Factual
NTSB Identification: DCA07RA059
Scheduled 14 CFR operation of TAM Linhas Aéreas
Accident occurred Tuesday, July 17, 2007 in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Aircraft: Airbus Industrie A320-233, registration: PR-MBK
Injuries: 199 Fatal.
On July 17, 2007, at 21:54 UTC, an Airbus A320-233, Brazilian registration PTMBK, serial number 789, operated by TAM Linhas Aéreas overran the end of runway 35 at the Sao Paulo Congonhas airport upon landing. The airplane was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre, Brazil. The airplane departed the runway to the left side near the departure end and crossed over a road prior to impacting a cargo depot and gas station. The end of the runway is on elevated terrain approximately 80 meters above the surface of the road. The 6 crew members, 162 passengers, and 18 persons on the ground suffered fatal injuries. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and fire.


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Camp Pendleton Crash Resolved in Court


Jurors are sending a message to big business.

The only way to hurt big business is through the pocket book. When you hit them there, they eventually come around to doing what is right.

After this California wrongful death lawsuit verdict, my bet is that SDG&E will develop a belated conscience and will install safety devices or ball markers to help prevent this type of disaster.

So we are offering congratulations to the jurors for using their voices; and congratulations to the families. No amount of money is going to bring back those precious four lives, or ever ease the pain of their families, but, at the very least we can hope that the families will have some comfort that a small measure of justice has been served.


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Millions Awarded to Crash Victims


Two helicopters–both crews using night-vision goggles–participated in the nighttime maneuvers on Jan. 22, 2004 – a “low bird” that flew close to the ground and a “high bird” that flew above looking for possible obstructions. As the helicopters were leaving Talega Canyon, the UH-1N helicopter known as a Huey struck a 135-foot utility tower. The Cobra was intact. The Huey was not. All the victims were Iraq veterans attached to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Fast forward to 2008. (Cases like these take years to go to trial.)

Family members of Capt. Adam E. Miller, 29; 1st Lt. Michael S. Lawlor, 26; Staff Sgt. Lori A. Privette, 27; and Cpl. Joshua D. Harris, 21, asked for unspecified damages in the wrongful-death lawsuit. In a jury decision, over $15 million was awarded on Wednesday to the families of four Marines killed. Plus some $50 million in punitive damages.

San Diego Gas & Electric, which owned the tower was determined by the jury to be negligent and “acted with malice” by not installing safety devices to prevent accidents. After a three week trial and deliberating one day, the jury determined that the parents of all four Marines should receive $2.125 million. Lawlor’s wife was entitled to $4.5 million for the loss and $2.2 million in lost earnings.

SDG&E bore 56 percent of the responsibility for the collision because they knew about the hazard and failed to follow safety recommendations. Pilots and other parties shared the rest of the blame. After the trial’s punitive damages phase, the jury awarded $10.1 million to the families of each Marine who died in the crash.

Since the accident, SDG&E has installed lights.


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Tam Air Flight 3054 Case Filed

Partner of the elite legal team of Masry and Vititoe, Podhurst Orseck filed 59 wrongful death lawsuits for the families of passengers killed on July 17, 2007 aboard Brazil’s TAM Airlines Flight 3054. The Law Office of Masry and Vititoe is familiar to the public as the firm depicted in the academy award winning film, “Erin Brockovich,” starring Julia Roberts.

The 59 wrongful death lawsuits stem from the notorious Flight 3054, the worst airline disaster in Brazil’s history, when the A320 TAM Linhas Aareas aircraft attempted landing at Sao Paolo’s Congonhas airport and slammed into an air cargo building, killing 199 people (187 aboard the plane and 12 ground crew). Aware that the thrust reverser (an instrument that helps planes slow down on landings) had been deactivated during a maintenance check, the pilots mishandled the landing procedures. The parties included in the lawsuits are TAM, leasing company Pegasus Aviation, Airbus, Airbus Customer Services, Goodrich (thrust reverser provider) and International Aero Engines.

The devastation was compounded when, within hours of the disaster, TAM released the passenger manifest via the internet. Abandoning the families of the crash victims to draw their own conclusions, Tam neglected to assign personal contact with the families of the victimized passengers to notify them of their loss.

In prior airline crash cases, Masry and Vititoe has partnered with internationally recognized Florida-based aviation attorneys Podhurst Orseck. In addition to the Tam Flight 3054 case, together they also currently represent families of the passengers aboard the Gol Transportes Aeros Flight #1907 that collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon Rainforest in September 2006. They also represent victims’ families in the Sibir Airlines crash that involved the same type of Airbus under similar circumstances; they too attempted landing in the rain, failed to stop and crashed into a building resulting in catastrophic loss of life.

About Masry and Vititoe
Masry and Vititoe is a leading law firm whose compassionate policy of keeping in personal contact further supports their clients’ comfort and confidence. The Masry and Vititoe firm has been defending the rights of the victims of negligence for over 30 years. As in the Hinkey case on which the movie “Erin Brockovich” was based, the firm is known for pursuing the rights of individuals who have suffered acute and chronic chemical exposure. They represent thousands of injured persons throughout the country, from Hawaii to the East Coast, and on their behalf have fearlessly combated and prevailed against some of the world’s largest corporations, including Fortune 500 companies, public utilities and oil companies.


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PR Newswire: Multiple Lawsuits Against TAM Airlines

Masry and Vititoe Partners, MIAMI, March 26 /PRNewswire/ PRESS RELEASE — Internationally recognized aviation attorneys Steven C. Marks and Ricardo M. Martinez-Cid with the Podhurst Orseck law firm have filed a series of lawsuits on behalf of families of passengers killed in Brazil’s worst airline disaster. On July 17, 2007, 199 people perished when TAM Airlines Flight 3054 slid off the runway at Congonhas Airport and slammed into an air cargo building in Sao Paulo. Today, Podhurst attorneys filed 59 wrongful death complaints related to the catastrophe in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In addition to TAM NYSE: TAM, which is charged with its own negligence and that of its pilots and maintenance personnel, the defendants in the lawsuits are Pegasus Aviation IV, Inc.; Airbus S.A.S.; Airbus Industrie G.I.E. (EADS) (EAD.PA); Airbus Customer Services, Inc.; Goodrich Corporation NYSE: GR; and International Aero Engines AG.

“Responsibility not only lies with the companies that manufactured and handled maintenance for the aircraft,” said Marks, “We believe Airbus provided inadequate customer support, simulator services, and training materials for the pilots and flight crew that replicates the performance of the aircraft in all normal and abnormal conditions.”

Marks said it’s clear the flight crew knew there were problems with the aircraft before the disaster because the plane’s right thrust reverser had been deactivated before the flight.

“The thrust reverser is used to slow the jet down upon landing. Without an operational right thrust reverser, it didn’t have enough room to stop on the runway, ending in a horrific crash when the plane skidded off the runway’s edge,” he said.

Podhurst Orseck filed the first lawsuit related to the crash on behalf of the family of 35-year-old Ricardo Tazoe of Miami, an employee with Banco Santander. In all of the cases, the plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial to recover financial damages for pain and suffering; lost value of life; funeral expenses; and all other damages they may be entitled to under the law.

Marks and Martinez-Cid have extensive experience handling Brazilian aviation matters. They currently represent the families of numerous passengers who were killed when Gol Transportes Aeros Flight #1907 collided with an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet over the Amazon Rainforest in September 2006.

They have represented victims in countless significant major commercial airline crashes, including those killed in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky. in August 2006. Marks has acted as co-lead trial counsel for the California State Court plaintiffs after a Silk Air crash between Jakarta and Singapore in 1997 (successfully obtaining one of the most significant and largest verdicts in a mass disaster aviation case) and acting as lead liaison counsel for the state court and federal multi- district litigation plaintiffs’ steering committees over the ValuJet Flight 592 crash in Miami-Dade County in 1996.

Based in Miami, Podhurst Orseck, P.A. concentrates exclusively in trial and appellate litigation. The firm’s general tort practice places a major emphasis on aviation, automobile, products liability and medical malpractice litigation. In addition, the firm has a substantial practice in commercial, matrimonial and criminal litigation, as well as complex commercial tort litigation. Attorneys serve clients and corporations throughout the United States, and in many foreign countries. You can learn more about Podhurst Orseck by visiting the firm’s website at www.podhurst.com.

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