Legal

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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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    Plane Crash Leads to Environmental Claims


    Pictured: An Airlines PNG De Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 Dash 8
    Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
    Contact photographer Raymond Ngu

    What: PNG Airlines
    Where: Papua New Guinea’s Owen Stanley Ranges
    When: August 11 2009
    Who: 13 people including nine Australians, three Papua New Guineans, including the female pilot, and a Japanese man
    Why: Unresolved

    George’s Point of View

    While the cause of the crash is unknown, the locals are claiming compensation because the consequences of the crash include environmental damage. The area’s only water supply has been contaminated with human blood, aviation fuel and chemicals, which poses a health risk.

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    Venezuela: Tour Operator Sued

    On the Isla Margarita in Venezuela on a trip to Angel Falls, tour operator First Choice is being sued for the death of six year old Thomas Horne, who died on a tour while not wearing a seat belt. In fact, an investigator reported in an inquest that “Thomas would probably be alive had he been restrained properly by a seat belt.”

    A 14 seat Cessna 208 crashed while they were aboard.

    The crew did not inform the passengers how to fasten a four-point waist and shoulder seat belt. The Cessna manual indicates that not wearing the shoulder harness could be fatal.

    The flight was not run by First Choice, but by a third party.

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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

    src

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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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    Spain Punishes Officers for Body Misidentification

    George’s Point of View

    After 30 bodies were misidentified and sent to the wrong grieving families, General Vicente Navarro received a three year sentence; and Commander Jose Ramirez and Captain Miguel Saez received 18-month sentences.

    Some of the bodies had to be exhumed so that the misidentification could be verified.

    Sixty-two soldiers died in the Yak-42 crash in Turkey on May 26, 2003. Imagine how the families felt. First they have to suffer the deaths. Then almost half of the victims were misidentified. And remember to the families, these weren’t random victims. They were husbands and sons.

    Imagine how the families felt when they had to dig up their husbands and sons and have the remains crosschecked with dental records and DNA samples. It probably wasn’t limted to 30, either; they probably exhumed all the victims except for whichever ones might have been visually recognizable by family members.

    One wonders if the buck stopped in the right place. Was the decision not to perform DNA/Dental verification really made by General Vicente Navarro or was it a decision that was passed down to him from defence minister Federico Trillo? Isn’t there a public policy of aviation procedure in cases such as this? My question is not whether the sentence is just, but whether the right individual was sentenced.

    Carelessness of this profundity goes beyond cruelty.

    If I were a Spanish lawyer or on the Ministerio de Fomento, Civil Aviation, I’d be going through policies with a fine toothed comb. I’d love to hear from Madrid to find out just exactly what they’ve done in the past three years to prevent this kind of inhuman treatment in the future.

  • Aviation Case Histories

    A Brief List of Some Recent Cases



    July 09, 2006
    S7 Airlines Irkutsk, Russia
    Contact photographer Oliver Brunke    		NTSB Report
    Friday, September 29, 2006
    Gol Airlines of Brazil Crash
    Contact Photographer Bruno Pereira    		NTSB Report
    July 17, 2007
    TAM Linhas Aéreas Crash
    Contact Photographer Bernardo Andrade    		NTSB Report
    Feb 21 2008,
    Santa Bárbara Airlines Flight 518
    crashes in Venezuela
    Contact Ivan P. Nesbit
    alt contact    		Aviation Safety Net Record
    August 20, 2008
    Spanair Flight JK5022 crashes
    on take off from Madrid Barajas
    International Airport
    Contact photographer Alejandro Hdez Leon    		NTSB Report
    August 24, 2008
    Itek Air crash in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan    		Contact Pereslavtsev
    Dmitry – Russian AviaPhoto Team    		NTSP Prelim Report
    September 14, 2008
    Russian Operated Aeroflot-Nord
    Flight 821 Crashes in Perm Russia
    Contact Photographer Andrey Nogin    		NTSB Report
    February 12, 2009
    Continental/COLGAN AIR
    Crash in Clarence Center NY
    Contact Photographer Michael Fast    		NTSB report
    March 12, 2009
    Canadian Cougar
    Sikorsky crashes 28
    miles east of Cape
    Spear near St. John’s
    Newfoundland
    Contact Photographer Mark Stares    		NTSB Report

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    March 2007: Yogyakarta Crash Landing

    This is the sad story of Marwoto Komar, a pilot with 22 years of flight experience.

    In March 2007, he piloted a Boeing 737-400 with 140 passengers on board which crashed on landing at the Yogyakarta airport. The plane came in for landing too high and too fast, and although the co-pilot called for a go-around, he landed on that pass anyway. The Boeing overran the runway and caught fire. Twenty-one people died in that crash.

    The* IFALPA position is that criminalisation of individuals does not improve air safety.

    In July 2008 he was arrested, tried and found guilty of negligence.

    An Indonesian court sentenced Komar to two years imprisonment for his role in the crash.

    * International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations

    see src

    George’s Point of View

    You make a mistake.
    People get killed.
    You go to jail.

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    Helicopter Crash Lawsuit Filed

    A wrongful death suit has been filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court seeking $8 million on behalf of Shawn Blazer, one of nine men killed in a helicopter crash on Aug. 5. The helicopter crashed right after take-off as it was transporting crews battling Northern California wildfires at Trinity Alps Wilderness. Two other suits, each seeking $10 million were filed on behalf of Matthew Hammer and Bryan Rich. Negligence and design flaws are among the allegations.

    Additional negligence and liability suits are anticipated.

    Read more here and here

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    Platinum Jet Management LLC, of Fort Lauderdale Has Day In Court

    2009-Feb 5-Platinum Jet co-founders Michael Brassington, 35, and Paul Brassington, 29, company manager Andre Budhan, 42, and maintenance director Brien„© McKenzie, 42 were arrested Wednesday on charges they violated federal aircraft regulations, contributing to a 2005 accident –Canadair Challenger 600 business jet failed to take off, crossed a heavily traveled road, hitting cars along the way, and slammed into a warehouse–at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport. Additional warrants have also been issued for charter director Joseph Singh, 37, and pilot Francis Viera, 59.

    What: Canadair Challenger 600 business jet
    Where: New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport
    When: Feb. 2, 2005
    Who: 20 people injured
    Why: The accident has been judged to be due to fuel loading (weight shift)

    See NTSB Publication Below:

    Aircraft Accident Report
    Runway Overrun and Collision
    Platinum Jet Management, LLC
    Bombardier Challenger CL-600-1A11, N370V
    Teterboro, New Jersey
    February 2, 2005

    NTSB Number AAR-06/04
    NTIS Number PB2007-910401

    Executive Summary: On February 2, 2005, about 0718 eastern standard time, a Bombardier Challenger CL-600-1A11, N370V, ran off the departure end of runway 6 at Teterboro Airport (TEB), Teterboro, New Jersey, at a ground speed of about 110 knots; through an airport perimeter fence; across a six-lane highway (where it struck a vehicle); and into a parking lot before impacting a building. The two pilots were seriously injured, as were two occupants in the vehicle. The cabin aide, eight passengers, and one person in the building received minor injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postimpact fire. The accident flight was an on-demand passenger charter flight from TEB to Chicago Midway Airport, Chicago, Illinois. The flight was subject to the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 135 and operated by Platinum Jet Management, LLC (PJM), Fort Lauderdale, Florida, under the auspices of a charter management agreement with Darby Aviation (Darby), Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated on an instrument flight rules flight plan.

    The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the pilots’ failure to ensure the airplane was loaded within weight-and-balance limits and their attempt to take off with the center of gravity well forward of the forward takeoff limit, which prevented the airplane from rotating at the intended rotation speed.

    Contributing to the accident were: 1) PJM’s conduct of charter flights (using PJM pilots and airplanes) without proper Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification and its failure to ensure that all for-hire flights were conducted in accordance with 14 CFR Part 135 requirements; 2) Darby Aviation’s failure to maintain operational control over 14 CFR Part 135 flights being conducted under its certificate by PJM, which resulted in an environment conducive to the development of systemic patterns of flight crew performance deficiencies like those observed in this accident; 3) the failure of the Birmingham, Alabama, FAA Flight Standards District Office to provide adequate surveillance and oversight of operations conducted under Darby’s Part 135 certificate; and 4) the FAA’s tacit approval of arrangements such as that between Darby and PJM.

    The safety issues addressed in this report include weight and balance procedures; flight crew actions, training, and procedures; company oversight and operational control; FAA responsibility and oversight; cabin aide actions, training, and procedures; and runway safety areas.

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    Travis Barker and Dead Bodyguard File Suit

    Travis Barker filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Bombardier Inc., Clay Lacy Aviation and Goodyear Tire and Rubber, alleging the Learjet he crashed in was defective and pilots were negligent.

    You may know Travis Barker as the former Blink 182 drummer. Now you know he’s also a plane crash survivor. Barker’s bodyguard died in the learjet’s crash on Sept. 19. Thelma Martin Still, the mother of Charles Still, also filed a suit.

    According to the lawsuit, the learjet’s “landing gear, tires, wheels, brakes, reverse thrust system, squat switches and component parts were not airworthy…The pilots’ decision was a breach of their duty owed to the passengers onboard and was a substantial factor in causing the crash and resultant injuries and deaths.”

    See below from the archives

    What: Learjet N999LJ owned by Global Exec Aviation en route to Van Nuys, Calif
    Where: South Carolina
    When: departed shortly before midnight Friday
    Who: carrying six people Chris Baker, 29, of Studio City, Calif., and Charles Still, 25, of Los Angeles — died, as did pilot Sarah Lemmon, 31, of Anaheim Hills, Calif., and co-pilot James Bland, 52, of Carlsbad, Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and celebrity DJ AM were critically injured
    Why: air traffic controllers reporting seeing sparks. The plane was traveling at least 92 mph, its minimum takeoff speed, when the crew thought the tire burst The plane hurtled off the end of a runway and crashed through antennas and a fence, crossing a five-lane highway and ending up on an embankment in flames.The plane was heading to Van Nuys, Calif.

    The FAA is researching the possibility that a blown tire caused the jet crash. Investigations have turned up evidence that tire may have blown just before takeoff at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport. The cockpit voice recorder indicates that the pilot and co-pilot informed air traffic controllers they’d heard a tire burst and they attempted to abort takeoff.

    In serious condition is Travis Barker, who was the drummer for the band Blink-182. Barker was one of the two people wounded when the Learjet 60 crashed on a highway and caught fire.

    Listed in critical condition is Adam Michael Goldstein otherwise known as celebrity disc jockey DJ AM. He reportedly saved his own life by jumping from the burning plane while it was skidding down a runway.

    Joseph M. Still Burn Center said they both suffered second- and third-degree burns

    Status (FAA)

    Certification Class: Standard
    Certification Issued: 2007-11-16
    Air Worthiness Test: 2006-12-14
    Last Action Taken: 2008-08-11
    Current Status: Valid
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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.

  • A Sticky Case

    According to Special Agent Peter Carricato, Maria Esther Castillo of Oswego is in court today charged with resisting arrest and interfering with the operations of United Airlines Flight 645–after spanking a flight attendant, standing on a blind passenger, hair pulling and assorted (possibly alcohol-related) bad behavior. Her disruption was actually bad enough that the flight crew was forced to duct tape her to her seat until the flight was diverted to Charlotte-Douglass International Airport where authorities forcibly removed her from the plane.

    Before she was bound to the seat by duct tape, Castillo was bound to Chicago from Puerto Rico.

    The criminal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte.

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    Helicopters In Trouble

    There are at least a dozen news articles today discussing the issue of helicopter safety, many of them responding to the AP article that references the 9 medical crashes in the eleven months.

    Part of the problem is a shortage of night vision (infrared “synthetic vision”) that displays terrain of the type the military uses.

    The article also lists recommendations of the NTSB, which may or may not be adopted by the FAA. The recommendations are as follows:

    • Require EMS helicopter operators to install Terrain Awareness Warning Systems (TAWS) on helicopters. The system warns pilots when helicopters are in danger of crashing into the ground, mountains and some buildings.
    • Require EMS flights that carry only medical personnel to follow the more stringent safety rules that apply to flights carrying patients and organs for donation.
    • Require a formal flight risk evaluation before an EMS flight.
    • Require EMS flights to use formalized dispatch procedures that include up-to-date weather information and assistance in flight risk-assessment decisions.

    One hopes that through this 20-20 hindsight the FAA will have better vision.

    There are issues going on with the FAA. “A federal logjam has held up the report on the Oct. 15 crash.” There have been a lot of crashes lately and the paperwork must be piling up.

    And then there is this: “Shelley Garrett, guardian over Dave Garrett’s only son and heir, filed a product-liability and negligence lawsuit late last week against Bell Helicopter in Harris County District Court” over the channel 13 helicopter crash. While not a medical evacuation crash, it is still helicopter crash news. Are the NTSB and FAA qualified to supervise helicopter safety issues?

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    Spanair Update

    Madrid Superior Court Judge Juan Javier Perez is questioning three mechanics in relation to the Spanair plane crash. The purpose of the inquisition is to decide if there is a question of criminal accountability (manslaughter) for mistakes that lead to air disasters. To date, the only problem pinned down on the plane is with the plane’s wing flaps and the failure of a cockpit alarm.

    The plane’s take-off warning system is supposed to be checked before every flight; it is supposed to warn pilots when planes properly configured for takeoff. Legally, the system is looking for someone to blame. However, some believe that getting caught up in blame clouds the larger issue of developing safety checks and balances.

    Air Crash News and Information Urls

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    Unlicensed Pilots

    The Australian aviation authority, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is in the process of investigating Hempel’s Aviation. Barry Hempel was killed recently while flying a passenger in a stunt plane. Hempel had no commercial pilot’s license and wasn’t qualified to pilot paying customers. The CASA is actively looking for people who purchased flights from the now-liquidated company in the past year. Anyone who has information that may help CASA’s investigation should call: 07 3144 7532.

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    Drunken Passenger Goes to Jail

    Back in mid July, we wrote about air passenger Dean Lyons trying to open the door of the Boeing 767-300 he was passenger in, en route to Cuba. Instead, the plane dropped him off in Bermuda in the guardianship of a police escort, while –due to flight crew flying time restrictions–the rest of the passengers on the flight had to wait till the next day to fly on to their destination, Varadero Cuba. On October 6, Lyons was jailed for that offense. That, and for punching a man in a Basingstoke pub.

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    Emergency Landing

    An airliner was having engine trouble, and the pilot instructed the cabin crew to have the passengers take their seats and get prepared for an emergency landing.

    A few minutes later, the pilot asked the flight attendants if everyone was buckled in and ready.

    "All set back here, Captain," came the reply, "except one lawyer who is still in the aisle passing out business cards."

    src rep-am.com/articles/2008/10/09/lifestyle/daily_laugh/doc48ecde248eb27266367816.txt

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    Helicopter Crash Survivor Awarded 4.5 Million

    Central District of California, the Hon. Florence-Marie Cooper ruled that in Melanie Bailey, et. al. v. United States of America Department of Transportation (Federal Aviation Administration) – Case #CV 06-1191 FMC(VBKx)

    27-year-old Gavin Heyworth, a former Marine sued the FAA after the November 6th, 2003 collision in which Heyworth was flying solo when he collided with another helicopter. The U.S. District Court ruled that negligent air traffic controllers gave confusing instructions to Heyworth who was a student pilot at the time.

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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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    Firebug Flight Attendant Fugitive Flees FBI

    Not only did the flight attendant fire to paper towels in the bathroom because he didn’t want to work that flight, he had done the same thing 5 weeks earlier; and then skipped out on his Federal trial in Fargo, N.D.

    Luckily none of the 72 passengers and four crew members (including himself) were injured in the fire.

    So now there is a warrant for the arrest of Eder Rojas, 19.

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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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    Suit settles at $13 million

    Heirs of six people killed in a March 26, 2005 Penn State plane crash recovered $13 million in civil damages although a judge ruled that they cannot sue the plane’s manufacturer in federal court in Pennsylvania on the basis that Pilatus had minimal ties to Pennsylvania and could not be sued in the district.

    Their private plane spiraled downward and crashed miles from University Park Airport.The NTSA board concluded the flight failed to maintain enough speed to avoid stalling.

    Two Providence, R.I. victims were pilot Jeffrey Jacober; his wife, Karen; their 15-year-old son, Eric; Gregg Weingeroff, 49; his wife, Dawn, 42; and their 10-year-old son, Leland.

    The Penn State lacrosse team helped fund an annual scholarship named for the Jacober family.

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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.