Experience is very important in any aviation case, whether it’s a helicopter, private airplane, private jet, or a commercial airliner, because the investigation is going to be handled by the NTSB, The National Transportation Safety Board. An experienced lawyer knows what their responsibilities are to the family of a victim of a helicopter crash or airplane crash and will understand how the investigation is conducted and what experts to use to prove a case.
An investigation may determine that it was the machine that failed; the helicopter that had a part that broke or commercial jet had an engine that failed. It could be as simple as someone loaded the wrong gasoline on the plane or the helicopter. Believe or not, that still happens. It could be pilot error; the pilot failed to do something the law would expect them to do. The tricky part is that all of the different in people in the investigation are going to have a different view of the situation.
You need an experienced lawyer who can look at the investigation and the results of the investigation, and figure out who to sue. Do you sue the manufacturer of the airplane? Do you sue the airline because of pilot error? Do you sue a component part manufacturer who just built the blades on the jet engine?
You also need an experienced attorney because these cases are highly technical and require experts in the area of jet engines and avionic. You know the dials and screens inside the cockpit? Well, sometimes they don’t work. So you may need to sue a component manufacturer and you’ll need an expert for that. You’ll also usually need a pilot expert to talk about what the pilot did or did not do correctly. You’ve got to have an experienced lawyer who know who all who these experts are that you will need in these cases.
Additionally, there are complexities in filing these lawsuits that you have to be very careful of. For instance, here at The Segal Law Firm, we recently filed a case against The United States government. Why would you sue The United States government for an airplane crash? Well, because it was an air traffic controller who is employed by The United States of American through the FAA, The Federal Aviation Administration, that flew our client right into a radio antenna. And the radio antenna was on his radar screen. If you have to sue the federal government, that’s a whole different lawsuit. You have to file the notices first and then they get six months before they have to do anything for you.
Your lawyer has to understand all of these complexities and be able to prove them to a jury. Here at The Segal Law Firm, I take it step further. I’ve actually learned to fly helicopters and airplanes, so that I can not only understand, but have expertise when it comes to my clients’ cases. I want to know what was going on when the pilot lost control or the weather took over because the pilot made an error in judgment. All of those factors are part of the experience that I bring to a case.. You need an attorney that has you covered, and we do here at The Segal Law Firm. Call us toll free with questions at 855-344-9100.