Aviation Accident Attorney
Aviation accidents are often devastating, causing life-altering and fatal injuries that leave victims and their survivors with overwhelming damages that should be compensated.
Top causes of aviation accidents include pilot error, mechanical failure, and poor weather. Miscommunication with air traffic control and debris or vehicles left on the runway can also cause accidents. For any injuries sustained in an aviation accident, plaintiffs may seek economic and non-economic damages. Economic and non-economic damages may also be available in a wrongful death claim for a fatal aviation accident, but they would cover survivors’ specific losses, not the victim’s.
Get a free case review from our aviation accident attorneys by calling Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369.
What Are the Top Causes of Aviation Accidents?
Aviation accidents have many different causes, most of which boil down to negligence, making victims entitled to compensation.
Pilot Error
Pilot error is the top cause of most aviation accidents. Errors occur due to a lack of experience, poor decision-making, and fatigue. Pilot error due to drug or alcohol use is more common in aviation accidents involving personal aircraft than commercial plane accidents.
Adequate preparation and planning are essential to safe aviation, and a key part of any pilot’s duty of care to all passengers on a plane and people on the ground.
When a pilot is negligent and causes an aviation accident, they typically bear liability for the resulting damages.
Mechanical Failure
Mechanical failure also causes aviation accidents. If an aircraft’s engines, electrical systems, internal structural components, or other parts fail, the consequences can be immediate and severe.
If a mechanical failure occurred due to design or production defects, the aircraft manufacturer would be liable for the aviation accident.
If a mechanical failure occurred because the aircraft owner failed to perform the proper safety checks and obtain the mandatory annual inspections, the owner could also bear liability.
Inclement Weather
Low visibility, high winds, heavy thunderstorms, and other adverse weather can cause aviation accidents. If the weather was forecast and the pilot failed to exercise their duty of care by checking the weather and ensuring it was safe to fly, the pilot could be liable for any resulting accidents, injuries, and damages.
What Damages Can You Get for an Aviation Accident?
Aviation accidents can cause some of the most expensive, traumatizing injuries, and our aviation accident attorneys can help you assess the value of your case and identify all compensable damages.
Medical Expenses
Victims who survive aviation accidents can get compensation for all medical expenses they incur, to date and in the future. If a victim dies, their survivors most likely may only get compensation for medical expenses incurred before death by filing a survival action, not a wrongful death claim. If survivors incur any medical damages as result of the victim’s death, they can get compensation for those losses in a wrongful death claim.
Lost Income
Lost wages are also compensable after aviation accidents. Victims who survive might never be able to work again, and might lifelong compensation for lost wages. If a victim dies from a fatal aviation accident and leaves a surviving spouse, child, or other dependent relatives behind, their survivors may get compensation for lost financial support.
Non-Economic Damages
Rules for non-economic damages for aviation accidents vary from state to state, depending on whether it is a personal injury claim or a wrongful death claim. For survivable injuries, victims can sue for the pain and suffering they have personally endured. For fatal injuries, survivors can typically sue for the pain and suffering they have endured, such as loss of consortium or loss of parental guidance. For survivors to sue for the non-economic damages the victim endured before they died, they typically must bring survival actions.
Not all states allow non-economic damages in wrongful death cases, so confirm with your lawyer to see what compensation is possible in your case before filing.
Aviation Accident FAQs
What is an Aviation Accident?
An aviation accident is any incident involving a smaller aircraft, such as a small passenger plane or helicopter, that results in injury or death. Major crashes are not the only kind of aviation accident you could sue for.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Aviation Accidents?
The statute of limitations for aviation accidents is the same as the statute of limitations for personal injury claims from state to state. If you are injured in an aviation accident during a cruise ship excursion that departed from the cruise ship itself, the 1-year maritime statute of limitations may apply.
States may also have different statutes of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death claims, so do not assume that you have the same amount of time to file either claim.
Who is Liable for an Aviation Accident?
The pilot, aircraft owner, or aircraft manufacturer could be liable for a recent aviation accident. Many aviation accidents have multiple contributing factors, so multiple parties could potentially share liability.
What Do You Have to Prove in an Aviation Accident?
After an aviation accident, you must prove that the negligent party, such as the pilot owed you a duty of care. You must then prove that the defendant breached their duty of care and injured you. Finally, you must submit proof of your economic and non-economic damages.
What Evidence Proves Aviation Accidents?
The physical wreckage from the accident, information from flight data recorders, aircraft maintenance logs, and eyewitness statements are all examples of evidence that can prove negligence in in aviation accidents.
Why Do You Need an Aviation Accident Lawyer?
You need a lawyer’s help to confirm the primary cause of the accident, calculate your compensable damages, and write and file a personal injury or wrongful death complaint on your behalf before the statute of limitations expires.
Get Our Help After an Aviation Accident
Call the aviation accident attorneys of Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, P.A. at (305) 204-5369 for a free case evaluation.
