Personal Injury Resulting from Airplane Collisions
The aviation industry has made great strides in ensuring the personal safety and security of its passengers. Federal regulations require intense and thorough examinations of luggage and passengers in order to thwart devastating terroristic attacks on our nation. However, the private aviation sector is not subject to the same stringent safety regulations as required by the commercial airline industry, and, sadly, aviation collisions take place on a daily basis involving smaller private aircraft manned by those with a recently-received pilot’s licenses.
From a personal injury standpoint, airplane collisions and crashes can leave many parties vulnerable to liability: the pilot, the passengers, and even the manufacturer or seller of the aircraft. When a passenger is killed in an airplane collision involving a novice or beginner private pilot, it is common for the passenger’s family to file a wrongful death action against the pilot or his family. Wrongful death actions typically seek unspecified damages for surviving members of the decedent’s family and include damages for pain, suffering, and loss of consortium.
In addition to wrongful death actions, many survivors have filed actions against the manufacturer of the aircraft carrying those who were killed. Under the legal doctrine of strict products liability, a manufacturer will be held liable if any part of the aircraft contains a dangerously defective part that caused the ensuing death by airplane collision. This could involve faulty mechanisms in the engine or any number of defective parts throughout the body and makeup of the aircraft.
A third common cause of action resulting from airplane collisions is a simple negligence action against any party who did not exercise due care with regard to the flight. As a Marietta personal injury attorney can explain, inexperienced private pilots may attempt to fly the aircraft when it may not be prudent to do so. Perhaps the weather forecast is not conducive to flying, or the pilot tries to fly despite extreme fatigue or intoxication. In any of the foregoing scenarios, a negligence cause of action against the pilot may be appropriate by any surviving injured passengers or family members.
If you or a loved one was recently injured or killed in an airplane collision, do not hesitate to contact Georgia personal injury attorney at Braun and Ree, LLP, to discuss the merits of your case.
