ctab5060X
Well-Known Member
Not a lawyer, but considering I was intimately involved in an aviation related lawsuit (my Dad's accident), I will speak up...
Exactly. Think of it this way... Husband and wife, mid 50s. Husband is primary bread winner of household, kid in college, mortgage, car payment. Husband goes on a pleasure flight to see friends is killed while enroute. All of a sudden, you have a widow and a child without a father. They didn't ask for this, they didn't plan for this. Sure, there is his retirement and social security, but she can't touch it for several years (and if she remarries, social security is no longer an option). Sure there is his life insurance that will pay double in the event of an accidental deat... oh wait, that is null and void if you are flying on an airplane (some policies are like that). And since it was not job related, no workers comp either.
Basically what you end up with is a widow with a mediocre job, and life insurance that will be paid out over a couple of years then nothing. Yeah, she could get a better job, but she had been doing this for years and in this economy she can't find anything else, and can't afford to quit and go back to school. Somewhere down the line, she is risking her vehicle, her house, and possibly her job.
In situations like this, someone or something has to be responsible. NOT speculating at all, but even if a wing had fallen off, someone would still have sued somebody. There have been too many cases come before the courts already to think otherwise. It is why businesses carry liability insurance, just for instances like these.
Nope. The lawsuit in my Dad's case was filed before the preliminary report by the NTSB even came out. Now that being said, the ball really did not get rolling really good until the final documents were released. It was almost like the attorneys were collecting and collecting, got the final report, and BAM! started pushing for things to happen and happen quickly.
That about sums it up. You include anything and anyone that might have in the least little bit contributed to the accident. In a situation like this, everybody. Wouldn't even surprise me if they included the flight crew. Then as facts come in, you can drop the ones that are not responsible/involved, and go after the "big fish" so to speak. As far as filing early... the earlier you file, the better organized you can get and put the defense "on notice" thus opening yourself to documentation that you otherwise would not have access to. Sometimes attorneys want to see some of the "evidence" for themselves, so the sooner, the better.
Exactly. Think of it this way... Husband and wife, mid 50s. Husband is primary bread winner of household, kid in college, mortgage, car payment. Husband goes on a pleasure flight to see friends is killed while enroute. All of a sudden, you have a widow and a child without a father. They didn't ask for this, they didn't plan for this. Sure, there is his retirement and social security, but she can't touch it for several years (and if she remarries, social security is no longer an option). Sure there is his life insurance that will pay double in the event of an accidental deat... oh wait, that is null and void if you are flying on an airplane (some policies are like that). And since it was not job related, no workers comp either.
Basically what you end up with is a widow with a mediocre job, and life insurance that will be paid out over a couple of years then nothing. Yeah, she could get a better job, but she had been doing this for years and in this economy she can't find anything else, and can't afford to quit and go back to school. Somewhere down the line, she is risking her vehicle, her house, and possibly her job.
In situations like this, someone or something has to be responsible. NOT speculating at all, but even if a wing had fallen off, someone would still have sued somebody. There have been too many cases come before the courts already to think otherwise. It is why businesses carry liability insurance, just for instances like these.
Nope. The lawsuit in my Dad's case was filed before the preliminary report by the NTSB even came out. Now that being said, the ball really did not get rolling really good until the final documents were released. It was almost like the attorneys were collecting and collecting, got the final report, and BAM! started pushing for things to happen and happen quickly.
