Aviation and Aircraft

Introduction

Most aviation accidents result from either human error or mechanical difficulties. Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sets safety standards for pilot conduct, flight operations, and aircraft manufacture, these are but minimum standards, and even so they are not always enforced rigidly enough to prevent aircraft disasters. Mechanical failure can result from faulty or poorly maintained equipment, structural or design problems with an aircraft or its components, or negligent maintenance or repair of the aircraft or its component parts. When an aviation accident results from a defect in the aircraft itself or one or more of its parts, the persons injured, or their surviving family members, may have the right to bring a products liability suit in order to recover for their losses. Other causes of aviation accidents, including pilot error, violations of FAA regulations, flight service station employee negligence, air traffic controller negligence, third-party carrier selection negligence, and negligence in fueling the aircraft, can lead to equally devastating consequences, but legal claims arising therefrom are generally not considered products liability claims.

An experienced products liability or personal injury attorney can help determine whether you may have a products liability claim arising from an aviation accident and can provide information and representation throughout the entire legal process, in order to ensure that you secure the compensation to which you are entitled.

Products Liability Suits Seek Recovery for Property Damage and Personal Injuries Resulting from Defective Aircraft and Their Component Parts.

Products liability law is based on the responsibility of a manufacturer or other provider of goods to compensate users of the goods for injuries caused by defective or dangerous products. The basic idea underlying products liability law is that the companies providing the products are usually in the best position to prevent defective products from entering the marketplace, so if they fail to do so, they should be held accountable. The law in this area has evolved from the days of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) to, in some instances, strict liability, in which manufacturers are responsible for injuries caused by their defective or unreasonably dangerous products even if they were not negligent.

In a products liability action, the injured person, or plaintiff, must prove that there was a design or manufacturing defect in the product, or that the manufacturer did not adequately warn consumers about the product’s possible dangers; that the product caused the injuries; and that he or she was using the product in the way it was intended to be used, or that the manufacturer should have anticipated that the product would be misused in the way that it was.

Manufacturing defects are usually easier to prove than design defects. If an aircraft cannot get off the ground, for example, it is pretty clear that it was not manufactured as the designer intended it to be. A design-defect case, on the other hand, could arise if many or all aircraft of a manufacturer’s particular model posed a threat of explosion. Proving a design defect involves passing judgment on technical choices and usually requires expert testimony. In a design-defect case, the product may have been manufactured as it was intended to be, but the design was inadequately planned in such a way as to pose unreasonable hazards to consumers.

Proving causation in a products liability case can be complicated. The plaintiff must establish that the product was defective when it left the hands of the defendant and that the defect was the cause of the aviation accident that led to the injuries. If the injuries could have arisen from several potential causes-for example, pilot error or mechanic error as well as a product defect-the plaintiff usually must establish that the product defect had a substantial role in bringing about the injuries.

Possible legal theories that can be argued in a products liability case include negligence (lack of reasonable care in the manufacture or sale of the product or in warning about the product), breach of warranty (failure to fulfill the terms of a promise regarding the product), misrepresentation (giving consumers a false sense of security about a product’s safety), and strict tort liability (the product’s defect, although not the fault of the defendant, rendered the product unreasonably dangerous and the defendant is therefore responsible).

Damages recoverable in a products liability lawsuit include those for personal injuries as well as property damage. In a personal injury case, the plaintiff’s damages may include medical expenses, lost wages, damages for physical and mental pain and suffering, and sometimes even punitive damages, which go beyond compensating the plaintiff for his or her actual losses and are intended to punish the wrongdoer and deter future similar bad conduct. Property damage may also result from an aviation accident, such as when a plane crashes in your back yard. In such cases, you may be able to seek damages that would pay for all the necessary repairs to your home and property.

Preliminary aviation safety-related accident and incident data are compiled by the FAA’s Office of Accident Investigation and available on their web site, while inquiries regarding information on specific accidents should be addressed to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Washington, D.C.

Air traffic is generally a safe means of transportation. Unfortunately, when accidents do happen they can result in mass fatalities. These are the cases that get the most media attention and are the most memorable. One example of such an airline catastrophe is the November 2001 crash of American Airlines flight 587, which resulted in the deaths of all 260 passengers as well as five people on the ground. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that damage was found at the pin bushing on the right rear lug of the vertical stabilizer, thus giving rise to potential products liability-based claims.

Conclusion

If you have been injured in an aviation accident, you may be able to make a claim against the manufacturer. When seeking an attorney to represent you in connection with such a claim, be sure to investigate his or her background in products liability, personal injury, or aviation law. Ask questions about his or her training and experience so that you can make an informed decision about whether this is the right person to zealously represent your interests against a big company that may have many more resources than you do to fight the claims against it. Only with a veteran products liability, personal injury, or aviation attorney on your side can you be sure to achieve an outcome that best compensates you for your losses.

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