In 2007 my daughter was killed by a drunk driver. It still hurts. I sued the bar that served the woman that was already drunk, more drinks, that killed my daughter. Without the law firm I would have been lost. They helped me, kept me going all these years. And we've come to the close now. They've helped me do what I feel was justifiable for me and my family to get closure with my daughter. And I thank them. 
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V. Jordan
Mother of a Wrongful Death Victim
Fatal Airplane Accidents
Fatal Aviation Accident Attorney Michael Grossman Explains What to Do After Losing a Loved One in a Plane Crash
Granted, the old saying that air travel is the safest way of getting from place-to-place is backed up by statistics – aviation accidents are indeed rare. However, planes do crash, albeit more often private planes than commercial airliners, and the results are usually fatal when a plane goes down.
In order to make air travel safer, the federal government created the National Transportation Safety Board, and the NTSB has created rules designed to compel both public and private air travel providers to fly safely. When accidents do occur, the NTSB will investigate and compile a report to avoid similar actions in the future.
However, if a loved one was killed in a fatal airplane accident, then your family has the right to pursue compensation for the tragic loss that has beset your family from the party to blame, so long as the fatality was considered a wrongful death. A wrongful death is considered to have occurred when someone dies as a result of the non-justifiable actions or inaction of another party or party. All parties owe certain duties to protect others from harm; thus, when you ride a plane, you have certain expectations that the airline and pilot will act in such a way as to deliver you to your destination unscathed. If some party breaches the duty owed to others, then the person who is harmed as a result may pursue legal action. In other words, if your family has been beset by a tragedy like a plane crash, then you need the help of knowledgeable and experienced wrongful death attorney like Michael Grossman and his associates at Grossman Law Offices.
Causes of Fatal Aviation Accidents
Pilot error is the most common cause of fatal aviation accidents, but it is by no means the only cause of plane crashes. Weather, mechanical malfunctions, air traffic control slip-ups, and maintenance errors can all potentially bring a plane plummeting to the ground.
If pilot error caused a plane crash, then the crash victim’s family can seek compensation either from the private pilot or from the commercial airlines through a wrongful death lawsuit. A legal principle called respondeat superior holds employers responsible for the negligent actions or inaction of their employees, allowing compensation to be sought from the airliner for the negligent flying of its pilot. Moreover, fatal mechanical malfunctions could also be blamed on the airliner in the event it was caused by poor maintenance.
However, if a mechanical malfunction that was due to defective design or assembly caused the fatal plane crash, then the loved ones of the deceased can seek compensation through product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer of the defective plane or part.
When an accident occurs, both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration will conduct investigations and then issue a report within 12 to 18 months detailing the cause of the accident. While this report can be used as leverage and evidence against airliner, the surviving loved ones must still actively pursue the compensation they deserve in order to get it.
How Do You Know If You Have the Grounds for Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
In order to have a valid wrongful death cause of action in a fatal airplane crash or any other type of wrongful death case, the victim’s family, also known as the plaintiffs, carry the burden of proof for establishing the defendant’s negligence. To do so, three elements must be met:
- Duty : The defendant must have owed the decedent a legal duty. In the case of a plane crash, the duty is to take all reasonable precautions and actions to safely deliver the passengers to their intended destination.
- Breach : The defendant must have breached the legal duty that they owed to the decedent. In the case of the plane crash, this means doing something unsafe.
- Causation : The breach of the legal duty must have proximately caused the decedent's injuries. In other words, the breach caused the crash, and the crash caused the injuries.
If these three elements can be proven, then negligence is shown on behalf of the defendant and the plaintiff's family will have a valid cause of action against the defendant.
What Kind of Compensation Can be Obtained after a Fatal Aviation Accident?
If a family member has been killed in a plane crash, then surviving family members have the right to file one comprehensive lawsuit pursuing two kinds of compensation: wrongful death damages and survival damages. Wrongful death damages are intended to compensate the spouse, children, and parents for their measurable financial losses and emotional distress as a result of their loved one’s death. Wrongful death damages may include compensation for:
- Funeral bills.
- The loss of the financial support supplied by deceased prior to his or her demise.
- Emotional and mental suffering caused by the loved one’s death.
- The irreplaceable loss of the unique familial love and consortium provided by the deceased.
Survival damages, on the other hand, permit the closest living relative alone to serve as a proxy for the deceased, pursuing the compensation he or she deserved for:
- Medical expenses.
- Property damage.
- Emotional and mental distress caused by the accident.
Of particular note, the state of Arkansas also requires that a family name a personal representative of the estate before moving forward with one comprehensive lawsuit for the entire family, creating even more of a necessity for a fatal airplane accident attorney.
Why Sue for Money?
The whole idea behind any civil claim is to make the victim (known as the plaintiff) whole once again. In a breach of contract case, the plaintiff may have lost actual money as a result of the breach, and it is therefore easy for the plaintiff to justify seeking money as a means being reimbursed for their losses, thereby making them whole once again.
As it relates to a wrongful death lawsuit, no amount of money can ever actually truly make the victim whole again. Money is simply a universal medium that affects all possible defendants equally, or at least more equally than any other means, though other means have been used historically.
How Grossman Law Offices Can Help After a Fatal Aviation Accident
While extremely rare, the severe and devastating consequences of aviation accidents cause them to be sensationalized by the media when they do occur. In order to avoid bad publicity, major airlines tend to offer surviving family members sizable settlements if the airline is at fault. However, whether your loved one was killed in a twin-engine Cessna that crashed or a DC-10 belonging to a major airline, you need the help of a fatal aviation accident lawyer whom you can trust. Even if the airline is offering you a settlement that appears fair, accepting the settlement requires that you waive your right to sue them. Thus, you need to consult with an attorney before accepting any offer, or you risk besmirching your loved one’s memory by allowing yourself to be taken advantage of. On the other hand, if the airliner or private pilot or other negligent third party is unwilling to compensate you fairly, then you will need a skilled fatal aviation accident lawyer to drag them into court and fight for what you deserve.
At Grossman Law Offices, our attorneys have been litigating wrongful death and product liability cases in Texas and Arkansas for 20 years, so we have the expertise you require to deliver the best possible resolution to your fatal airplane accident case. To find out how we can help you, call us now for a free consultation at 1-855-589-5645 and discuss your situation with someone who knows how to help.
(policy limits) Recovery for wrongful death/ nursing home negligence which resulted in bed sores which became infected.
$100,000.00
$33,133.00
$400.00
(policy limits) An incredibly intoxicated driver drove head-on into a vehicle, killing several of the vehicle's occupants. The defendants had limited assets, yet an alternative policy was uncovered, which the defendants argued was non applicable. Under threat of litigation, our attorneys negotiated a settlement for the policy limits.
$300,000.00
$132,000.00
$0.00
(policy limits were $100k) Recovery for wife of a motorcyclist who was killed in a drunk driving accident.
$97,500.00
$48,750.00
$0.00
(policy limits) Our firm was hired by the wife and children of a retired Army Colonel who was killed in an underide 18-wheeler accident. In addition to being a decorated veteran, the decedent worked both professionally and on a voluntary basis to establish numerous learning institutions and vocational programs for at risk youths. The accident occurred as the decedent was traveling on a rural highway when an 18-wheeler failed to yield the right of way and made a rolling stop through a stop sign.
This placed the trailer of the 18-wheeler in a position whereby it blocked the entire roadway and shoulder, leaving the decedent no option but to collide with the trailer. Witnesses on the scene attempted to revive him but to no avail. Furthermore, while two female eye witnesses struggled to pry open the decedent's door to provide emergency care, the truck driver stayed in his truck and offered no assistance. Despite what appeared to be an incredibly apparent case of negligence on behalf of the defendant, defense counsel refused to accept liability resulting in rather lengthy litigation.
The defendants initially denied the claim based on the allegation that the decedent was speeding and the truck driver therefore could not adequately gauge the amount of time he had to pause at the stop sign. The physical evidence contradicted this notion entirely, notwithstanding the fact that even if the decedent had been contributorily negligent, that would not have outweighed the severe degree of negligence on the part of the defendant. Nevertheless, our attorneys were able to conclusively refute this argument based on eye-witness testimony and the testimony from police investigators who calculated the decedent's speed to be precisely at the posted speed limit. In a desperate and largely unprecedented move, the defendants then designated the state as a responsible third party.
Generally speaking, a defendant will often threaten to designate a third party in order to leverage their position but it is rare that such an arbitrary and arguably frivolous designation is actually carried out. However, that is precisely what occurred and the state was thusly incorporated into the lawsuit by the defendants. The basis of the defendant's argument was that the state erected a large street sign that obstructed the truck driver's view of approaching traffic.
Several months of intense litigation were required to before the defendant finally acquiesced in regard to this argument. The argument was finally abandoned by the defendants when in the first mediation our attorneys presented video footage shot (in a controlled setting) from the perspective of an 18-wheeler driver which showed that the sign simply did not obstruct enough of the roadway in order to be a hazard. The case was ultimately resolved through litigation.
Confidential
Confidential
Confidential
(policy limits) Our firm was hired to pursue an intoxicated driver who killed an elderly school crossing guard. The fatal accident occurred as the decedent was escorting a woman and her child across the roadway through a crosswalk. The defendant then sped through the school zone, in an intoxicated a state, and struck the decedent who died on the scene.
The family hired our firm to investigate and pursue the defendant under a wrongful death cause of action. Following our investigation and preliminary vehicle inspection, our attorneys issued a Stowers' demand to the defendants. A significant factor in resolving this claim is that merely days before we submitted our demand to the defendant' insurance carrier, we won a large case against the very same insurance carrier, which was one of several such victories secured against the carrier in our firm's history. Our threats of litigation were therefore heeded and the defendants offered policy limits to settle the claim without the need to file suit.
Confidential
Confidential
Confidential
Facility sued for negligent contribution to the death of an innocent bystander. A fatal shooting occurred on the property after the facility failed to appropriately respond to outbursts of violence & gang activity. Following the young man's death, his parents hired our firm to pursue the facility for their negligent actions including failure to provide adequate security. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
Confidential
Confidential
Confidential
The family of a deceased woman hired our firm following a fatal 18-wheeler accident. The fatal accident occurred as the driver of an 18-wheeler lost control of his vehicle and veered out of his lane, resulting in a massive collision. The decedent, a passenger in a vehicle, died on the scene.
Her adult children consulted our firm to initially investigate the accident and make sense of the facts and circumstances since the family felt that the police report did not make it clear enough precisely what occurred. We launched a full investigation an immediately deposed the investigating officers.
Upon the completion of our investigation, it was apparent that the trucking company was indeed negligent and a lawsuit was soon filed. The defendant's launched an aggressive defense whereby they initially claimed that the truck driver was overcome by his passenger who allegedly grabbed the steering wheel and deliberately drove the truck off the road, despite the truck driver's best efforts.
We refuted this claim by illustrating that the tire marks that were present clearly show the truck gradually moving across the road and eventually onto the grass, which is entirely inconsistent with an abrupt lane change caused by someone taking control of the wheel. It was quite an unusual defense strategy that we were frankly surprised to even find ourselves having to refute.
The defendants then argued that a tire blowout may have contributed to the accident, which is significant because it would enable the defendant to offset some portion of their liability to a tire manufacturer or installer. Through deposition testimony of the investigating officer we established that there was absolutely no indication at the scene of the accident that a tire had blown out.
Finally, the defendants argued that the company which loaded the trailer may have improperly loaded the cargo. This argument was most plausible considering that the precise cause of the decedent's death was that she was essentially pummeled by cargo that broke through trailer and struck her person.
Our firm consulted several experts in the fields of heavy cargo transportation and physics. Our experts felt that the cargo was secured in a manner that is perfectly consistent with industry standards and that due to the forces involved, the cargo would not have behaved any differently irrespective of how it was secured. In short, the collision caused the cargo to break free and the negligence lay squarely on the trucking company and not any other entity. The case was successfully resolved through litigation.
$2,000,000.00
$775,000.00
$25,000.00
Recovery for family of victim who died after receiving the wrong medication.
$625,000.00
$206,250.00
$5,000.00
Our attorneys were hired to investigate a fatal motor vehicle accident involving an 18-wheeler that claimed the lives of several men, the family of one in particular which our firm represented, felt that the official version of events as outlined in the police report was not an accurate portrayal of the facts and circumstances of the collision.
Our firm launched an investigation, the findings of which served as the basis for a subsequent lawsuit. We were able to determine that the defendant's accusations of contributory negligence on behalf of he driver of the vehicle did appear to be valid and plaintiffs conceded as much. However, the plaintiffs were adamant that the contributory negligence did not entirely overshadow the negligence on behalf of the defendant truck driver.
Through physical evidence and an admission of liability that our attorneys were able to importune from the defendant under oath, we were able to show that the defendant had indeed pulled into the path of the decedent's vehicle, which was of consequence irrespective of the decedent's own contributory negligence, and that icontact.com
$250,000.00
$82,500.00
$10,000.00
A young handicapped woman lost her life when a long-term care facility failed to provide her with treatment for obvious symptoms of severe illness. The defendants maintained that there were no outwardly visible signs of illness. The medical evidence showed otherwise. The case was successfully resolved through litigation, though damages caps imposed by tort reform were a factor.
$400,000.00
$132,000.00
$25,000.00