According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the agency responsible for investigating and determining the cause of airplane accidents, pilot error and aircraft malfunction are the primarily causes of airplane crashes. Other factors contributing to disasters involving planes going down include bad decisions taken by air traffic safety controllers, defective equipment, defects in the structure or maintenance of the aircraft, and violation of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and/or NTSB regulations.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association reports that there are approximately 29,000 commercial flights in the skies of the United States at any given moment. Though accidents with commercial airliners do not occur often, whenever a mass commercial plane disaster occurs, it results in substantial loss of human life and catastrophic injuries. Commercial airliners, otherwise known as common carriers, are those willing to carry any and all paying passengers. Under Florida law, common carriers are required to exhibit the highest degree of care with the practical operation of the plane, its equipment, maintenance, and adjustment of all its parts. Common carriers have a duty to ensure the safety of its passengers while boarding, traveling, and deplaning, and they cannot entrust this duty to anyone else.

Regardless of whether the crash was caused by the failure of aviation equipment, or as a result of human error, the consequences are tragic. Whether the crash involves a privately owned airplane, a common carrier, or even a helicopter, liability, or legal responsibility, could be placed on the owners, manufacturers, or operators of the aircraft. It is also crucial to learn if the aviation disaster could have been avoided by a better design of the aircraft, proper maintenance or compliance with FAA and NTSB regulations.

Victims of an airplane crash, and their loved ones, may be able to file a lawsuit to recover lost wages, costs of medical bills and compensation for their serious injuries, as well as for the wrongful death of a loved one. While the NTSB performs its investigation, victims of airplane crashes can count on the skills, resources, protection and experience of the attorneys at Lesser Lesser Landy & Smith. Please feel free to contact our office if you have any questions regarding your rights in these circumstances.

Reality, of course, is much different from television drama.  Many civil disputes are resolved before a lawsuit is even filed.  Of those that are filed, well over 9 out of 10 are settled without the client ever setting foot in the courthouse.  Florida has a very strong pre-trial mediation program.  This program is mandatory, and no case can go to trial in Florida without first going through the mediation process.  Trained mediators help the parties try to reach a compromise they can live with.  We have had great success in resolving cases through pre-trial mediation.

Of course, not every case settles before trial.  We have found that, after getting over the initial butterflies, our clients almost universally agree that the process is not as bad as they expected.  Palm Beach County is blessed with the finest judiciary in the State of Florida.  Our Judges do not allow the sort of behavior seen on television dramas, and the experience is simply not as nerve-wracking as TV would suggest.

Our lawyers have a vast amount of trial experience. Insurance companies and defense lawyers know this.

Our abilities in the courtroom allow us to resolve most of our cases before trial.  While it might be natural to have feelings against “going to court,” that should never be a reason for not pursuing a valid claim.