You May Be Entitled to Compensation after an Airline Incident Including But Not Limited to a Plane Crash
Anytime a plane crashes, a widely publicized news story is generated. However, there are many other incidents or accidents involving aircrafts that are not so widely publicized. This includes but is not limited to aircraft accidents while loading, entering and exiting the aircraft, as well as in-flight aircraft accidents. Many incidents occur on aircraft that constitute a breach of aviation safety by putting passengers at risk for injury.
In general, the pilot of an aircraft is in command and responsible for the safety of the passengers and crews. The pilot in command is the authority or “sentry” to provide a means of safety for all individuals on board. This includes but is not limited to events that occur in a turbulent flying atmosphere, providing individuals with a safe path of entry and exit from bathrooms, permitting no dangerous conditions to exist on the aircraft, failing to discover and anticipate dangerous conditions, the need to observe, detect, and remedy possible hazardous conditions, the need to properly instruct passengers on the safety, use, and storage of materials and eliminating any hazardous conditions for passengers. The airline is also required to employ a sufficient number of flight attendants to insure the safe and proper maintenance and inspection of the aircraft, as well as to insure for the safety of the passengers.
It is not uncommon for injuries to occur during flight time and such injuries may be minor or severe and when passengers are injured during a commercial flight, the responsibility for those injuries usually falls on the airline or its employees. Airlines and air carriers are held to a high standard of care for their passengers. They are governed by the Federal Aviation Act which requires carriers to exercise a high standard of care. Although an airline is not an absolute insurer of passenger safety, it is responsible for even the slightest degree of negligence on the part of its employees. The airlines are required to do all that is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances to prevent injuries from happening and safety must be the paramount concern and obligation of the airlines on a daily basis.
Since airplanes travel at high speeds and high altitudes, engineers have built extensive safety features into the airplanes that make occurrences of crash unlikely. However, when an incident or accident takes place, we depend on the training of the crew and the safe inspection and maintenance of the safety devices including flotation devices, life vests, oxygen masks, exit lights, and instructions given to passengers. If you are injured in an airplane crash or less severe airplane accident, injuries can range from minor bumps and bruises to severe long lasting ailments that will require thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical procedures and rehabilitation. Covering these debts can be overwhelming and for many people even impossible.
If you are a victim of an airplane crash or airplane operating accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation to offset your expenses, as well as compensatory damages for pain and suffering. The experienced aircraft accident lawyers of Reiff & Bily are familiar with the investigation and prosecution of airplane disaster claims. For a free no obligation consultation, please do not hesitate to contact one of our attorneys at 1-800-421-9595 or online www.reiffandbily.com.
