Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog

In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act. A key component of this law was to prevent attorneys from contacting members of a victim’s family for at least forty-five (45) days after an airline crash. After a crash involving serious injuries or deaths, families need to be left alone to tend to family matters. They do not need to be besieged by attorneys seeking to profit upon their misfortunes. In recognition of the fact that oftentimes members of the Bar fail to adhere to the high standards of professionalism we would hope would be adhered to without this law, Congress passed this law to protect victims of these tragedies.

We read last week that a Detroit lawyer has been ordered to pay $5,000.00 to settle a Complaint against him filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Michigan concerning a violation of this Act. Allegedly, the lawyer sent a solicitation lawyer from his Detroit office directly to a victim’s family within twelve (12) days of a tragic crash. The case apparently was investigated by the Inspector General’s Office for the United States Department of Transportation and resulted in the civil fine imposed on the attorney.

Unfortunately, lawyers oftentimes approach victims in hospitals right after tragedies and in other contexts where it is inappropriate to do so. Yes, clients need to be advised of their rights and yes, clients need legal advice when dealing with tragedies affecting their loved ones. But, clients do not need to be solicited directly by attorneys when they are grieving or dealing with the results of a tragic event. Clients should reach out to attorneys when they are ready to do so and they should not be besieged and bombarded by those seeking to profit from their misfortune.

Our U.S. law firm celebrates Canada's Thanksgiving Day in October for a reason. When some Canadian citizens suffered tragic injuries and deaths in a tractor-trailer accident in Georgia some years ago, a Canadian lawyer contacted me to represent his parents, who had lost a son in this horrific truck wreck.

That role of helping Canadian families with their legal needs grew, as another Canadian family (through their Canadian lawyer) contacted me for the same reason.

I spent a Canadian Thanksgiving visiting the surviving parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and in-laws of one of the most delightful human beings whom I never had the pleasure of meeting, but whom I came to know through representing his family through this tragedy. Their "real" Thanksgiving was delayed until we successfully resolved their case.

Later, in visiting the homes of other Canadian clients, I developed more of these bittersweet relationships with very fine people who live north of our U.S. border. We are now lifelong friends.

Recently, in visiting with our Canadian consul and his wife in Atlanta (terrific people who are neighbors of ours), I recounted some of the stories of these wonderful families. He requested our firm's contact information and said he was glad to know that our law firm is available to help Canadian families dealing with personal injuries or deaths in the U.S.

We have a great appreciation for our clients from Canada, and look forward to helping other Canadian families.

Last week we told the story of a recurring tragedy--a preventable aviation accident that took the lives of all on board--in a wrongful death lawsuit we filed last week.

The story of this airplane crash is yet another disturbing example of how lives are lost when basic safety--and common sense--are disregarded.

The pilot ignored clear warnings of dangerous weather, and proceeded into conditions that he and his aircraft were not capable of handling. Experienced pilots have a term--"get-there-itis"--for foolishly disregarding dangers and plowing ahead.

The aircraft crash was unforgiving, and all on board died. As aviation crash experts weigh in on all of the preventable errors made by this pilot, the family members wonder why this preventable accident had to occur.

The fact is that this preventable plane crash did not have to occur. We know that public safety depends on learning from past tragedies like this one, so that future ones can be prevented. We are committed to that result here.

Yesterday, the National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB, requested that the Federal Aviation Administration increase inspections of certain Pratt & Whitney engines on dozens of passenger jets to detect possible flaws linked to the most catastrophic type of failure. The NTSB asked that the FAA require that PW2037 engines undergo recurring inspections for the time being once they reach a certain point in their operation.

The request affects more than 700 engines on some 300 Boeing Co 757 aircraft worldwide, including at least several dozen operated by U.S. airlines. These include Delta Air Lines Inc, United Airlines, a unit of UAL Corp, Northwest Airlines Co, and American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp.

The NTSB action was prompted by a failure of an engine in a Delta flight during takeoff on August 6 in Las Vegas. The takeoff was aborted safely and there was no fire or injuries among the 166 passengers and crew.

The specific failure, called an uncontained failure, occurs when the engine gives out and parts are ejected through a protective covering. The parts blown through the engine can penetrate the fuselage, with catastrophic results.

In the Delta case, investigators found holes in the engine cover as well as damage to the engine turbine. The investigation also revealed missing parts and cracked turbine blades. The safety board said it has since learned of cracked parts in other PW2037 engines.

Para representar a las familias de las personas que perdieron la vida en el accidente aereo Spanair JK5022, nuestro bufete juridico esta trabajando con abogados especializados en casos de Litigacion Internacional de choques aereos, ya estan invesigando esta tragedia. Si perdimos familiars en este accidente, estos serian los abogados elegidos para representar a nuestras familias.

Para una consulta gratis, favor de enviar su correo electronico precionando aqui (haga clic aqui).

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Spanair Flight JK5022: To assist the families of persons who died in the airplane crash of Spanair Flight JK5022, our firm is working with some of the most experienced attorneys in International Air Crash Litigation, who are already investigating this tragedy. If we lost family members in a crash, these are the attorneys we would choose to represent our families.

Please contact us for a free consultation with these experienced attorneys in International Air Crash Litigation.