Aviation Injury Law Summary - Introduction
Aviation law presents many complex and challenging issues for practitioners. Specialization in both the legal and technical aspects of aviation is critical.
We appreciate that the time after an airplane crash or other aviation disaster is one of deep pain and grieving for the spouses, children and families of the passengers and crew who died or were severely injured. As time passes, you will have questions about how and why the crash occurred, your legal rights, and the duties and legal responsibilities of the flight operator and manufacturer of the aircraft or helicopter, as well as other component manufacturers.
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is uniquely positioned to answer your questions and represent your interests. We have over thirty years of experience litigating airplane crash cases worldwide. We have relationships with the foremost experts in the field of aviation safety and disaster analysis.
Lieff Cabraser's innovative work helped establish the precedent that citizens of countries outside the United States could assert claims in American courts and obtain substantial recoveries against an American plane manufacturer based upon airplane accidents occurring abroad.
We are honored to represent our clients and committed to providing the very best representation. We are dedicated to obtaining the highest compensation under the law for our clients.
Our International Airplane Crash Lawsuits
In the 1990s, Lieff Cabraser represented the families of passengers who were on Aeroflot-Russian International Airlines Flight SU593 which crashed in Siberia in 1994. The plane was en route from Moscow to Hong Kong. All 70 people on board were killed. According to a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, the captain's two children entered the cockpit during the flight and were allowed to take turns flying the plane. The autopilot apparently was inadvertently turned off and the plane went into a fatal nosedive.
The aircraft had an extremely high crash rate, with over 300 pilots killed. Robert Lieff continued to prosecute these cases after the formation of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP. The lawsuits were settled with Lockheed on terms favorable to the plaintiffs.
In other landmark litigation, we served as Plaintiffs' Liaison Counsel on behalf of the passengers and families of passengers injured and killed in the United Airlines Boeing 747 cargo door catastrophe near Honolulu, Hawaii in 1989. Lieff Cabraser organized the prosecution of the case, which included claims brought against United Airlines and the Boeing Corporation. We developed a statistical system for settling the passengers' and families' damages claims with certain defendants, and coordinated individual wrongful death trials against the non-settling defendants.
In the 1990s, Lieff Cabraser represented the families of passengers who were on Aeroflot Russian International Airlines Flight SU593 which crashed in Siberia in 1994. The plane was en route from Moscow to Hong Kong. All 70 people on board were killed. According to a transcript of the cockpit voice recorder, the captain's two children entered the cockpit during the flight and were allowed to take turns flying the plane. The autopilot apparently was inadvertently turned off and the plane went into a fatal nosedive. There was no auditory warning system to alert the pilots that the autopilot system had been disengaged.
Lieff Cabraser, alongside European co-counsel, Martin-Chico & Associates, filed suit in France where Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, was headquartered. In the Aeroflot case, all the families Lieff Cabraser represented obtained substantial economic recoveries in a settlement of the action.
Partner Robert J. Nelson spearheaded this litigation. Mr. Nelson has been practicing law in California for almost two decades. He has served as lead counsel in numerous complex cases, including some of the largest class actions in the United States, and has years of experience trying cases in both federal and state court. From 2004 to 2006, Mr. Nelson has been recognized as one of the top attorneys in Northern California by Super Lawyers magazine.
Another attorney contributing their expertise to Lieff Cabraser's aviation practice is Elizabeth Cabraser, recognized as one of the top litigators in the United States and a leading authority on complex civil litigation.
Global Aviation Law Network
Our firm has ongoing relationships with leading injury and accident lawyers across the globe. In several of the cases mentioned above, our lawyers have worked closely with the law firm of Martin-Chico & Associates, one of Europe's leading aviation law firms with offices in France and Spain. For Canadian cases, we are associated with the Toronto, Ontario law firm of Rochon Genova, which represents plaintiffs in a wide range of civil cases.
In addition to our fifty-plus attorneys, we employ an impressive team of scientific and medical analysts, investigators, legal assistants and legal nurse consultants who have years of experience in aviation and personal injury lawsuits. We have also retained leading experts worldwide in the fields of accident and disaster reconstruction and aviation safety.
Current Airplane Disaster Lawsuits
Click here for a list of our current aviation cases.
Contact National Aviation Disaster Attorneys | Lieff Cabraser Lawyers
Please click here to confidentially contact an experienced aviation attorney at Lieff Cabraser regarding a case. Alternatively, you may call Lieff Cabraser toll-free at 1-800-541-7358 (or 1-415-956-1000 for international callers).
About Lieff Cabraser
Founded in 1972, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a sixty-plus attorney law firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. For the last seven years, the National Law Journal has recognized Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in America.
For our personal injury cases, we bring a team of experienced lawyers. Each client is assigned an individual lawyer. In addition, we have on staff multiple nurses, legal assistants, scientific analysts and case clerks to assist the attorneys. Learn more about our firm.