Call Us Today Aircraft of all sizes and workloads have minor mishaps that merely damage an aircraft and major crashes that prove fatal to pilots, passengers, and people on the ground.
A wide variety of factors can contribute to aviation accidents, many of which could have been avoided through the exercise of care by a pilot, mechanic, or other aviation industry professional.
When aircraft and aviation accidents cause injuries and fatalities, victims and their families need legal counsel who knows how to obtain the compensation they deserve.
To learn more about how Viles & Beckman can help after an aviation accident harms you or your family, contact a Fort Myers personal injury lawyer today.
Causes of Aviation Accidents
According to PlaneCrashInfo.com, an aviation accident watchdog, 49% of aviation accidents between the 1950s and 2019 resulted from pilot error. The second most common cause, at 23% of all accidents over the past 70 years, was mechanical failure. Weather played a part in 10% of the accidents, and sabotage played a part in 8%. The remaining 10% were due to various other causes.
Pilot Error
Pilot error covers a wide range of potential mistakes by the persons in an aircraft’s cockpit. Among other mistakes known to have occurred in aviation accidents, pilot errors include:
- Improper procedure
- Flying VFR into IFR conditions
- Controlled flight into terrain
- Descending below a minimal altitude
- Spatial disorientation
- Premature descent
- Excessive landing speed
- Missed runway
- Fuel starvation
- Navigation error
- Missed a runway on takeoff or landing
- Midair collisions caused by the primary pilot.
A determination that pilot error caused an aviation accident typically results from a thorough investigation by the NTSB, often with input from other aviation authorities.
Mechanical Issues
Modern aircraft, even small planes operating in general aviation, are highly complex machines. Proper maintenance of aircraft requires great skill and extreme diligence. At 25,000 feet, even a small mechanical issue can spell catastrophe.
- Engine failure
- Equipment failure
- Structural failure
- Design flaws
Weather
At times, weather conditions may cause a plane to crash. While airlines do not fly in the worst weather, sometimes a bad storm can sneak up on an aircraft. If the weather is determined to be too dangerous, most aircraft turn around or try to fly over, under, or around the storm.
Weather incidents may include:
- Severe turbulence
- Windsheer
- Mountain wave
- Heavy rain
- Thunderstorms
- Poor visibility
- Severe winds
- Lightning strikes
- Icing
Sabotage
Unfortunately, aircraft do have incidents of sabotage, including:
- Hijacking
- Being shot down
- Pilot suicide
- An explosive device onboard
Other Types of Accident Causes
The FAA categorizes some accidents under” “Other.” These may include:
- Air Traffic Control error
- Ground crew error
- The plane is overloaded
- The cargo is not loaded properly
- Bird strikes
- Contaminated fuel
- The pilot is incapacitated
- An obstruction on the runway
- A crash caused by another aircraft
- Fire or smoke in the cabin, cockpit, or cargo hold
- A maintenance error
You may be entitled to compensation for any type of aircraft accident or if you lost a loved one in a plane crash in Fort Myers. You will have to bring the lawsuit against the proper parties or risk getting your case dismissed. If your plane wrecked because of a pilot error, you might bring the suit against the pilot, the airport, and the airline itself.
But if a defective part caused the crash, you might bring a suit against the manufacturer, the airline, or the ground crew, depending on the part, the defect, and whether the defect should have been seen before takeoff.
Expect More, Receive More: Legal Support That Feels Like Family
Injuries in a Fort Myers Plane Crash
Because of the nature of a plane crash, the injuries are usually catastrophic. However, people have escaped with minor scrapes, cuts, and bruises. Injuries may include:
- Cuts, scrapes, scratches, bruises, and abrasions: These may heal quickly unless you have an underlying condition that delays healing, such as a weakened immune system or diabetes.
- Sprains, strains, pulled or torn muscles, and other soft–tissue injuries: Soft-tissue injuries usually heal in a matter of weeks, though some, like torn muscles, may require surgery and months of physical therapy.
- Fractures: You could get several types of fractures. Some may require surgery, and some may not, depending on the type and complexity. If you do require surgery, the open wound also has a chance of getting infected, which could take the wound longer to heal.
- Compound fractures: A compound fracture breaks the skin and almost always requires surgery to repair. Because the broken bone and the surgery leave an open wound, the site could become infected, causing the wound to heal slowly.
- Damage to your eyes: Eye damage could range from getting foreign substances in your eyes, including leaking fuel and other chemicals, to damage to the tissues and muscles that make up the eye.
- Dental damage: If you hit your face when you crash or you do something as minor as clench your teeth when you stress up before the crash, the impact could cause dental damage.
- Head and brain injuries: Head and brain injuries are usually catastrophic. Even what seems to be a minor concussion could cause issues now and later in life. Concussions have been linked to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
- Neck, shoulder, spine, and back injuries: Spine and neck injuries, and sometimes shoulder and back injuries, could lead to catastrophic complications, including paralysis and chronic pain. The secondary injuries may take weeks or months to heal or could be long-term or even permanent.
- Amputations: Aircraft contain a lot of metal, hard plastics, and other materials that could cut you. Amputations could happen at the accident or later because the damage is too severe to repair.
- Wrongful Death: In the event of a fatal accident, surviving family members face emotional and financial burdens, including determining what damages can be pursued in a wrongful death case. Additionally, they may encounter medical and funeral expenses, adding to the long-term impact on their quality of life.
- Psychological issues: An aircraft accident could trigger the onset of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or other issues for many reasons, including losing a loved one, learning your injuries are long-term or permanent, or even just because you relive the terror of the crash when you see, hear or smell something that reminds you of the crash.
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What Your Fort Myers Aviation Accident Claim May Be Worth
Three types of damages are available for accident victims: special, general, and punitive damages. Special damages, sometimes called economic damages, have specific costs attached. General damages, sometimes called non-economic damages, do not have a specific cost.
Special or Economic Damages
Special damages may include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Future medical expenses
- Future lost wages
- Burial and funeral expenses
- The repair or replacement of personal property
Future medical expenses, including physical and psychological therapy and lost wages, technically do not have an amount attached to them because the amount is unknown. If your injuries are long-term or expected to be permanent, you may be entitled to future medical expenses and lost wages.
The responsible party’s insurer, your own insurance, and aviation accident lawyers in Fort Myers estimate how long your injuries may last. If you have conditions that could affect recovery, inform your aviation attorney so they can factor this into any compensation for future medical costs and lost wages.
General or Non-Economic Damages
General damages may include:
- Pain and suffering: Encompasses physical pain and emotional distress, as well as any therapy you may need for either type of pain.
- Loss of companionship: If you are not able to take part in family events you would normally attend, such as hiking, camping, going to your children’s extracurricular activities, or even going to a movie.
- Loss of consortium: If you are no longer able to have a physical relationship with your spouse.
- Loss of use of a limb: If you lose a limb in the accident or have to have a limb amputated because of a catastrophic injury or because of infection/gangrene to an open wound you received in the accident.
- Inconvenience: If you are not able to do household chores that you would normally do and have to pay someone to do the chores for you. Chores may include mowing the lawn, cleaning the pool, general home maintenance, cooking, cleaning, and other chores.
Generally, non-economic damages are only awarded if your injuries are expected to be long-term or permanent. If your spouse was killed in an aviation accident in Fort Myers, you may be entitled to economic damages in addition to several types of non-economic damages.
Punitive Damages
If the airline, pilot, ground crew, air traffic controllers, or other airline employees are found to be grossly negligent, you may be entitled to punitive damages. This type of award is granted as a punishment for actions or inactions that were either intended to cause harm or were extremely negligent.
For example, if the crew inspecting the plane before takeoff spotted a safety concern but didn’t correct it, there may be an issue. This could be especially true if a supervisor instructed them to ignore the problem. If at least one person involved knew that the issue could potentially cause a crash, you may be entitled to punitive damage.
Click To ContactAbout Viles & Beckman
Viles & Beckman help people recover compensation and obtain justice when someone else’s careless or reckless behavior harms them. Since 1995, our firm has helped victims of personal injury and tragedy recover over $100 million from negligent drivers, careless boaters, unscrupulous businesspeople, and the insurance companies who cover them.
The team of lawyers and legal professionals at Viles & Beckman knows how to get results for our clients. When possible, we extract maximum settlements from defendants and their insurance companies through negotiation.
When necessary, we take our clients’ cases to court. Although we can never guarantee an outcome, our clients can rest assured that their personal injury claim is in aggressive, capable hands.
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Contact Viles & Beckman
If you’ve been injured in an aviation accident, you may be entitled to financial compensation. At Viles & Beckman, our Fort Myers aviation accident lawyer will ensure that the at–fault party is held accountable for your damages so that you can receive fair compensation.
Our aviation accident attorneys in Fort Myers have an extensive background in the accident claim process, so you can rest easy knowing your legal team is acting in your best interest. Contact us today for your initial consultation and your free and confidential case review.
Call or text (239) 334-3933 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
