In July, aviation lawyers Terry O’Reilly and James P. Collins were billing their firm, O’Reilly & Collins, as “the premier trial law firm in Northern California.” They claimed the firm had the financial resources to take on any fight, and that it was “one of the most successful plaintiff’s trial law firms in the
Mobile Jury Sides With Continental Motors In Engine Failure Case
Bonanza N7472N crashed in December 2008 after its engine failed in flight. The engine failed because the crankshaft broke. The 25 year-old pilot was killed in the forced landing attempt. The pilot’s widow sued Continental Motors, alleging that the crankshaft, which was only 58 hours old, was defective. This week, the jury sided with Continental.
The plaintiff brought
Minnesota Supreme Court Rules That Cirrus Not Liable for Failure To Train
The Minnesota Supreme Court has now spoken, bringing to an end the litigation against Cirrus for its alleged failure to train pilot Gary Prokop.
Prokop flew his new Cirrus SR22 into conditions of poor visibility and crashed, killing himself and his passenger. The passenger’s family sued Cirrus, as will as Prokop’s estate, claiming that Cirrus
Cessna Caravan Trial Begins 10 Years After Crash
More than 30 Cessna 208 and 208B Caravans have crashed when their wings iced up in flight. Victims’ families have filed many product defect lawsuits against Cessna, claiming that Cessna concealed from the pilots defects in the aircraft’s deicing system. Silvey v. Cessna is the first case to reach trial. At least the first that I
Helicopter Crash Leads to $10 Million Jury Verdict
Power lines can be virtually invisible from the air. The trick to avoiding them is, paradoxically, not to try to find them. Instead, the pilot should look for the towers from which they are strung. Once the pilot has the towers in sight, he should choose one and fly directly over it, rather tha
n between them.
First Settlement in Bleed Air Fume Event Case
The air in an airliner’s cabin has been compressed by the aircraft’s engines. Most of the time, the air is safe to breathe. But if a leaky seal in the engine allows the air to first mix with heated engine oil, the cabin air can be contaminated with toxic fumes.
When a cabin fills with toxic chemicals from an
Prokop v. Cirrus Heads to Minnesota Supreme Court
A pilot crashed his new Cirrus, killing himself and his passenger. According to the families, Cirrus didn’t train the pilot on the use of the plane’s autopilot when he showed up at the factory to pick up his new aircraft, and that contributed to the crash. The details are here.
The jury agreed with the
Helicopter Crash Lawyers Bribe Judge, Settle Case, Get Sued
EMS helicopter crash cases aren’t easy. A lawyer representing a victim’s family ought to have experience in helicopter crash cases. If he doesn’t, he should bring into the case a lawyer who does. What he should not do, obviously, is make up for lack of experience by bribing the judge.
It’s shocking to think that a lawyer
Lidle Judge Keeps Evidence Out; Jury Rules for Cirrus
The lawyer representing Lidle’s widow told the Associated Press that today’s verdict for Cirrus was a foregone conclusion once the judge decided to keep out certain key evidence.
. . .the jury result was predictable because the judge refused to allow jurors to hear that the company revised its manufacturing process after the crash to
Surprise Witness at Lidle Trial
Cirrus says Cory Lidle crashed because he was inexperienced, not because his controls locked up. But a surprise witness testified that Lidle had flown the East River Corridor successfully four times in the two months before the crash. According to a NY Daily News account, the witness related that Lidle talked with her about his