Aviation Accident Lawyer
Personal injury law divides aviation accidents into three areas: plane crashes involving commercial airlines; international air disaster fatalities; and non-commercial aviation accidents (i.e., personal airplane crashes).
Commercial plane crashes, where large jets crash and large numbers of people are severely hurt or killed, are the most heavily regulated under the law. For example, the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996 requires a commercial airline to assist families in traveling to any crash site.
International aviation accidents may or may not be governed by the state or federal law of the United States. A crash of any plane flying into O’Hare from Canada or elsewhere outside the U.S. borders will be controlled by any number of laws. For example, in 1929, the Warsaw Convention was entered into by the United States and several other nations. This limits the liability of commercial airlines for plane crashes involving international flights between the subject countries when they are due to unintentional error, but sets no limit on intentional acts. Therefore, courtroom fights often ensue in these crash cases on the issue of whether or not the cause of the crash was intentional or neglectful mistake.
Private plane crashes are aviation accidents that don’t involve commercial airlines; these are governed by general aviation law of both state and federal origin, including agency regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) and the National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”). Private planes that crash usually have claims filed in state court by plane crash victims and their families against any number of defendants, including the owner/ operator of aircraft; those maintaining the aircraft; those supplying components to the aircraft; and the plane’s manufacturer.
Regardless of the type of aviation accident or plane crash, the injury lawyers at Allen Law Group are experienced in pursuing aviation injuries and understand the complexities that accompany aviation and plan crash cases.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for damages as well as the right to justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland personal injury lawyers at Allen Law Group to schedule a free initial legal consultation.
Train and Railroad Accident Lawyer
Today, trains are not used very often for public transportation; instead they are critical to our country’s economy as a carrier of cargo. Present-day train accidents usually involve mechanical failures or maintenance problems along the track, which cause derailments that halt the train and endanger only the cargo delivery deadline.
Nevertheless, people still die in train accidents today. The Federal Road Administration estimates 1000 Americans die each year as a result of train accidents. Most of these fatalities involve accidents where a train collides with another train or with a motor vehicle.
As a “common carrier” under the law, railroads transport people or goods according to a specified schedule and have a corresponding legal duty to make sure that both safely reach their destination. Once a train crosses a state line, federal law also applies, requiring the railroad to also meet the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Act for common carriers.
Under common carrier law, carriers have a duty to warn of danger. They must warn bystanders of oncoming trains, for example. In most train – car fatalities, there have been inadequate warnings at the roadway/rail crossing. Unfortunately, most of these accidents of trains colliding with cars result in death.
Train crash claims involve volumes of applicable law and regulation, as well as costly evidence needs in the terms of gathering facts and expert testimony. For victims of train accidents and their families, it is very important to have the assistance of experienced injury attorneys with knowledge of railroad claims as soon as possible.
At the injury law firm of Allen Law Group, the accident attorneys are experienced in representing train wreck victims and their families. Trial attorney and firm principal, Kenneth J. Allen, served as class counsel in two train wrecks that, together, left 10 dead and 165 injured.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed due to the wrongful acts of another, then you may have a legal claim for damages as well as the right to justice against the wrongdoer and you are welcomed to contact the Indiana and Illinois personal injury lawyers at Allen Law Group to schedule a free initial legal consultation.
