An aviation accident can be devastating for victims. Understanding your rights and pursuing compensation is an important part of recovery.
All aviation accidents are subject to a thorough investigation. This helps to prevent mechanical failures and human factors issues from recurring. For more details, check out Kevin A. Adamson, P.C.
Seek Medical Attention
The first and most important consideration after an aviation accident is the health of the passengers. Prompt medical care will allow doctors to conduct thorough examinations, determine the extent of injuries, and recommend the proper course of treatment. Delayed medical attention may raise questions in the mind of insurance companies and legal counsel about the seriousness of your injuries or the causal relationship between your accident and your current medical conditions.
Even if you do not feel injured, it is crucial to see a doctor. Many hidden injuries are not immediately apparent, and a medical professional will be able to conduct tests and identify any potential complications that may arise in the future. Seeking immediate medical attention will also help you document your injuries and preserve evidence that could be used in a legal case to establish liability.
While it may seem counterintuitive to seek medical attention after an aircraft accident, seeking emergency services is vital for both your health and the success of a legal claim. An experienced attorney will understand the importance of documenting your injuries and will advise you accordingly. In addition to providing prompt medical care, an attorney will also help you file any required insurance reports and preserve important physical evidence.
The attorneys at Wilson Kehoe Winingham have a deep understanding of aviation law and how it applies to the types of incidents that occur during flights. Whether you are injured in a commercial airline accident or one involving private or charter flights, our lawyers can help you obtain the compensation that you deserve.
Aircraft accident law is very different from other types of personal injury claims, in that commercial airlines are considered “common carriers” and must abide by strict FAA regulations. Understanding the complex rules and regulations that govern this area of the law is essential for pursuing an aviation accident claim against a common carrier.
An aviation accident is any occurrence associated with the operation of an airplane, from the time that a person boards an aircraft with the intention to fly to the moment they deplane. This includes not only crashes but also incidents that result in serious injury or death, or the destruction or loss of the aircraft.
Contact Emergency Services
Aircraft accidents happen, and they can have a major impact on your life. However, by taking the right precautions and knowing how to handle an emergency situation, you can greatly minimize the damage caused by a plane crash or other aviation accident. The key is to act in a timely manner and remain calm at all times, no matter how severe the situation might be.
When contacting emergency services, it’s important to provide as much information as possible. This allows the operators to better assess the situation and dispatch the appropriate response units in a timely manner. It’s also important to inform them of any potential dangers present, such as weapons or hazardous materials, in order to keep the responders safe and minimize any risk of injury or damage to others in the vicinity.
Once you’ve called emergency services, it’s important to stay on the line until instructed otherwise. The trained personnel on the other end of the line will be able to provide you with instructions that can help guide you through the situation until help arrives. Staying calm and cooperating with the operator can help ensure a positive outcome for the incident.
The EMS alerts were recorded for hospitalized patients or their visitors as well as for hospital employees. In terms of the type of speciality, the majority of calls were related to internal medicine wards (12%), followed by ophthalmology outpatient clinics (10%). Calls were also categorized by day (weekday) and month, with no statistically significant differences (p = 0.191 and p = 0.383, respectively). The background characteristics of the callers included whether they were male or female, age, educational level and employment status. Each victim was considered only once in the study, even if they were the reason for more than one 112 call. Each emergency call was recorded as either a ‘warning’ or a ‘critical care event’.
Get Out of the Plane
An aviation accident can cause serious injuries. If you or a loved one suffers from such an incident, there are steps to take immediately to protect your legal rights. The first step is to call a personal injury attorney. These attorneys have a wealth of experience helping clients get the justice they deserve. The lawyer will discuss the specifics of your case and determine if the responsible parties are liable for your damages.
A good aviation accident attorney will also help you understand the difference between an accident and an incident. The distinction is important because accidents and incidents are reportable to the NTSB, while non-serious incidents are not. An accident is any occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft that results in death or significant injury, and substantial damage to the aircraft. An incident is any other occurrence not involving the above conditions.
For example, if you bump your wingtip into the fence while parking or brush your aircraft against another on the tarmac while taxiing, these are not considered an accident. However, if you have a gear-up landing or propeller strikes the ground, these are reportable.
An accident may be due to factors such as weather phenomena, operations outside the approved flight envelope or equipment failures. In some cases, the underlying reason for an accident may be multiple failures within redundancy systems.
NTSB investigators do not launch to the scene of every aviation accident and conduct an in-depth investigation for many accidents with known circumstances. However, the NTSB will classify each accident to determine its level of seriousness and scope.
If the accident is classified as a Class 1 or 2, the NTSB will likely assign a large team to investigate the occurrence and identify safety issues. The team will likely travel to the site of the accident and spend considerable time there, and may also conduct follow-up activities.
An airman should carefully analyze whether an incident or accident is reportable to the NTSB before reporting it. This analysis can save him or her the hassle of investigating a situation that is not required to be reported. For more information on this topic, see Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 830, Sections 830.2 and 830.5.
Stay Put
Airplanes are much safer today than in the past, but no one should take flying for granted. Every time you get on a plane, you hand your fate over to people who are qualified and follow the rules of the industry. That’s why our country’s aviation system is so heavily regulated. Even so, there’s always a chance that you or someone you love could suffer injuries during a flight. That’s why the airplane accident lawyers at Wilson Kehoe Winingham are here to help you through any legal action that may need to be taken.
Injuries caused by an aviation accident can be devastating for anyone involved. They might lose their job and career, have to go through rehabilitation or physical therapy and struggle to pay bills. In addition, they might have to deal with a loss of quality of life due to emotional distress. The compensation that an attorney can help you secure might include lost wages, medical expenses and the cost of any physical therapy, funeral costs and other related fees.
If an accident occurs, it’s important to stay put until search and rescue crews can reach you. Post-impact fire occurs in roughly a quarter of general aviation accidents, so staying away from what’s left of the plane is a good idea. You can use your whistle, lights or signal flares to hail search and rescue if you need to. Spreading high-contrast material on the ground can also help.
When an aircraft accident occurs, the NTSB must be notified. The agency’s official notification form, NTSB Form 6120.1, is available for download and can be filled out electronically or manually. It requires information such as the type of aircraft, its registration marks, and the date, time, location, number of people aboard and any other relevant details.
Companies should not speak about an investigation while it is ongoing, but they can release factual information. The NTSB allows — and encourages — airlines to release the purpose of a trip, departure/destination dates and locations, and company names. The airline is allowed to provide the make, model, age and ownership of the aircraft.