We appreciate that it is always a time of deep pain and grief for the families of those who perish following an aviation disaster. You may have questions as to why the accident occurred, what the duties and responsibilities of the airline and the aircraft manufacturer might be, and the precise nature and extent of your legal rights.

Lieff Cabraser has extensive experience successfully litigating aviation disaster cases on behalf of victims and their families, including in the Gol Airlines Flight 1907 Amazon Crash of 2006. On September 29, 2006, a brand-new Boeing 737-800 operated by Brazilian air carrier Gol plunged into the Amazon jungle after colliding with a smaller plane owned by the American company ExcelAire Service, Inc. None of the 149 passengers and six crew members on board the Gol flight survived the accident. Lieff Cabraser served as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel in the ensuing litigation and represented over twenty families whose loved ones died in the Flight 1907 crash.

The complaint in the lawsuit charged that the pilots of the ExcelAire jet were flying at an incorrect altitude at the time of the collision, failed to operate the jet’s transponder and radio equipment properly, and failed to maintain communication with Brazilian air traffic control in violation of international civil aviation standards. If the pilots of the ExcelAire aircraft had followed these standards, the complaint charged that the collision would not have occurred.

At the time of the collision, the ExcelAire aircraft’s transponder, manufactured by Honeywell, was not functioning. (A transponder transmits a plane’s altitude and operates its automatic anti-collision system.) The complaint charged that Honeywell shared responsibility for the tragedy because it defectively designed the transponder on the ExcelAire jet, and failed to warn of dangers resulting from foreseeable uses of the transponder. After the cases were sent to Brazil for prosecution, all settled on terms favorable to the plaintiffs.

View a list of Lieff Cabraser’s successful aviation accident cases

Representing clients in aviation cases requires sensitivity and compassion as well as extensive knowledge and experience in the complex field of aviation law sufficient to determine the cause of aviation tragedies and obtain fair compensation for the victims or their families.

Read about how aviation accidents are investigated

With offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville, and relations with lawyers worldwide, Lieff Cabraser is uniquely positioned to answer your questions and represent your interests.

Our attorneys are committed to upholding the rights of aviation disaster victims and promoting aviation safety. We invest the resources necessary to succeed in every case we accept, and to providing the very best representation and support possible for our clients. We regularly communicate with our clients and work closely with them throughout the litigation process. Our attorneys work as a team, drawing upon their combined knowledge, training, and skills to provide our clients with decades of experience in the field of aviation law.

With each case we take on, we seek not only to represent our clients, but also to bring about change in the aviation industry. Airlines, airports, airplane manufacturers, and governmental agencies have the duty to protect the safety and security of passengers. We are committed to representing the interests of victims in aviation disasters and to ensuring that passenger safety and security is the aviation industry’s number one priority.

Our aviation attorneys have over forty years of experience successfully litigating aircraft accident cases. We represent passengers and persons on the ground injured in aircraft accidents, and the families of loved ones who perished.

We have affiliations with internationally-renowned aviation safety, airport design and operations, and disaster reconstruction experts to assist in the investigation of cases and provide expert analysis of aviation incidents. Our attorneys have repeatedly secured substantial recoveries for victims of aviation disasters and their families.

Our firm’s award-winning legal skills, along with our ability to advance the costs in our clients’ cases, enable us to take on the most powerful corporations in the world and the large defense firms that represent them. We have successfully litigated against many of the world’s largest commercial airlines and aircraft manufacturers, including Boeing and Airbus.

The Chair of Lieff Cabraser’s Personal Injury/Mass Tort practice group, Lexi J. Hazam represents clients in mass tort cases and environmental class actions, including aviation disasters and crashes. Lexi has obtained significant recoveries for victims of airline disasters and their families for over 15 years. She has served as Co-Lead Counsel for plaintiffs in several multidistrict litigation matters as well as multiple mass tort cases, including in mass disaster cases, and was instrumental in securing justice for the families who lost loved ones in the 2006 Gol mid-air collision over the Amazon jungle.

A rare two-time winner of the Daily Journal’s California Attorney of the Year award, Lieff Cabraser partner Robert J. Nelson has played a leading role in the firm’s aviation, environmental, mass tort, and tobacco cases, among many others, taking on many of the world’s largest corporations and successfully holding them accountable. He has served as court-appointed lead or co-lead counsel in numerous state and federal coordinated proceedings, as well as in close to 40 class actions.

Fabrice Vincent is a tireless and principled advocate for the injured and the families of loved ones who died in personal injury and wrongful death cases. Fabrice’s cases include aviation accidents, various California fire cases, JUUL vaping injury claims, baby formula injury and death claims, hair relaxer cancer claims, auto and recreational vehicle accidents, and faulty medical devices.

Resources

Lieff Cabraser’s Aviation Experience

Read How Aviation Accidents Are Investigated