Commercial and General Aviation Litigation

Pavalon, Gifford & Laatsch has a long history of representing Plaintiffs in cases arising out of commercial and general aviation crashes and other mishaps.

Pavalon, Gifford & Laatsch has successfully represented clients in crashes and mishaps of international, interstate and commuter flights.

The Firm's involvement representing families in commercial and general aviation crash cases and other mishaps began approximately forty years ago when one of the partners successfully represented family members who lost loved ones in the crash of Northwest Orient Flight #705 on February 12, 1963 in the Florida Everglades.

Thereafter, the members of the Firm have continuously and successfully represented parties who were injured and who suffered the loss of family members in airplane disasters. In 1965, the Firm successfully represented the widows of three Air Force officers who were crew members in a B-58 strategic bomber which crashed on a practice bombing run over Kentucky. The suit was brought against General Dynamics, the company which had just completed a major overhaul of the aircraft, as well as other companies who manufactured specific components which contributed to the crash.

Another case of interest was that of the Estate of Barbara Heagy against the regional commuter airline, Air Illinois, arising out of the crash of its flight #710. The Film tried this case to verdict, achieving a judgment of $1.5 million which was, at the time, a record verdict for a married woman who died without surviving children. This verdict was affirmed on appeal in 1985 in an appellate decision upholding several evidentiary rulings of first impression.

A case which gained considerable public attention was that of the Estate of Richard Nardi v. American Airlines, involving a medical emergency suffered by a prominent businessman while on a flight from Acapulco, Mexico to Chicago on January 5. 1976. Allegations were made that the airline failed to properly attend to his medical emergency while the plane was stopped in Mexico City on a scheduled stop-over that was prolonged because of a mechanical problem The wrongful death case resulted in a verdict of $3 million, the liability of which was affirmed by the Illinois Appellate Court. The decision established the precedent of creating an exception to the $75,000 limit for damages arising out of injuries or death contained in the International treaty known as the "Warsaw Convention."

Recent representative cases include representing clients in the American Eagle crash of Flight #3379 on December 13, 1994 near Raleigh, North Carolina and representing family members of a decedent who was a passenger on ValuJet Airline Flight #592, which exploded and crashed over the Florida Everglades on May 11, 1996.

The Firm also successfully represented the widow and children of an American Airlines employee who was killed when his fuel truck was blown over by a jet blast from a Korean Air Lines 747 aircraft which was taxiing to a runway at O'Hare Field in Chicago.

The Firm most recently represented the family members of four young women killed in a mid-air crash of two private planes near Meigs Field in Chicago. Substantial monetary settlements were obtained during trial from the air traffic control operator and municipality.