Sunday, June 27th, 2010
With the increase in the number of vehicles on the roadways and the increasing need to get from one place to another in a hurry, helicopters have become a popular mode of transportation. A busy executive can get from one side of Los Angeles to the other in just minutes versus a two hour commute on the interstate. In addition, pleasure rides on helicopters have become a fun and unique way to see the coastline or the vineyards of Napa Valley in California. Unfortunately, with the increase in helicopter travel, has come an increase in helicopter accidents.
Helicopters are complex machines that can operate where no other type of aviation machine can. With the exception of super high tech military aircraft, helicopters are the only aircraft that can fly vertically. This makes them invaluable in the confines of a large city. Only a helicopter can take off and land off of the top of a high rise on downtown Los Angeles. Additionally, making room for a private helicopter pad on your property requires far less room than a private runway for even the smallest airplane. It is no wonder that we have seen an increase in helicopter travel. Sadly, when a helicopter crashes, the consequences can be tragic – even fatal.
Due to the complex nature of these incredible machines, they require an expert pilot to operate them and a regular maintenance schedule to find any potential mechanical issues that could lead to an accident. Statistics tell us that the accident rate for helicopter travel is as much as 30% higher than that for general aviation accidents. However, as in general aviation accidents, the most common cause of helicopter accidents is pilot or human error. Mechanical failure comes in as the second most common cause for helicopter accidents. Weather can play a more critical part in helicopter accidents than it does in general aviation accidents as helicopters are more susceptible to weather issues than a large airplane. Where a commercial jet may not be affected by strong winds, a helicopter can lose control fast resulting in an accident.
When a helicopter accident happens, the results can be life altering for the victims and their families. If you have been the victim of a California airplane accident, you may have legal options. Under the laws of the State of California, helicopter accidents are considered a type of personal injury and as such the victims may be entitled to compensation for their injuries. If the pilot, the manufacturer of the helicopter or the owner of the helicopter were at fault – in whole or in part – then you may have a valid California helicopter accident case. If someone was negligent and that negligence caused or contributed to the accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your hospital and medical bills, lost time from work, property damage and pain and suffering.
To find out whether you have a valid California helicopter accident case, contact California helicopter accident lawyer Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates at 1-800-300-0001 or visit him online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: accident, accident case, accident lawyer, accident rate, accident statistics, accidents, airplane, airplane accident, aviation accident, aviation accidents, expert pilot, general aviation, helicopter accidents, human error, mechanical failure, mechanical issues
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Monday, May 24th, 2010
While commercial aviation has become one of the safest modes of transportation, aviation accidents do still happen. Sadly, when they happen they often have catastrophic and tragic results as evidenced by the Air India crash last week. The crash was the worst aviation accident in the last decade for India.
According to news reports, the Air India Boeing 737 passenger jet departed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates without incident on its way to Mangalore, India. Neither the pilot nor the co-pilot reported any problems while en route to Mangalore and weather conditions were reported as good at the time. When attempting to land, however, in Mangalore, the plane overshot the runway at Mangalore International Airport causing the plane to hit a barrier wall and ultimately land in a valley. The crash killed 158 of the 166 people on board. Experts are currently searching for the “black box” that is found on all commercial jets to attempt to determine what went wrong that caused the plane to miss its landing and ultimately cause the crash that took 158 lives. Experts from the United States National Transportation Safety Board are expected to conduct an investigation of the crash.
Despite advances over the last few decades in aviation and safety, aviation accidents are still possible. Statistics tell us that almost half of all aviation accidents are the result of human error or mechanical failure. Human error can include pilot error or air traffic control error. While large jets such as the Boeing 737 do include many automated systems for flying the plane and monitoring the flight systems, responsibility for the safe departure and arrival of a plane is still highly dependent on the pilots and the air traffic control operators. While it may be weeks or months before we know what caused the crash of the Air India flight, we do know that 158 passengers lost their lives and another eight may suffer physical injuries and psychological trauma for the rest of their lives.
The Indian government has already announced that it will be paying the families of the deceased passengers what amounts to about $25,000 per victim pursuant to their regulations for accident victims. What would the families be entitled to here in the United States? If the accident had happened here, family members would be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit for the passengers that were killed or the survivors could file a personal injury lawsuit. Unlike other countries, the amount that the families or the victims are entitled to is no predetermined. Under either a wrongful death lawsuit or a personal injury lawsuit, you will be able to provide evidence of the damages that were suffered by you personally in the case of a personal injury lawsuit or evidence of the future support that you will not have to live without in the case of a wrongful death lawsuit. The ultimate value of your lawsuit will be determined through negotiations with the responsible party – in this case the airline – or through a jury trial wherein the jury will determine the amount of damages that you are entitled to.
If you have been the victim of an aviation accident or have lost a family member as a result of an aviation accident, please call California aviation attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates for more information on your legal options. He may be reached at 1-800-300-0001.
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Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Regardless of what statistic you choose to follow with regard to your chance of being involved in a plane crash, the bottom line is that planes do crash on a regularly basis. Whether they are small commuter planes, even smaller personal aircraft or large commercial jets, airplane crashes do continue to happen despite recent advancements in safety. So have these recent advancements in safety made a difference in aviation safety and what causes the majority of plane crashes?
The simple answer to the first question is that the recent advancements in safety and technology have certainly made a difference in the potential to make air travel safer. The fact remains, however, that the single biggest cause of aviation accidents in the United States remains pilot error. Statistics tell us that some type of pilot error is responsible for almost 50% of all aviation accidents. Of that 50%, pilot error that is related to mechanical problems accounts for less than 5% of the accidents while pilot error that is weather related accounts for about 20% of the accidents. That leaves a full 25% of all accidents that were caused by pilot error without contributing circumstances.
Mechanical failure accounts for the next highest percentage of aviation accidents with about 30% of the total. The weather is responsible for about 10% of the total with sabotage and other human error accounting for the remaining 10% or so of all aviation accidents. One thing that truly stands out when studying these statistics is that a full 80% of all aviation accidents are potentially due to either manufacturer or pilot error. Obviously, no one can control the weather and sabotage is always a risk on an airline, but mechanical failures and pilot errors are potentially preventable.
So what do these statistics mean for you if you have been injured in an aviation accident or lost a loved one in a plane crash? While each case is different, they mean that the chances are high that someone was negligent in your plane crash. If it does turn out that either the pilot, airliner or manufacturer were negligent and contributed to or causes the crash, then you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries you suffered or you may be entitled to file as a claimant in a wrongful death case if you have lost a loved one as a result of an aviation accident. The laws of negligence are very clear in that the negligent party must compensate the injured party. Proving negligence, on the other hand, may not be so simple. Unlike car accidents where there are typically a number of witnesses and extensive evidence, in a plane crash there may not be any surviving witnesses and evidence may be scarce. If you find yourself in such a situation, the best thing you can do is contact an experienced California aviation accident attorney. Your aviation accident attorney can evaluate your case and explain to you what legal options you may have and what the prospect is of winning your case.
If you would like a free detailed evaluation of your California aviation accident case, please contact California aviation accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates. His firm can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
Tags: accident, accident attorney, accident case, accident witness, accidents, airplane accident, airplane accidents, airplane attorney, airplane crash, airplane mechanical problem, airplane wrongful death, aviation accident attorney, crash statistics, crash witnesses, crashes, flying risk, human error, juries, law, Ledger, ledgerlaw.com, Negligence, pilot error, plane crash, plane safety, weather, wrongful death case
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Tuesday, April 27th, 2010
Most of us think of trains as a fairly safe form of transportation. True, we occasionally hear about a huge train wreck, but not that often right? You might be surprised to hear how often a train wreck actually happens. According to the Federal Railroad Administration Office of Safety Analysis (FRAOSA), in the State of California alone for the year 2009 there were 99 train accidents. The year before, there were 118 train accidents. Although 2009 did not see any fatalities from train accidents, in 2008 25 people died as a result of train accidents in the State of California alone.
The FRAOSA breaks down train accidents into three different categories of accident: collisions, derailments, and other accidents. By just looking at the statistics for the last two available years, it appears as though about 5% of all train accidents are collisions, 75% derailments and the remaining 20% are “other accidents”. Also by looking at the available data, it appears as though about 6% of all train accidents happen on passenger trains. Sadly, the data gets worse when we add in incidents that happen at railroad crossing. Thirty people were killed in 2009 at railroad crossings with another sixty killed by individuals trespassing on railroad tracks somewhere other than at a crossing. That’s almost 100 people that died as a result of crossing or attempting to cross railroad tracks.
These statistics are truly shocking to most people. For some reason, we rarely hear about train accidents or train track fatalities, yet they clearly happen with some regularity. The cause of the fatalities on the tracks themselves is evident, but what were the causes for the train accidents themselves? According to the research, human error accounted for almost half of all train accidents. You may remember the horrendous Metrolink train accident that happened in 2008. Attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates whose firm represents one of the victims of that accident says that the conductor of that Metrolink train was apparently sending and receiving text messages just seconds before the train collided with another train killing 25 people and injuring hundred of others. As with car accidents, human error ranks highest on the list of causes. Track and equipment defects combine to make the next biggest category of causes. Unfortunately, many of the trains and tracks that are being used today are outdated and are in separate need of repairs or replacement. When you combine all of these factors, train accidents become more likely – and more deadly – than most people think.
If you, or a loved one, have been involved in a California train accident and have suffered injuries as a result of the accident, please fell free to contact California train attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates for a free detailed evaluation of your train accident case. If someone else was responsible for the accident – whether it was the conductor or the train company –then you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries you or your loved one suffered. Attorney Ledger can be reached at 1-800-300-0001 or he can be visited online at www.ledgerlaw.com.
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