If I am “On the Job” as a Member of the Airline Crew, Can I Bring a Lawsuit if I am Injured at the Airport?

At busy international airports, accidents can and do happen on the Air Operations Area. When a member of the flight crew or airport ground worker are injured, they may have several avenues of reimbursement.

“Not if you are struck by a co-worker operating a luggage tug or tripped by another member of the flight crew. The Virginia Workers Compensation Act does not allow lawsuits between co-workers for accidental injuries,” notes experienced comp attorney Doug Landau of the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. “However, if the person causing the harms works for another company, airline or the airport itself, it may be possible to collect workers compensation benefits AND sue the unsafe driver, ground crew or other Airport Operations Area (“AOA”) employee,” he adds. “These Third Party Cases’ are fact specific, as there are many layers of sub-contractors at most busy international airports, like Reagan National (“DCA”), Baltimore-Washington (“BWI”) and Washington Dulles International (“IAD”) which may preclude a third party lawsuit.”

 

Even airline captains sustain injuries, when performing pre-flight inspections, rushing to the gate or walking around the AOA

“What’s more, when the airline and airport injury team at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. settles an airline pilot’s third party case or win a jury verdict for a disabled flight attendant or ground crew member, we must, by law, repay the workers compensation insurance company for the money they advanced for medical care, lost wages, medications, etc.” adds Landau. It is critical to make sure that legal counsel for an airport case is not only experienced in helping airline and airport workers with their workplace injury cases, but third party cases as well. The coordination of compensation benefits can save the injured worker lots of money on the expense side of the case as well as on the pay back side. At the Herndon law firm ABRAMS LANDAU, we also negotiate with the insurance companies for the airlines and the airports in order to maximize our clients’ recoveries.

If you or someone you know or care for has been injured as the result of an airport terminal, airplane or other air travel related accident and there are questions about what laws apply, e-mail or call us at ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd. (703-796-9555) at once.