Even if an airport accident is your fault, if you were on the job, then you may still be able to collect Workers’ Compensation benefits under Virginia and Washington, D.C. law. Workers’ Compensation is a “no-fault” administrative system, so that if the employee is not in violation of a safety rule or regulation, they can…
Continue reading
A mentally imbalanced shooter at the Fort Lauderdale Florida Airport may have opened up several airlines to potential liability claims by the injured travelers and the families of those who died. Last week’s shooting at the Hollywood Fort Lauderdale International Airport baggage claim area presents questions of responsibility for the harms and losses to the…
Continue reading
Five people were killed and six more were injured in the shooting Friday at the Fort Lauderdale Airport. There is a surveillance video that shows the moment the shooter took his weapon out and started firing at people’s heads in the baggage collection area of Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport (“FLL”). The gunman captured on the…
Continue reading
While being an airline pilot or flight attendant still has glamorous aspects in that you get to travel the world, there are other jobs at the airport that are much less desirable. This includes maintenance and basic safety protocol. However, these jobs are just as important as the captain of an aircraft. If lavatory spills…
Continue readingUnfamiliar terrain, distractions, ever-changing signs, and uneven jetways present dangers to even the most careful airport travelers. However tripping or slipping in the terminal, in the jetway, or on the airport operations area (AOA”) does not necessarily mean the airport authority or airline is responsible for the injuries sustained. For an injured airline traveler to…
Continue readingAccording to an article in the Washington Post, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) paid a $2 million wrongful death settlement to the parents of 25 year old Southwest Airlines ramp agent Jared Dodson who was killed when the baggage tug he was steering was struck by a mobile lounge on the runway at Dulles…
Continue readingWith heightened security requirements of air travel, airline and airport employees — not to mention travelers — often must produce a copy of their birth certificate when applying for job, seeking access to “sterile areas,” or travel clearance. “While hanging on the “monkey bars” on the Dulles Airport midfield people mover busses is fun*; waiting…
Continue readingLately the news has been full of reports of near-misses and minor collisions between airplanes at our nation’s airports. Most recently, two taxiing planes clipped each other’s wings at Newark airport in New Jersey. That is why Herndon airport injury lawyer Doug Landau was encouraged to read about this summer’s safety drill conducted at Washington…
Continue readingAfter a pilot’s texting was found to contribute to a fatal helicopter crash in 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a recommendation to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that it prohibit crew members aboard commuter and on-demand service flights from using portable electronic devices for non-operational uses while the aircraft are operating. The…
Continue readingAirline passengers are accustomed to the announcement to power off all electronic devices during take-off and landing, and to set cell phones on “airplane mode” during the rest of the flight. How is it, then, that the pilot in a 2011 helicopter crash was found to have been texting during an ill-fated flight that killed…
Continue reading