Why is My Airport Accident Case in One State and my Airline Workers’ Comp Case in Another?
“Airline pilot and flight attendant injuries that occur in one state may be brought in another state for a number of reasons, including the language of the injured worker’s contract, air carrier’s headquarters or union collective bargaining agreement,” notes air injury lawyer Doug Landau
When an airline employee is injured in an accident that occurs in a state other than the one in which she was hired, or where the airline’s place of business is located, the employee’s injury case and workers’ comp cases could be brought in different states. In the DC metro area, many National (Reagan) and Dulles Airport employees live in Maryland, the District of Columbia and even Pennsylvania or West Virginia !
In other words, defendants cannot complain if they are sued in their home state, or in the place where their unsafe actions and poor decisions caused harm to innocent victims.
In a recent case, the Herndon, Virginia law firm Abrams Landau, Ltd. assisted an injured airline worker whose injury happened outside of Virginia. This airline employee was able to bring a negligence lawsuit against the careless maintenance company that caused his fall and permanent injury — in the state where the accident occurred.
However, the contract the disabled client signed with the airline stated that all workers’ compensation claims had to be brought in Virginia. So, even though the injured victim lived in Florida, the comp claim had to be prosecuted in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the home base of the airlines.
Since airline injury lawyer Doug Landau is licensed to practice law up and down the East Coast, he was able to help the client in both states. In other cases, Landau has held depositions at airports in other states, investigated claims at out of state airports and interviewed witnesses all over the United States.
If you have been injured in the course and scope of your duty as an airline employee, airport worker, or traveling passenger, and there are questions as to what states law applies to your accidental injury claim, contact us at Abrams Landau, Ltd. today by email or phone (703-796-9555).