| Despite a recent report in one of the nation's top news | | | | these attorneys' time and energy even when there |
| papers detailing the surprising string of accident free | | | | are few commercial accidents to prosecute. |
| years in commercial aviation, aviation lawyers have | | | | Aviation attorneys are also employed to institute |
| been kept busy by any number of legal and liability | | | | safety standards. Many of these attorneys are |
| issues. It has been found in a recent study that | | | | involved in, or used to be involved in, commercial or |
| commercial fights in the United States have gone two | | | | private aviation. Many are current or former pilots and |
| consecutive years without a related accidental death. | | | | enjoy private joy flights. They are, given their |
| This is the first time that in the history of United States | | | | concurrent knowledge of law, uniquely qualified to |
| aviation that this feat has occurred. However, the | | | | institute and maintain safety standards. By providing |
| average aviation lawyer still must battle over certain | | | | this service, they are insuring that when you buy your |
| safety and liability issues that have kept the need for | | | | ticket for your next flight, you can be guaranteed of |
| such specialized lawyers in demand. These lawyers, | | | | certain standards. These include safe airplane design, |
| while obviously not having to concern themselves with | | | | fully functioning safety systems (such as lighted |
| personal injury claims due to accidents in the previous | | | | pathways, available exits, flotation devices, etc.), regular |
| years of relative safety, have still had their hands full | | | | maintenance schedules, and age limits on old aircrafts. |
| with defining regulatory bodies and creating new and | | | | Without these basic guarantees commercial flying |
| protective laws for consumers, bystanders, and | | | | could be a dangerous practice. Once these safety |
| workers. | | | | guidelines are established, attorneys can then use |
| While assigning liability in an accident and insuring that a | | | | these standards to prosecute those at fault during an |
| claimant receives due process of law and proper | | | | accident and more easily assign liability to those at |
| compensation where deemed necessary is the | | | | fault. |
| primary task of an aviation lawyer, it is not the only | | | | Even while the United States has had two consecutive |
| task. These specialized lawyers must deal with a | | | | years without a death associated with the commercial |
| complicated set of government institutions at the state | | | | airline industry, the average aviation lawyer is still busy |
| and local level, and may even have to deal with | | | | and in demand. Despite the fact that there have been |
| international regulatory bodies for large, commercial | | | | no accidents to prosecute, these specialized lawyers |
| flights. These agencies, committees, and other | | | | still must maintain strict industry safety standards, thus |
| regulatory bodies are largely created from case files | | | | insuring that the unprecedented string of safe and |
| brought through and prosecuted by lawyers. Just like | | | | successful flights continue, and develop and fine tune |
| criminal law, aviation law has been created by these | | | | the developing field of aviation litigation and law. |
| vast networks of case files and court decisions. These | | | | Therefore, these particular lawyers are still heavily in |
| regulatory bodies have sprung from these decisions. | | | | demand. |
| Creating these laws, therefore, dominates much of | | | | |