General Laws, Liabilities and Litigation in Plane Accidents

If you happen to be injured in a plane accident in Los• Violating FAA regulations- FAA laws exist
Angeles, how will you recover claims for your injuries?to protect everyone using air travel. Violations of FAA
First, you need to have basic knowledge of someregulations can endanger the safety of everybody in
laws and regulation governing aviation accidents.the air.
Accident laws involving private planes are different• Structural or design problems with an
from those applied in public transportation like jetaircraft.
planes and special aircraft, such as those used by the• Flight service station employee negligence
military.• Federal air traffic controllers' negligence
In general, plane accidents are governed by aviation• Third party's carrier selection negligence
laws. General aviation law covers all aircraft other than• Maintenance or repair of the aircraft or
those operated by commercial airlines and the military.component negligence
There are also state and federal laws governing air• Fueling the aircraft negligence
travel.In plane accidents not caused by human factors, LA
The main federal agencies concerned with aviationlawyers often determine fault by these standards:
regulations and laws are the Federal Aviation• Strict Liability - Strict liability laws in plane
Administration (FAA) and the National Transportationaccidents differ from state to state. The manufacturer
Safety Board (NTSB).of an aircraft can be held liable if the victim of an
The FAA is the main regulatory body for aviationaccident can prove that a defect in the product (the
safety and standards. It has enforcement powers, asaircraft) caused his or her injuries. This is referred to as
well as the ability to issue and revise regulations relatedstrict liability.
to all aspects of air travel safety research,• Product Liability - product liability determine
manufacture, and navigation.whether an accident was caused by a part of the
On the other hand, the NTSB investigates aviationaircraft, pilot error, or a combination of both.
accidents and offers proposals to enhance future air• 1994 General Aviation Revitalization Act
safety. Another duty of the Board is to function as a(GARA) - It protects manufacturers of
"court of appeals" for cases involving pilots or othernon-commercial aircraft (light aircraft and business
aviation workers against the FAA. The NTSB hasaircraft with maximum seating of less than 20
neither regulatory nor enforcement powers.passengers) from product liability lawsuits for defects
Liability in general aviation accidents vary depending onon aircraft older than 18 years.
the cause of the accident.Plane Accident Lawyers
The most common causes of aircraft accidentsAviation accident laws can be complicated and may
include:involve state, federal or even international laws. This
• Pilot Errorsmakes litigation involving plane accidents difficult. It is
• Faulty Equipment- Faulty equipment or eventherefore necessary for plane accident victims to get
poorly maintained equipment can fail and cause anthe services of a skilled and experienced LA lawyer to
airplane to crash.handle matters for them.