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UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 232
On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 was one hour into its
journey when the tail-mounted engine's fan disk exploded, causing the
rapid loss of hydraulic fluid. The plane remained in flight for 44
terrifying minutes after the explosion. Unable to fully control the
airplane, the pilots crashed during an emergency landing at Sioux
City, Iowa airport, killing 112 of the 297 people on board. Nolan Law
Group represented several families. Our attorneys, in the case of one
widow with two young children, fought hard, refused to settle, and
opted for a trial by jury when United fiercely denied the amount of
pain and suffering her husband had endured.
A jury awarded the widow and her children $4.18 million in
compensatory damages for loss of society and consortium. This verdict
included one of the first awards ever given for "pre-impact" terror, a
half million for the 44 minutes before the attempted landing. Other
cases handled by the firm stemming from this accident yielded
comparable results.
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UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT 585
On March 3, 1991, a Boeing 737 rolled over and crashed during a
landing in Colorado Springs. All 25 people aboard were killed in the
crash. Nolan Law Group, acting on behalf of several families, argued a
malfunctioning rudder caused the loss of control, while the defendants
stated strong winds, called rotors, caused the plane to overturn.
Initially, the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB)
investigation did not support our views, but we held firm on our
position as to the cause of the accident.
Much later, in June of 2001, the NTSB took the rare action of amending
the original findings to be consistent with our position, that a
malfunctioning rudder system was the most probable cause of the crash.
As a result of our efforts, our clients achieved multi-million dollar
settlements.
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USAIR FLIGHT 427
On September 8, 1994, the pilot of USAir Flight 427 lost control of a
Boeing 737 while on approach to landing at the Greater Pittsburgh
International Airport and killed 132 on board. The similarities
between this crash and the Colorado Springs disaster were immediately
apparent to our attorneys and experts. Representing several families,
our attorneys argued that the experienced pilot lost control because
the Boeing 737's rudder system was inherently flawed, just as in the
Colorado crash three years earlier. Our attorneys used the possibility
of punitive damages against the defendants to secure very favorable
settlements for our clients.
We negotiated a $14 million settlement for one client whose case was
on trial in Illinois State court. The firm's other cases were in
Federal court where the multi-million settlement amounts remain
confidential. Because of our work, the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) proposed that Boeing redesign the rudder systems on all 737s in
service.
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AMERICAN EAGLE FLIGHT 4184
On October 31, 1994, American Eagle Flight 4184 crashed in a Roselawn,
Indiana cornfield. All 68 passengers and crew perished. Our attorneys
found that the aircraft's, an ATR-72, defective design allowed ice
ridges to form on the wings thereby making the aircraft impossible to
maneuver. Even worse, this defect was well known to the airline and to
the French manufacturer, based on at least six previous incidents. Our
suit also alleged that the airline did not provide sufficient weather
information to its dispatchers and pilots, had insufficiently trained
the pilots, and the flight manual was incorrect. In a vigorously
fought case, we prepared to go to trial with a winning argument backed
up by solid evidence.
Three of our clients settled for a combined total of $11 million while
Nolan Law Group, as part of the plaintiff team, helped settled 26
lawsuits for a combined total of $110 million. Our ability to build a
winning case resulted in the redesign of the de-icing systems,
corrected flight manuals, better pilot training and accurate weather
information for pilots and dispatchers.
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TWA FLIGHT 800
On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 departed JFK Airport for Paris. A
short time after takeoff, the plane exploded in mid-air off the coast
of Long Island and all 230 people onboard were killed. The
investigation determined the probable cause of the disaster was an
ignition of fuel vapors in the Boeing 747's center fuel tank, which
had built-up as air conditioning ran while the plane was delayed and
sat on the runway.
The multi-million dollar settlements reached for our clients were
ordered confidential. As a result of these suits, wiring systems in
many older aircraft were ordered to be inspected and replaced as
necessary and aircraft manufacturers throughout the industry have been
working on new designs to eliminate ignition sources within the fuel
tanks, such as external fuel quantity indicators.
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FINE AIR
On August 7, 1997, Fine Air's cargo flight 101 crashed during a
take-off attempt from Miami International Airport killing all three
crewmembers and a motorist on the ground. Nolan Law Group attorneys,
representing families of two crew members killed, argued that improper
loading of the cargo made the load shift to the back of the plane,
rendering the aircraft uncontrollable. A criminal investigation into
this accident resulted in guilty pleas and fines paid by the
defendants.
The large settlements we secured for our clients are confidential.
However, we can say that as a result of our work the flight crew was
cleared of any wrongdoing and the FAA initiated new oversight
procedures of all air cargo shipments and loading procedures that have
potentially saved more lives and averted similar accidents.
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SWISSAIR FLIGHT 111
On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111 (operating as a Delta
Airlines codeshare) departed New York bound for Switzerland. Shortly
into the flight, the crew reported smoke in the cockpit and requested
an emergency landing. Just 30 miles from Halifax, Nova Scotia, the
McDonnell Douglas MD 11 crashed into the ocean killing all 229 people
on board. Rarely have so many safety advisories and airworthiness
directives been issued as a result of one crash, including inspection
of wiring, installation of flight crew map lights, flammability
dangers of metallized Mylar insulation, material flammability
standards, material flammability tests for aircraft wiring, and the
fire resistance of aircraft components.
Nolan Law Group, as part of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee,
negotiated complex issues of jurisdiction and venue involving citizens
of many countries including France, Switzerland, Spain, Greece and the
United States. The greatest legal care was taken to maximize recovery
for both the foreign citizens and Americans without compromising the
rights of either.
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