Practices

Sedgwick has been defending and trying sophisticated aviation cases for more than 30 years.  Our attorneys are thoroughly familiar with the technology, experts, and governmental regulations unique to this specialized field.

Sedgwick has been defending and trying sophisticated aviation cases for more than 30 years.  Our attorneys are thoroughly familiar with the technology, experts, and governmental regulations unique to this specialized field.

Our attorneys represent airlines and other defendants in complex litigation arising out of air carrier accidents, including the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 accident; the United Airlines Flight 811 in-flight cargo door failure; the American Airlines DC-10 crash in Chicago; Pan American accidents at Pago Pago and San Francisco; and the World Airways DC-8 crash near Cold Bay, Alaska.  We also defend air carriers in a myriad of personal injury actions involving both physical and psychological injuries.

We have been involved in a series of high-profile cases, including the helicopter accident which resulted in the death of rock promoter Bill Graham, the Bahamas aircraft accident which killed R&B singer Alilyah, and an aircraft accident in Bosnia which resulted in the death of the president of Macedonia.

Our attorneys defend pilots, fixed and rotor wing aircraft manufacturers, repair stations, FBOs, aviation chart services and component manufacturers in a wide variety of general aviation and commercial actions. Military aviation cases have included fighter seat ejection malfunctions, landing gear failures during catapult launch, crashes during military flight testing, and alleged design and manufacturing defects in on-board radar systems.

Expertise

We maintain close relationships with numerous aviation experts, including meteorologists, metallurgists, aerodynamicists, accident reconstructionists, general aviation and air carrier pilots, structural engineers, and human factors experts. These experts have helped us develop methods for explaining and demonstrating technical concepts, such as weather reconstruction and satellite photography, spatial disorientation, cockpit instrumentation, and aircraft handling qualities and flight characteristics.

Sedgwick attorneys have worked with engineering groups to design and conduct structural static tests of major aircraft components and with test pilots and aerodynamicists to design and conduct sophisticated flight tests.  Our attorneys have directed dozens of on-site accident investigations and aircraft wreckage inspections.

Trial Techniques

At trial, Sedgwick utilizes state-of-the-art demonstrative evidence, including computer animations developed from CVR and FDR data, aircraft and terrain models, enlarged instrument panels, flight-test videotapes, animations of aircraft components, and aircraft component mock-ups.

Sedgwick has been defending and trying sophisticated aviation cases for more than 30 years.  Our attorneys are thoroughly familiar with the technology, experts, and governmental regulations unique to this specialized field.

Our attorneys represent airlines and other defendants in complex litigation arising out of air carrier accidents, including the Alaska Airlines Flight 261 accident; the United Airlines Flight 811 in-flight cargo door failure; the American Airlines DC-10 crash in Chicago; Pan American accidents at Pago Pago and San Francisco; and the World Airways DC-8 crash near Cold Bay, Alaska.  We also defend air carriers in a myriad of personal injury actions involving both physical and psychological injuries.

We have been involved in a series of high-profile cases, including the helicopter accident which resulted in the death of rock promoter Bill Graham, the Bahamas aircraft accident which killed R&B singer Alilyah, and an aircraft accident in Bosnia which resulted in the death of the president of Macedonia.

Our attorneys defend pilots, fixed and rotor wing aircraft manufacturers, repair stations, FBOs, aviation chart services and component manufacturers in a wide variety of general aviation and commercial actions. Military aviation cases have included fighter seat ejection malfunctions, landing gear failures during catapult launch, crashes during military flight testing, and alleged design and manufacturing defects in on-board radar systems.

Expertise

We maintain close relationships with numerous aviation experts, including meteorologists, metallurgists, aerodynamicists, accident reconstructionists, general aviation and air carrier pilots, structural engineers, and human factors experts. These experts have helped us develop methods for explaining and demonstrating technical concepts, such as weather reconstruction and satellite photography, spatial disorientation, cockpit instrumentation, and aircraft handling qualities and flight characteristics.

Sedgwick attorneys have worked with engineering groups to design and conduct structural static tests of major aircraft components and with test pilots and aerodynamicists to design and conduct sophisticated flight tests.  Our attorneys have directed dozens of on-site accident investigations and aircraft wreckage inspections.

Trial Techniques

At trial, Sedgwick utilizes state-of-the-art demonstrative evidence, including computer animations developed from CVR and FDR data, aircraft and terrain models, enlarged instrument panels, flight-test videotapes, animations of aircraft components, and aircraft component mock-ups.