Lafayette Aviation Accident Lawyer

You’re probably familiar with Lafayette Regional Airport if you live in or have visited Lafayette (LFT). In fact, more than 400,000 travelers utilize LFT annually and that number continues to grow! With that in mind, an aviation accident will always be a possibility, even though this airport (as well as others) is passionate about giving every passenger a good travel experience.

Although aircraft technology has advanced significantly, mechanical and human error can still unfortunately happen. In truth, 1,290 aviation accidents were reported by the National Transportation Safety Board in 2014—265 were fatal.

A catastrophic injury or even wrongful death could result from an aviation accident, and sometimes someone’s negligence is to blame. If you or someone you know has been in an aviation accident in Lafayette, Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys can help. Our aviation accident lawyers have the knowledge, strategies, and necessary resources to recover the compensation you deserve. 

Aviation Accident Cases Gordon McKernan Can Help With

Clients injured in a range of aviation incidents have been represented by our Louisiana personal injury law firm. If you’re considering legal action after becoming a victim of a plane accident, our aviation accident lawyers can represent you in a range of aircraft incidents, such as:

• Helicopter crashes
• Commercial aircraft accidents
• Mid-air collisions
• Air ambulance crashes
• Aviation accidents due to defective parts or faulty maintenance
• Plus others

Contact us to schedule a consultation with one of our lawyers if you or a loved one has suffered severe injuries in an airplane accident. Rest assured, we’ll assist you in determining your legal choices.

What Contributes to Aviation Accidents in Lafayette?

Experiencing an aviation accident can indeed be traumatic. The physical and emotional pain accident victims endure can truly change their lives permanently. 

The majority of aviation accidents are caused by technical problems. Despite the fact that every airplane must undergo routine inspections for maintenance issues and other defects, accidents can still occur due to factors like wear and tear, faulty design, or other causes including:

• Stabilizers
• Landing gear
• Wheels, tires, or braking system
• Engines and controls
• Fuel tank
• Navigation system
• Wing or propeller components
• Rudder or spoilers

Confirming Defects in an Aviation Accident

There are many individuals who take part in an aircraft’s maintenance, prep time, and inspection prior to all flights. These can include: mechanics, ground crew, pilots, aircraft manufacturers, and more. 

In order to help avoid accidents from happening, all airplanes should undergo routine maintenance and inspections. This way, anyone who fails to recognize, report, or fix a broken part or other flaw can be held accountable.

What Happens to Someone in an Aviation Accident?

Aviation accidents frequently result in catastrophic injuries due to its weight, size, speed, and the height they fly above the ground. Unfortunately, victims of these types of accidents rarely incur only small injuries. On top of that, what happens in a helicopter crash can have severe consequences. The following are some examples of common aviation catastrophic injuries:

• Brain injuries also known as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) can cause headaches, memory loss, difficulty thinking or concentrating, impairment of motor abilities, and other significant effects.
• Spinal cord injuries can turn into various forms of paralysis such as muscle weakness or numbness (paresis), partial paralysis (paraplegia), total paralysis (quadriplegia), or other life changing complications. 
• Internal injuries to organs or other deep tissue can turn into transplants or permanent loss of the injured organ.
• Dismemberment, like losing one or more limbs, is common in very serious aviation crash accidents. In a case like this, there’s a chance that a limb will have to be amputated in order to save the victim’s life.

How to File a Wrongful Death Claim in Lafayette

Deaths are very hard for families involved, but they can be even more difficult when caused by someone’s carelessness. Wrongful death happens when an individual’s death is directly caused by the wrongful act or negligence of either a person or business.

If you have lost a loved one in an aviation accident, you should take the following steps below.

Part 1: Filing a wrongful death lawsuit in Lafayette can only be carried out by specific survivors of the aviation accident victim. These survivors include: 

• The surviving spouse and/or children of the deceased or
• If both spouse and children are dead, the surviving parents of the deceased or
• If spouse, children, and parents are dead, the surviving siblings of the deceased or
• If spouse, children, parents, and siblings are deceased, the surviving grandparents of the deceased

FYI: All of the above relations also include those relations by adoption. 

Part 2: You must contact an attorney to file this claim within a short timeframe of the aviation accident because Lafayette follows a strict statute of limitations.

Part 3: Contact our Lafayette Wrongful Death Attorneys to understand your legal options.

Statute of Limitation Changes in Louisiana

In 2024, Louisiana law extended the statute of limitations for personal injury claims occurring on or after July 1, 2024, from one year to two years. Any injuries that occurred before July 1, 2024, will still have a 1-year statute of limitation. Learn more about Louisiana’s New Statute of Limitations here.

• 1 year for injuries sustained before July 1, 2024.
• 2 years for injuries suffered after July 1, 2024.

The statute of limitations is a legal deadline that sets a time frame for filing a lawsuit. In Louisiana, this is known as the “prescriptive period,” which determines how long you have to take legal action against the responsible party after an injury occurs.

Common Types of Lafayette Aviation Lawsuits

Depending on the cause of the accident, you may very well be able to hold many parties accountable in an aviation accident case. Your attorney will do a thorough investigation to establish whose negligence was to blame, allowing you to establish who needs to be held accountable.

If the pilot committed an act of negligence, you can file a claim against them and their employer. Because an airline is liable for the negligence of its employees, you can hold the company liable if the pilot works for a major carrier. Other negligent employees, such as air traffic controllers, are also subject to these rules.

As for mechanical failure, you can hold the manufacturer of a defective part liable if the cause of the aviation accident was the defect specifically. If the issue is maintenance-related, the company may be liable for this oversight. If a mechanic committed an error while servicing the plane, they could be a defendant in the lawsuit.

You Can Get Help From the Get Gordon Team

At Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys , it’s our obligation as your aviation accident lawyers to determine what caused your accident and who is liable for your losses. You can trust that we will look into your case to identify who is at fault and who should be held accountable.If you or someone you know has been involved in an offshore helicopter crash, plane crash, or other aviation accident, get in touch with us by calling 888.501.7888. Our aviation accident lawyers have 679+ years of combined legal experience representing Louisiana victims of aircraft injuries in court, and we want to assist you too. To start on the path to recovery, give us a call as soon as you can.