Airplane, Bus, Boat, and Train Accidents
Each year many Californians are injured and killed in public transportation accidents and recreation accidents occurring on roads, rails, water and in the sky. We have successfully represented plaintiffs injured in plane, train, bus and boat accidents.
Airplane Accidents
Aviation accidents result in fatalities and catastrophic injuries in most instances. Although pilot error is often blamed for crashes, mechanical failure, control tower errors, contaminated fuel and product design defects can also be a cause of an airplane accident. When we accept an aviation case, we work with our associate lawyer who is a former commercial airline pilot and flight instructor. We have the experience and resources to effectively handle aviation accidents including commercial airlines, small private planes, ultralight craft and helicopters.
We are currently representing the children of three persons who died in a private airplane crash in Nevada in May 2009. We are working with experienced air safety investigators and our in-house lawyer and pilot, Bob Millham, who was a pilot for TWA and trained commercial airline pilots.
Private plane crashes in Berkeley Hills – $1,490,000
A Cessna 310 private airplane crashed on the Tilden Park Golf course in the hills of Berkeley. The pilot was killed and investigators cited pilot error as the cause of the crash. Through extensive investigation and discovery, we established that an electrical malfunction in the aircraft’s autopilot was the cause of the crash. We obtained a settlement for the widow of the pilot.
Bus Accidents
Our law firm has handled cases involving city buses, tour buses, school buses, charter buses and casino buses. Several deadly bus accidents on U.S. highways have safety advocates and the families of accident victims asking for increased regulation of the bus industry. During the last seven years more than 400 people have died in bus crashes. The fatal crash of a tour bus in Monterey County has led to charges of lax oversight and a failure to implement safety measures for buses. We have the expertise to promptly investigate and successfully conclude cases for victims of bus crashes.
One of our successful bus accident cases occurred in an early morning rush hour multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 880 in Oakland, California, when an AC Transit bus was negligently operated. The bus driver failed to control or stop the bus when a collision occurred in front of the bus. We established the bus driver’s negligence along with the negligence of a big rig truck driver and the case settled as part of a multi-million dollar settlement.
Boat Accidents
There are many bodies of water in Northern California where recreational boating, swimming and fishing occur. The Pacific Ocean, San Francisco Bay, Delta Waterways, Lake Tahoe and other lakes and reservoirs are busy waterways where boat accidents can occur. To successfully pursue boating accidents, a lawyer must have specialized knowledge of boating law and regulations. We have extensive experience in handling all kinds of boat cases, jet ski and other water craft accidents.
Cases we have handled include:
- Charter boat collides with fisherman in rowboat on San Francisco Bay
- Speeding boat hits canoe killing boy on Lodi Lake
- Defective installation of outboard motor causes boat to sink in Half Moon Bay
- Livermore man drowns when boat capsizes on Puget Sound, Washington
- Boy injured swimming at Rogue River, Oregon campground
- Defect in a stove causes burn injury on Caribbean sailboat
- Boat operator collides with rocks in Napa River injuring passenger
- Jet ski collision injures woman
- Reckless speed boat operator causes passenger to sustain severe neck injury on Lake Don Pedro in Tuolome County, California
- Engine explosion injures boat passengers
Train Accidents
Railroad accidents frequently occur in the Bay Area and Central Valley of California. Commuter trains and freight trains travel at high speeds on railroad tracks located in highly populated areas. Railroad trains take an extraordinarily long time to stop and train operators usually do not attempt to slow or stop a fast moving train until after the accident has occurred. People crossing or walking along train tracks cannot appreciate how quickly a train reaches them when it appears to be far away. The human eye cannot accurately gauge or estimate the speed of an oncoming train. Train accident cases require a highly experienced lawyer to be able to successfully negotiate this complex area of the law. We have successfully recovered settlements from Amtrak, Burlington Northern and Sante Fe, Southern Pacific, and Western Pacific railroads.
Examples of our successes:
Freight train strikes pedestrian – Confidential settlement
An Oakland man was walking along the railroad tracks using a well traveled short cut to walk from a popular flea market to an area east of the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California. A fast moving freight train saw the pedestrian walking close to the tracks far enough in the distance to slow or stop, but did not attempt to slow down, stop or effectively warn the pedestrian. The train struck the pedestrian at full speed, amputating both of his legs. The funds from the settlement have provided a private home, a handicap vehicle and living expenses for our client.
Train operator failed to look for children on train -- $1,350,000
The fence separating a primary school from the adjacent Burlington Northern and Sante Fe Railway railroad tracks in Richmond, California was broken, allowing young children to play on the railroad tracks. We represented a child who went through the hole in the fence and climbed onto a stationary flat bed car. When the train suddenly moved and picked up speed, the child fell off the train and the wheels ran over one of his legs, causing his leg to be amputated. Through extensive discovery prior to trial, we were able to show that children had been playing on the trains frequently because of the easy access through the broken fence. The fence should have been repaired and the train operators should have known children were playing on the train cars and removed them before suddenly moving the train.
