Crouse Law Offices. International ⁄ National ⁄ Local Accident Litigators

Medical Transport Plane Crashes into Lake Michigan

According to CBS News, a Cessna 206 medical transport plane carrying a cancer patient to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota crashed into Lake Michigan.  The plane left Alma – about 150 miles NW of Detroit – and went down off the shore of Ludington on Michigan’s west coast.  Shortly before the crash, the pilot reported a loss of power to the Minneapolis Control Center and was hopeful of a safe return to Ludington.

Carol Freed and her husband, Jerry, owned the plane and often flew people to Mayo on a volunteer basis.  Jerry was rescued about 2 hours after the crash but after 27 hours of continuous searching, the search for the missing four has been called off.

Medical Plane Crashes

United Flight Sends 25 to Hospital

United Flight 967 was en route to Los Angles when it encountered strong enough turbulence over Kansas to injure at least 25 people on board.  The flight had taken off from Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D. C. 

There were 255 passengers and 10 crew members on board the twin-engine Boeing 777.  The plane immediately diverted to Denver to get medical help for the injured.  A spokesperson for United stated she knew of 25 people taken to the hospital but did not know how seriously they were hurt. 

However, a spokesman for the Denver Fire Department said about 30 people were injured, one of them seriously.

Crouse Law Offices has the necessary experience and knowledge to handle your airline safety concerns. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an airline accident , please call us at 919-861-0500 or contact us by using our online form.

Airline Injures

$82.5 M Awarded To Blast Victim’s Family

As wrongful death attorneys, Crouse Law Offices have experience dealing with the grief and confusion a family feels following the unexpected and unnecessary death of a loved one.  It is difficult for family to maneuver through the maze of legalities while mourning the loss of their loved one, especially when the death is that of a young father and husband. Please feel free contact us at jtc@crouselaw.com or call us at 1-919-861-0500.

The Star-Telegram reports the family of a 27-year-old man who died of injuries suffered in an explosion at a natural gas processing plant has been awarded $82.5 million by a Harris County (Texas) jury. 

In May, 2007, the young man was injured when a hot-oil treater exploded and he died at the hospital the next day.  The award will go to his widow and the couple’s three young children including a son born shortly after his father died. 

Exterran Energy Solutions L.P of Houston – formerly Hanover Compression L.P. – will be liable for the damages if the award is upheld.  The plant, built by Hanover, is owned by Fort Worth-based Quicksilver Resources, a natural gas producer.  

The jury found Hanover was grossly negligent and 90% responsible for the accident and Quicksilver was 10% responsible but not guilty of gross negligence.  Quicksilver was not responsible for any monetary damages because the company provided workers’ compensation insurance for its employees.  The young man was a Quicksilver employee.

Former Employees Sue International Paper Over Hearing Loss

Louisiana’s The Town Talk reports more than 150 former employees are suing the Pineville Mill of IP for $50,000 each for hearing loss suffered on the job.

The lawsuit alleges the workers were exposed to loud noises caused by permanent defects in the facility where they worked and that International Paper was negligent because the injuries were entirely preventable had proper safety procedures been practiced by the company.   The lawsuit also claims IP was aware of the danger of hearing loss but withheld the information from the employees.

The damages are sought for pain, suffering, and medical bills related to the hearing loss.

When a person is injured in his or her body, mind, or emotions and that injury is caused by the wrongful actions or negligence of another party, that person or company can be held responsible for the suffering and financial loss they have caused, including medical bills and loss of wages. 

If you have been injured due to the negligence of another let the experience of Crouse Law Offices work for you.  Call us at 1919-861-0500 or contact online.  There is no case review cost.

Cockpit Fire Forces United Airlines Plane To Make Emergency Landing

United Airlines Flight 27 from New York to Los Angeles made an emergency landing at Virginia’s Dulles International on Sunday due to a fire in the cockpit.  The fire was extinguished prior to landing and no injuries were reported. 

For a long time, the Boeing 757 has had known problems with the heating system in a cockpit window and investigators are looking into whether this was a factor in the fire.

 One of the passengers, sitting in the second row, stated she smelled smoke about 30 minutes into the flight and then the cockpit door opened and the captain requested a fire extinguisher.  The first cabin filled with smoke.

After landing at Dulles, the passengers remained seated until a firefighter came on board to open the cockpit door.  Once the door was open, the passengers were able to see the windshield was completely cracked and shattered.

 The NTSB is investigating to determine it this incident was due to a recurring problem involved in previous 757 cockpit fires, or a new issue.  In 2007, the NTSB recommended to the FAA that airlines be required to replace the heat terminal block on all Boeing 747s, 757s, 767s, and 777s. 

In March of 2008, the FAA proposed a rule that gave airlines a choice of regularly inspecting the heat terminal blocks or replacing then – the Boeing 747 was not included in the FAA proposed order.  The airlines strongly opposed the order and it hasn’t been made final even though the FAA said in 2008 it was aware of nine incidents of electrical arcing at the terminal blocks and “more than one incident” of open flames.

All planes made since 2005 have used a different wiring system which Boeing is confident has solved the problem.

Crouse Law Offices has the necessary experience and knowledge to handle your airline safety concerns. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an airline accident , please call us at 919-861-0500 or contact us by using our online form.

United Airline Cockpit Fire

$1.8M Award Against Hyundai Following Teen’s Death

A jury in San Angelo (Texas) federal court has reached a $1.8 million award against Hyundai Motor Company in favor of the plaintiff – the father of a 19-year-old girl killed in 2007. 

The teenager was a passenger in a car driven by her sister when the car veered off the road and rolled over.  Although she was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, she was thrown out through the back window of the car because her seat was too far reclined.  She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.  Experts testified a car seat reclined past 45 degrees is unsafe and the safest position for the passenger seat is in the upright position. 

 In filing the lawsuit, the father of the dead girl hopes to call on the auto industry to correct the design which allows a car to be driven with the seat reclined.

 The issue of the reclining seat got national attention in 1988 when the NTSB asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to research the problem. 

If you have been injured or a loved one killed in an auto accident, it’s important to make sure you understand your legal rights. You may be able to recover money for medical bills, lost wages, funeral costs, as well as compensation for wrongful death or permanent disability.  Contact the experienced car accident attorneys at Crouse Law Offices for a free evaluation of your case at 1-919-861-0503 or fill out our confidential online form.

Medical Helicopter Career: One Of The Deadliest

If you are one the angles of mercy who have chosen either to fly or to work on a medical helicopter, you have chosen one of the deadliest occupations in the United States. In every 100,000 workers killed in the line of duty, more medical helicopter personnel are killed than police officers, miners, loggers, and commercial fisherman.

While many lives have been saved by medical helicopter transport, too many have been lost. The deadliest year for medical helicopter crashes was 2008, when twenty-nine people lost their lives. So far in 2010, six people have died in two medical helicopter crashes. Studies have shown 70 – 80% of the crashes are the result of human error.

Pressure is mounting for medical helicopter transport to be made safer. The NTSB has made several recommendations on equipment that would improve navigation through rough terrain and bad weather.

Medical Helicopter Career

UPS Chartered Plane Crashes – 3 Killed

The Philippines is the site of a UPS chartered cargo plane crash on Wednesday which killed three employees. The plane carried three crew members and three off-duty airline employees.

The public relations manager for Louisville-base UPS Airlines announced the Russian-made Antonov-12 aircraft was owned by Interisland Airlines. The plane was flying an inter-Philippines route when a fire broke out and the plane crashed before it could make an emergency landing.

UPS Airlines is a division of Atlanta-based UPS and charters planes around the world where it does not hold operating rights or where its aircraft are too large to service certain airports.

Crouse Law Offices has the necessary experience and knowledge to handle your airline safety concerns. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an airline accident , please call us at 919-861-0500 or contact us by using our online form.

UPS Charter Plane Crash

NTSB Releases Preliminary Report On Medical Helicopter Crash

The pilot of a Eurocopter AS-350-B3 operated by Memphis Medical Center Air Ambulance Service (dba Hospital Wing) was “trying to beat the storm” when the helicopter crashed outside Brownsville, Texas on March 25, according to the NTSB.

The helicopter was returning to the Haywood County EMS Heliport in Brownsville after transporting a patient in Tennessee when it crashed, killing the pilot and two flight nurses.

According to a shift pilot at the home base heliport, he and the Hospital Wing pilot had discussed a front coming from Memphis towards Brownsville and the helicopter pilot stated he had about 18 minutes to get the chopper back to base to “beat the storm.”

In the last communication between the shift pilot and one of the flight nurses, she told him they were “30 seconds out.”The wind had then picked up to 20 knots and after he hung up the phone, there was an “immediate” loud clap of thunder and lightning – he looked out, but saw no helicopter.

Crouse Law Offices has the necessary experience and knowledge to handle your helicopter case, no matter what type of helicopter, what type of accident, where it occurred, and where or who the defendants are. Experience means knowing the equipment, how it works, how it fails, how it is operated, how all of this will be defended, and how to succeed—and how to win. Contact us today at 919-861-0500 or contact us online.

Car Crash Wrongful Death Suit Settled For $1.75M

The family of a 14-year -old girl killed in a car crash more than five years ago has settled their wrongful death lawsuit against the family with whom she was visiting for $1.75 million reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

When the 14-year-old’s father dropped is daughter at her friend’s house, he specifically told her friend’s mother she was not to ride in an automobile with a juvenile. He told her “no boys with cars” and was told “not to worry.” Later, the mother told the girls to accept a ride home from the movie theater with a young boy, despite knowing he had a reputation for recklessness. During the ride home, the young girl sent her family a text message she feared for her life.

The Virginia Supreme Court stated that although supervising adults can’t be expected to ensure a child’s welfare, they are liable when they fail to act responsibily.

Wrongful death is a death cause by the carelessness of misconduct of another person or organization – including failure to act to avert a death. The experienced Crouse Law Firm is dedicated to helping families of wrongful death victims. For a free legal consultation, call us today at 919-861-0500 or submit an online form.

Supervising Parents Sued In Child’s Wrongful Death