Ladd Sanger, managing partner of the Slack & Davis Dallas office, focuses on both air crash litigation and product liability matters. Sanger is an FAA licensed commercial airplane pilot with instrument and multi-engine ratings. He also is a licensed helicopter pilot.

Sanger has been recognized by Law & Politics magazine’s Rising Star Super Lawyers (2004) and Super Lawyers (2008 – present), and by The Best Lawyers in America (every year since 2004). He is an AV^® Rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, based on peer reviews for ability and integrity. In 2010, he was named Chair of the Aviation Law Section of the American Association for Justice (AAJ).

During his career, Sanger has litigated numerous international and domestic airline, military and general aviation crash cases, such as the following recent examples*:

• American Airlines Flight 331 crash in Kingston, Jamaica, December 2009
• Cessna Caravan crash in Guatemala, August 2008
• Fox 4 News helicopter crash near Dallas, TX, July 2007
• Gol Flight 1907 crash near Mato Grosso, Brazil, November 2006
• Merlin III B crash at Teterboro, NJ, May 2005
• American Connection Flight 5966 crash in Kirksville, MO, October 2004
• American Airlines Flight 587 crash near Rockaway, NY, November 2001 (appointed to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee)
• Dallas Cowboys Learjet 60 in Troy, AL, January 2001
• AirFrance Concorde crash at Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, July 2000
• EgyptAir 990 crash off the coast of Nantucket, MA, October 1999

*These and many other aviation cases are profiled on the
Slack & Davis Aviation Web site.

In addition to his aviation practice, Sanger has prosecuted and tried as lead counsel products liability cases involving automobiles. He has litigated and tried cases in multiple jurisdictions in both state and federal court. He is licensed to practice law in both Texas and Colorado.

Sanger grew up in Wyoming. He moved to Texas in 1988 and received his Bachelor of Business degree in finance from Southern Methodist University in 1992. From 1990 to 1994, he worked for AMR Combs, the general aviation affiliate of American Airlines, where he gained a broad-based background in the corporate and commercial aviation industries.

In 1996, Sanger obtained his Doctorate of Jurisprudence degree from Oklahoma City University, where he was selected as managing editor of the Law Review and to the executive committee of the Moot Court Board. Following law school, he completed the Aircraft Accident Investigation course at the University of Southern California.

Author and Lecturer
Sanger currently serves on the board of the American Association for Justice Aviation Newsletter. During his legal career, Sanger has published and authored numerous articles on aviation, civil procedure and product liability litigation. His legal writings have been published in numerous law journals and legal publications. Sanger is also a sought-after speaker on aviation and legal subjects. He has discussed aviation and legal topics on national and international television and radio programs, and in newspapers throughout the U.S.A. and other countries.

Sanger’s publications include:

• “Your First Helicopter Crash Case”
  Trial Magazine (February 2010, Volume 46, No. 2)

• “Aviation Cases Address Pre-Emption, Jurisdictional Matters”
  Texas Lawyer (July 13, 2009)

• “Mandatory Aviation Insurance: A Domestic and International Perspective”
  American Association for Justice presentation (2008)

• “Litigating Accidents and Injuries Under the Montreal Convention,”
  Texas Lawyer (August 6, 2007)

• “Flying and Crashing on the Wings of Fortuosity: The Case for Applying Admiralty Jurisdiction to Aviation Accidents over Navigable Waters”
  Journal of Air Law and Commerce (2003)
• “Failure to Warn: The Difference Between Strict Liability and Negligence from a Plaintiff’s Perspective”
  Air and Space Lawyer (Winter 1999)
• “Preparing for and Taking and Effective Deposition”
  The University of Texas School of Law presentation (1998)

• “Will the General Aviation Revitalization Act Allow the Industry to Fly High Again? Oklahoma City Law Review (1995)

Sanger’s presentations include:

• “Retaining the Aviation Law Expert”
  International Air & Transportation Safety Bar Association (formerly NTSB Bar Association) (December 2012)
• “Ethics of Solicitation and Advertising in Aviation Disaster Cases”
  American Association for Justice Convention (July 2012)
• “A Flight School on Trial”
  Flight School Association of North America, International Flight School Operators Conference (May 2012)
• “The State of Aviation Law”
  American Association for Justice Annual Convention (July 2009)
• “Five Key Recommendations to the DOT:  A New Direction for Air Transport in America”
  Aviation on Trial! Aviation Litigation Committee CLE Seminar (June 2009)
• “Anatomy of the Aviation Expert: What You Want and What You Don’t”
  American Bar Association Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section, Aviation and Space Law Committee (Fall 2006)
• “Handling the Aviation Case”
  Texas Trial Lawyers Association (Fall 2004)
• “Latest in Aviation Litigation”
  Texas Trial Lawyers Association (Fall 2003)
• “Pending Carrier Litigation”
  American Bar Association, Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section and Aviation Litigation Committee (2003)

Contact Ladd Sanger