Frequently Asked Questions

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is a federal agency charged with investigating significant aviation, railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline accidents. Since 1962, the NTSB has maintained a publicly accessible database of civil aviation accidents and incidents that you can search. Just go to the Aviation Accident Database and enter the company’s name under Event Details in the field “Enter your word string below.”

A settlement in an aviation case can include pain and suffering, medical bills, and past, current, and future loss of wages. If a fatal accident occurs, the victim’s relatives may be eligible for loss of support, funeral expenses, and damages that the deceased would have provided to family members.

A skilled aviation attorney will conduct a thorough investigation to determine who is at fault in the case of a deadly plane crash or accident. An aircraft owner or operator, an aircraft manufacturer, maintenance vendors, air traffic control, an insurer, or the pilot may be at fault.

A statute of limitations places a time limit that dictates how long after an accident you have to make a claim. This time period varies, depending on where and how you file a lawsuit — whether in state, federal, or international court.

According to research conducted by Boeing into commercial flights between 2007 and 2016, 48% of fatal crashes occurred during the final descent and landing. Take-off and the initial ascent represent the second-most-deadly portion of a flight, or 13% of fatal accidents. These stages are sometimes referred to as the "plus three minus eight" rule, meaning that a majority of plane crashes take place during either the first three minutes or the last eight minutes of a flight.

In some cases, lawyers who are inexperienced at handling commercial aviation cases propose a deeply reduced percentage of the final settlement to a potential client, as an incentive to encourage an individual to engage a particular firm in a case. In many cases, lawyers "bundle" multiple cases together and present them to an insurer to propose a settlement. Discounted fee arrangements tend to result in lower settlement amounts for each client. Experienced aviation attorneys like those at Slack Davis Sanger have the opposite goal in mind: to secure clients the optimum recovery in the shortest possible time.

Texas leads the nation in commercial truck crashes. We can help decrease the number of catastrophic injuries in these accidents with:

• Better driver screening and training
• Improved truck maintenance
• Implementation of safety systems
• Elimination of distractions
• Safety device installation

Slack Davis Sanger is dedicated to improving truck safety and making our streets and roadways safer.

One of the reasons that accidents involving commercial trucks and vehicles are complex is that there can be multiple parties who share liability. You may be able to file a claim against the driver of the truck, the trucking company and broker, and/or the truck’s manufacturer. If the reason for the crash was that the truck was poorly maintained, other parties may be found to be at fault. Having an experienced truck accident attorney working to pursue your claim can increase your chances of recovering current and future financial losses due to the incident.

Right away! Many trucking companies have "quick reaction teams" for instances when their drivers are involved in an accident. They sometimes arrive on scene before the accident is even cleared away, which means they're already a step ahead. You need someone on your side working for you as soon as possible after the accident to preserve evidence and inspect the truck.

According to the Texas Department of Transportation, the top reason for fatal crashes in Texas in 2016 were:

• Driving at an unsafe speed
• Driving under the influence of alcohol
• Distracted driving
• Failure to stay in one lane
• Failure to yield to a vehicle, pedestrian, or cyclist

The legal team at Slack Davis Sanger has extensive experience researching auto and truck accidents to determine the factors linked to crashes in order to pursue the best possible outcome for our clients.

Slack Davis Sanger works on a contingency basis for truck accident cases. That means the firm charges no fees to our clients unless we make a successful recovery. We cover all the upfront costs of filing and litigating the lawsuit on behalf of our clients. If we obtain a recovery, Slack Davis Sanger is reimbursed for our expenses and takes a fee, which is a pre-determined percentage of the recovery that the client agrees to when the firm is hired. This fee covers office overhead, staff time, and attorney time. The fee and reimbursed expenses are deducted from the settlement or award. The amount of the contingent fee charged depends on the complexity and risk associated with your claim.

Workers’ compensation provides you with the opportunity to be reimbursed for medical and disability expenses incurred as a result of a job-related injury. That said, in some cases, an experienced attorney can determine whether negligence by third parties may also have put you or a loved one at risk for wrongful death or serious injury.

In these third-party personal injury cases, having a lawyer on your side who has a complete understanding of workplace safety can enable you and your family to recover additional damages.

Texas companies are not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Companies that do not carry worker's compensation insurance are called “non-subscribers.” Non-subscribers forfeit some legal protections when they opt out of the workers’ compensation program. Company employees working for "non-subscribers" are not entitled to worker's compensation. In these cases, victims of oilfield accidents and construction site injuries count on the skilled legal team at Slack Davis Sanger to recommend the best approach to recovering damages from these tragic accidents.

Depending on the circumstances of the incident, you may be eligible to claim workers’ compensation, if your employer carries workers' compensation insurance. This minimal safeguard may entitle you to medical care and limited benefits for temporary disability, permanent disability, or vocational rehabilitation in the event of a workplace-related injury.

In some cases, other parties may be liable for your damages, including contractors, property owners, or equipment manufacturers. In these instances, the representation of a legal team experienced in worker and equipment safety like Slack Davis Sanger can be crucial to properly evaluating your case and advising you on pursuing a claim.

Determining the responsible parties is the first step in determining how to move forward after an oilfield or construction site accident that resulted in injury or death. In addition to the worker and employer, the leaseholder on the job site may be held liable for damages. If defective equipment was responsible for your accident, a lawsuit can be filed against the manufacturer, supplier, and/or seller of that product. Since multiple contractors are often present on a well site, your case may involve pursuing a claim against a third-party contractor.

In the event of an oilfield or construction injury, a settlement may include compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, current and future lost earnings, physical impairments or disfigurements, or a loss of household services.

In the state of Texas, victims have two years from the date of the incident to file a claim in a personal injury case related to damages experienced as a result of a workplace accident. The statute of limitations may vary depending on the state in which you were working at the time of the incident. The skilled attorneys at Slack Davis Sanger have decades of experience working with injured parties to pursue these claims within mandated limits.

Slack Davis Sanger works on a contingency basis for oilfield or construction site cases. That means the firm charges no fees to our clients unless we make a successful recovery. We cover all the upfront costs of filing and litigating the lawsuit on behalf of our clients. If we obtain a recovery, Slack Davis Sanger is reimbursed for our expenses and takes a fee, which is a pre-determined percentage of the recovery that the client agrees to when the firm is hired. This fee covers office overhead, staff time, and attorney time. The fee and reimbursed expenses are deducted from the settlement or award. The amount of the contingent fee charged depends on the complexity and risk associated with your claim.

The legal team at Slack Davis Sanger has the experience and resources to advocate for victims of oilfield accidents that occurred on land or on offshore rigs. Since offshore accidents can involve overlapping jurisdictions and regulations, having an experienced legal team like the attorneys at Slack Davis Sanger fighting for your rights is critical in obtaining a favorable settlement.

The high price of crude oil, combined with new drilling technologies, has created unprecedented demand in the oil and gas industry in Texas and other states. In some cases, companies have sacrificed worker and equipment safety as they struggle to keep up with increased demand for these resources. Unfortunately, these conditions have resulted in more injuries and deaths at job sites. The team at Slack Davis Sanger has decades of experience in litigating these cases and seeking favorable outcomes for families that have been changed forever by an oilfield accident.

In most cases, the owner of the property and the general contractor share liability for construction site safety. In some cases, this responsibility also extends to subcontractors. The extent to which each party is responsible varies by the project. The outstanding team at Slack Davis Sanger can determine who is at fault in construction site accidents and help you seek just compensation.

Damages in a personal injury or wrongful death case usually fall into three categories:

• Economic damages, which includes any financial assets lost or put in jeopardy because of the injuries sustained or the untimely or unexpected passing. These damages might include the victim's future income, the loss of pensions and benefits, an inheritance, funeral costs, medical expenses, or the value of any goods and services that would have been provided.
• Non-economic damages, which can constitute the majority of total damages awarded. This compensation includes less tangible losses, including love, guidance, companionship, and the loss of the relationship with the spouse.
• Punitive damages, which are available only in some states to punish the defendant for committing illegal behaviors that led to the victim's injuries or passing.

There is not a specific formula used to calculate an amount for damages. A skilled personal injury or wrongful death lawyer can work with expert testimony to obtain the largest possible settlement to provide you with the security and closure to move forward.

Under some circumstances, the family member of a victim of a wrongful death claim can seek compensation for emotional distress that is a byproduct of witnessing the traumatic incident. Only the most qualified wrongful death lawyers can pursue these types of claims, including the team at Slack Davis Sanger.

The question of who is eligible to recover damages from a wrongful death lawsuit is not clear-cut, as the answer varies depending on the state in which you live. In Texas, the children, spouse, or parents of the deceased can sue. Siblings, grandparents, friends, and unmarried partners cannot file a wrongful death claim. In a majority of cases, a common-law spouse or a spouse who is separated from the individual that passed away can bring a wrongful death suit, while foster parents and stepparents cannot. An adopted child can file a claim for adopted parents but not for biological parents.

The statute of limitations varies, depending on the state in which you live. In Texas, a personal claim must be filed within two years of an incident. Since evidence begins to disappear quickly after the initial incident, most experienced personal injury and wrongful death lawyers will advise you to begin recording evidence much earlier.

Businesses can create a culture of safety and awareness to safeguard against product defects. Once these measures are in place, a rigorous quality control program can help identify problems as a product is being designed and manufactured, so they can be corrected before an item is in use by a consumer.

Since there are no federal laws about defective products, consumers are protected by a set of regulations at the state level. Liability for a dangerous product can rest on several parties along the distribution chain, including:

• The manufacturer of a product
• A manufacturer of the component parts
• The party that installs or assembles a product
• The wholesaler
• The retail outlet that sells a product

Claims can be brought under the theories of strict liability, breach of warranty of fitness, and negligence. Some products are inherently dangerous. In these cases, the burden is on manufacturers and suppliers to provide appropriate warnings to enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

The amount of time it takes for a wrongful death lawsuit to reach a conclusion is dependent on a number of factors. In some cases, you could receive a settlement check in a matter of months. However, it is not unusual for it to take years to receive compensation after filing your claim.

There is no set minimum number of parties to a class action lawsuit. In some cases, you may have only one plaintiff, and in others, a few dozen individuals can be involved. Plaintiffs serve as the representatives, or “Lead Plaintiffs,” in the “class” for all the other affected parties.

Although each case is different, in general, a class action settlement can include compensatory damages (which can include “pain and suffering” as well as out-of-pocket expenses), declaratory relief, injunctions, punitive damages, recovery of litigation costs, and attorney fees.