Texas Aviation Accident Attorneys
Fortunately, aviation accidents are rare. But when they do occur, they are typically catastrophic. Plane crashes, helicopter accidents, and other aviation incidents frequently result in fatalities to pilots and passengers. If you or a loved one were injured in an aviation accident in Texas, you may have the right to pursue compensation from the parties responsible for the wreck.
The Texas aviation accident attorneys at Slack Davis PLLC have extensive experience handling aviation litigation and have recovered substantial settlements and verdicts for clients injured or impacted by aircraft accidents. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys.
Why Choose Slack Davis PLLC to Handle My Aviation Accident Case?
Aviation accidents often involve powerful defendants such as airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and insurance companies. These corporations often throw their weight around and use their vast resources to challenge claims at exactly the wrong time — when you need financial support for serious injuries or because you lost a loved one in an aviation crash. Slack Davis PLLC won’t let that happen.
Our firm has built a national reputation for handling complex aviation cases. Clients in Texas and around the U.S. choose us for the case because:
- Aviation accident litigation is one of our primary practice areas.
- We’ve represented clients all over the world in their cases.
- We’ve recovered millions upon millions for victims of crashes involving airplanes, helicopters, and other aircraft.
- We’ve been taking on commercial airlines and insurers for decades.
- Our team boasts engineering and technical aviation backgrounds in addition to being top trial lawyers.
- Our Texas aviation accident attorneys have thousands of hours of flying time logged as pilots — we understand airplanes and what can go wrong.
Contact us today to schedule a free case review. We are here to help you get justice for what happened to you.
How a Texas Aviation Accident Attorney Can Help You
After an aviation accident, victims and families are often left searching for answers. Aircraft crash investigations may take months or even years to complete.
Moreover, these accidents may involve negligent pilot decisions, aircraft maintenance issues, equipment failures, or regulatory violations — embracing a wide group of potential at-fault parties who will likely point the finger at one another.
An experienced Texas aviation accident attorney can help you identify the cause of your crash and determine who is liable and for how much.
Your Texas aviation crash lawyer will:
- Conduct an independent investigation into the aviation accident
- Preserve and analyze critical evidence, including flight data and maintenance records
- Work with aviation experts, engineers, and accident reconstruction specialists
- Identify all potentially liable parties, including airlines, pilots, manufacturers, and maintenance providers
- Monitor investigations conducted by agencies such as the NTSB and FAA
- Calculate the full value of your damages, including long-term medical care and lost earning capacity
- Handle communications with insurance companies and opposing parties
- Negotiate aggressively for a fair settlement
- Defend against allegations that you contributed to the accident
- File a lawsuit and represent you at trial if a fair resolution cannot be reached
Hiring an experienced Texas aviation accident lawyer is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your case. Contact Slack Davis PLLC to learn more about how our legal team can help you get justice.
When Do Most Aviation Accidents Occur?
Aircraft accidents can occur at any stage of flight. However, statistics from aviation safety investigations show that certain phases present greater risks of collisions and wrecks.
Final Approach and Landing (46%)
The majority of aviation accidents — just shy of 50% — occur when aircraft are preparing to land. During this stage, pilots must carefully manage altitude, speed, and alignment with the runway, even during adverse weather conditions.
Takeoff and Initial Climb (21%)
Takeoff is another high-risk phase of flight. Here, aircraft are operating at maximum power, and pilots must react quickly to any mechanical issues or environmental hazards that could cause a collision.
Taxiing and Ground Operations (9%)
Not all aviation accidents happen in the air. Aircraft collisions or mechanical failures during ground movement can also lead to catastrophic wrecks.
Climbing to Altitude (9%)
After takeoff, aircraft must climb steadily to their cruising altitude while maintaining proper speed and direction. Because aircraft are still gaining altitude and stabilizing after departure, problems during the climb phase can quickly escalate into emergencies.
Cruising at Altitude (9%)
Although cruising flight is generally considered one of the safest phases of aviation travel, accidents can still occur due to mechanical failures, sudden weather changes, turbulence, or pilot misjudgment.
Descent and Initial Approach (3%)
The descent and initial approach phase requires careful coordination between pilots and air traffic control. Improper altitude management and communication mistakes can increase the risk of accidents.
What Causes Aviation Accidents in Texas?
Aviation accidents are rarely caused by a single mistake. Instead, they often result from a combination of human error, mechanical failure, and environmental factors.
- Pilot error. Pilots must make critical decisions during every stage of flight. Communication or navigation mistakes can have serious consequences.
- Mechanical failure. Aircraft rely on complex systems that must be properly maintained. Engine malfunctions, structural defects, or equipment failures can lead to loss of control.
- Improper maintenance. Maintenance technicians must inspect or repair aircraft components properly to minimize the risk of mechanical failures.
- Weather conditions may also play a role in aviation accidents. Severe storms, strong winds, icing, and poor visibility can create hazardous flying conditions.
- Violations of federal aviation safety regulations. Airlines, pilots, and maintenance providers must comply with strict safety standards. Violations of these rules commonly lead to accidents.
Modern aircraft rely heavily on advanced technology and automated flight systems designed to improve safety. While these systems can reduce human error in many situations, they have also introduced new challenges within the aviation industry.
In some cases, pilots must quickly take control of complex systems when something goes wrong, and limited manual experience can make these situations more difficult to manage. Software updates and technological changes can also create safety concerns if pilots are not fully informed or trained on new systems.
The aviation accident attorneys at Slack Davis PLLC work to hold negligent airlines and other service providers accountable when aviation technology failures contribute to accidents. Our firm also advocates for stronger safety practices and industry oversight to help ensure that advances in aviation technology truly improve passenger safety.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Texas Aviation Accident?
Determining liability in an aviation accident is often more complicated than in other types of transportation accidents. Aircraft operations involve multiple individuals and companies responsible for maintaining safety. When an accident occurs, more than one party may share responsibility for the crash.
Identifying every potentially liable party is an essential part of building a successful aviation accident claim. Each responsible party may carry separate insurance coverage, which can affect the total compensation available to victims.
Pilots and Flight Crews
Pilots have a legal duty to operate aircraft safely and comply with federal aviation regulations. Errors related to navigation, aircraft control, or decision-making can contribute to aviation accidents. When pilot negligence plays a role in a crash, the pilot or the company employing them may be liable.
Airlines and Charter Companies
Airlines and charter operators are responsible for ensuring that their pilots are properly trained and that aircraft are maintained according to safety regulations. If an airline fails to follow proper safety procedures or allows unsafe aircraft to operate, it may be held accountable for resulting injuries.
Aircraft Owners
In some cases, the individual or company that owns an aircraft may bear responsibility for an accident. Aircraft owners are typically responsible for ensuring that the aircraft is properly maintained and safe to operate.
Maintenance Companies
Aircraft maintenance requires careful inspection and adherence to strict procedures. If maintenance technicians fail to properly inspect or repair aircraft systems, mechanical failures may occur during flight.
Maintenance providers can be held liable if negligent repairs or inspections contribute to an aviation accident.
Aircraft Manufacturers
Sometimes, aviation accidents occur because of defective aircraft components or design flaws. In these cases, the manufacturer of the aircraft or one of its parts may be responsible under product liability law.
Manufacturers may be held liable when defects in engines, navigation systems, structural components, or other parts contribute to an accident.
Airports and Ground Operations
Airports and ground service providers also play a role in aviation safety. In certain cases, airport operators or contractors may share liability for injuries that occur during taxiing, takeoff, or landing.
At Slack Davis PLLC, our legal team works closely with aviation experts who analyze flight data, maintenance records, pilot training histories, and other technical information. We conduct comprehensive investigations while monitoring parallel federal and state agency investigations to determine the causes of your crash and who shares liability for it.
How Do You Prove Negligence in an Aviation Accident Case in Texas?
Most aviation accident claims are based on negligence. To recover compensation, you must typically prove that another party’s failure to act with reasonable care caused the accident and resulting injuries to passengers or pilots.
Proving negligence in an aviation case often requires extensive investigation and expert testimony from multiple engineering and accident reconstruction specialists.
- Duty of care. Airlines and parties responsible for flight and operations owe a duty of care to passengers and others affected by aircraft operations. This duty requires them to follow safety regulations and operate aircraft responsibly at all times.
- A Breach of Duty. You must next demonstrate that the at-fault party failed to meet applicable safety standards by operating an aircraft in unsafe weather conditions, failing to maintain critical components, or violating federal aviation regulations, etc.
- Causation. You must also show that the negligent conduct directly caused the accident and that the accident and injuries were a foreseeable consequence of that conduct. This element often requires expert testimony from industry specialist.
- Damages. You must show that the accident caused physical injuries, financial losses, and/or emotional harm.
Importantly, you must prove all four elements to have a successful case; failing to prove just one will eliminate your right to compensation. An experienced Texas aviation accident law firm will gather many types of evidence to help you prove these elements and show how an airline operator or another party is liable for your accident.
What Compensation Is Available After an Aviation Accident in Texas?
Aviation accidents often cause catastrophic injuries that require extensive medical treatment and long recovery periods. In many cases, these accidents are fatal and leave family members grieving a loved one.
Texas law allows aviation accident victims to pursue compensation for the full range of losses caused by the accident. Victims may be able to recover damages for both financial and personal losses, including:
- Emergency medical treatment and hospitalization
- Surgery and ongoing medical care
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Lost wages during recovery
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering resulting from the accident
- Emotional distress and psychological trauma
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
If an aviation accident results in the loss of a loved one, surviving family members may also pursue a wrongful death claim. These claims may provide compensation for many of the deceased person’s pre-death expenses mentioned above, as well as money for:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of financial support
- Loss of companionship, guidance, and care provided by the deceased
An experienced Texas aviation crash lawyer can help you track your damages and work with economic and medical experts to help establish the full value of your claim. The goal of these cases is to make you as whole as possible by covering every loss caused by a crash that never should have happened.
How Long Do I Have to File an Aviation Accident Claim in Texas?
In Texas, personal injury claims are generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations. This means that victims typically have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit seeking compensation.
However, aviation accident cases can involve additional factors that affect filing deadlines. For example, claims involving government entities or international flights may be subject to different rules or shorter notice requirements.
For these reasons, it is often important to speak with an aviation accident attorney as soon as possible to determine your rights.
Contact the Texas Aviation Accident Attorneys at Slack Davis PLLC
Aviation accidents can change a life. They can also cost a victim their life and leave families grappling with how to move forward. An aviation accident claim can’t bring back your loved one, but it can help you get the financial support you need to address financial losses and emotional ones.
The Texas aviation accident attorneys at Slack Davis PLLC are here to help your family — we’ve helped clients all over the world just like you.
If you or a loved one were injured in an aviation accident in Texas, contact Slack Davis PLLC to schedule a free consultation. We’re here to help you seek accountability and justice.