In January 2020, Delta Flight 89 was flying from Los Angeles to Shanghai. It should have been a standard flight, but the plane was overweight for the flight. To remedy this, the pilot dumped fuel over an elementary school, city hall, and nearby businesses in Cudahy and surrounding cities.
According to the settlement proposal, which has yet to be approved, 160,000 individual residents and over 38,000 businesses were impacted by this event. If the judge approves the settlement proposal, a $50 million fund for the impacted parties would be created. An additional reward would be given to the four teachers who brought this case forward.
If you find yourself in a situation where you experienced harm due to negligent company practices, contact a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer at Vaziri Law, LLP. Our team of dedicated lawyers would be happy to assist you in your time of need.
What Kind of Personal Injury Case is This?
This case can fall under various categories, like the average case. In the aftermath of an accident, people can experience brain injuries, wrongful death, or find out that they were in an accident with a commercial vehicle. These categories fall under the personal injury umbrella, and this Delta event is no different. This case can fall under two of these categories.
Commercial Vehicle
This situation isn’t easy to classify because it can fit into several categories. When we think of commercial vehicles, we often think of rideshare drivers, delivery drivers, and other company–owned cars and trucks on the road. However, airline–owned planes are another type of commercial vehicle, even if they don’t abide by the same rules as cars, trucks, and boats. They are still held to the same standards as other commercial vehicles. In this situation, the airline can be held responsible for improper cargo loading.
Ultimately, because the team failed to notice that the plane was overweight and needed to drain fuel before takeoff. Their failure to do so caused the plane to eject fuel in an emergency, which led to the incident.
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Toxic Exposure
It can also be considered a toxic exposure case, as fuel is a toxic substance that people are not supposed to have direct contact with. According to experts, fuel dumping is rare and only done in an emergency or if the pilot needs to reach a safe landing weight. However, there are special fuel-dumping procedures that require fuel to be dumped over designated unpopulated areas, such as over water and at 10,000 feet in the air. This way, the fuel turns into mist and is away from people.
In this case, the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) is about 20 miles from Cudahy, so the plane was already flying at a very low altitude. The question is why didn’t the pilot wait to get over a body of water or to a higher altitude instead of dumping fuel at the start of the flight? The question remains unanswered as Delta has chosen to remain silent on the matter.
How to Prove You Have a Personal Injury Case
If someone is involved in a commercial vehicle case or a toxic exposure case, they need to prove the same things someone would have to prove after a truck accident or even a wrongful death case. A personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles must prove four criteria before they can successfully file a case.
- Duty of care. Everyone has the legal responsibility to adhere to a standard of reasonable care. This means acting in a way that avoids harming others.
- Breach of duty. If someone acts in a way that does not abide by the duty of care, that is considered a breach. However, this action alone does not determine fault alone.
- Causation. Attorneys must make the link between the breach of duty and your injuries. This is where a lot of cases fall apart because the events cannot be connected.
- Damages. To make the link between someone’s breach of duty and your injuries, you need evidence. Without sound evidence, the case will not go into the negotiation process.
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What is Delta Liable For?
Overall, negligence. The case states that Delta was negligent in their duty to act in a reasonable manner. According to the suit, the pilot was aware of the problem prior to takeoff, and the airline should not have let the plane take off without unloading the extra fuel.
The case also alleges Delta had a duty to train pilots on safe dumping procedures to avoid harm to the masses. This duty of care was not provided, as it fell over a heavily populated area and affected school children and local businesses due to the plane being low enough that the fuel would not evaporate in the air.
What are the Damages?
While no one was physically harmed, ingesting plane fuel is not harmless. Plane fuel, like any other type of vehicle fuel, is toxic. When it’s directly ingested or exposed to the skin, it can cause a variety of health problems, especially in children.
The children who were exposed ingested the fuel, and it caused lasting and severe bodily injuries such as irritation and a lasting and noxious taste and smell in their mouths and noses. This made them sick, dizzy, and nauseated and caused breathing problems, along with emotional distress for them, the staff, and their parents.
FAQ
Can the Affected Children File a Claim in the Future?
In this case, the affected children are a part of the class action case with their parents or guardians acting on their behalf. Therefore, they would not be eligible to file their own personal injury case in the future.
Can I File a Case for My Child?
If your child was involved in an accident, you can file a case on their behalf, as long as you are the parent/legal guardian. Keep in mind that cases involving children operate under a judge’s discretion and have their own set of additional laws set in place to protect the child’s interest. To learn more, speak to a Los Angeles personal injury attorney.
How Can I Prove a Toxin Caused My Injury?
It can be difficult to prove a toxin caused your injury if it developed over time. This is the case for many workplace injuries that develop over time as well. Having medical records can be a great help, but it’s best to speak to a personal injury attorney to learn about what you can do in your situation.
What Does Compensation Look Like for a Personal Injury Case?
Compensation in a personal injury case depends on a variety of factors such as economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages refer to costs with a fixed price, such as medical visits, lost wages, home renovations, funeral and burial costs, and car repairs. Non-economic damages refer to psychological damages such as the development of depression, PTSD, or anxiety, as well as the loss of companionship or the loss of the ability to live your life as you did prior to the accident in question.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Case?
For most cases, clients have a 2-year window to file a case. However, it’s recommended to file sooner rather than later to avoid the erosion of key evidence and witnesses. For people involved in accidents with government bodies, the time frame is shorter and requires immediate action.
What’s the Average Time to Settle a Personal Injury Case?
The average personal injury case can take anywhere between six months and a year to settle. However, cases involving big companies, cities, and schools can take longer due to medical recovery, additional party involvement, and investigations.
How Much Does a Lawyer Cost?
Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee. We at Vaziri Law also work on a contingency fee. This means we can take your case, and if we win, we’ll take a percentage of your winnings as payment. To learn more, contact a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer today.
Do I Need an Attorney?
It depends on the case. In some minor cases like a fender bender, maybe not. However, for a case like this-–definitely. In cases involving businesses or entities with a team of lawyers, it’s highly recommended to have your own team of lawyers.
How Many People Are Needed to File a Class Action?
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need thousands of people to file a class action. A small group of people is enough. In some cases, wrongful death suits could become class actions if the decedent had enough family members affected by their death.
Does Comparative Negligence Apply in This Case?
Given the circumstances, this case is fully on the airline. However, this is a rare case, and even then, an investigation had to be conducted to determine this.
Contact a Personal Injury Lawyer Today!
Fuel dumps are a very rare occurrence; however, a company’s duty to provide a duty of care can be breached at any time. If you need assistance after an act of negligence on a company’s behalf, contact Vaziri Law today! Our team of Los Angeles personal injury lawyers is here to assist you in filing your claim and negotiating fair compensation on your behalf. Schedule your free consultation with us today!
