Podhurst Orseck Files 23 Lawsuits On Behalf Of Families Of Victims Of Air France Flight 447 Crash

PRLog (Press Release) - Mar 30, 2010 -
MIAMI – Leading aviation trial law firm Podhurst Orseck has filed 23 lawsuits and has been retained in many more which will soon be filed on behalf of passengers killed on Air France Flight 447, which crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in June 2009 while en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.  Air France Flight 447 marks the deadliest commercial airliner crash since 2001, killing all 228 passengers on board. The lawsuits were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida and come as French aviation investigators launch their third search effort to uncover the Airbus jetliner’s flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

Three-and-a-half hours into the flight, air traffic control received a series of automatic radio messages from the plane, indicating numerous problems and warnings. Many aviation experts believe it was a sequence of errors and malfunctions including the breakdown of the plane’s airspeed indicator and flight computer, and false readings of speed measurement which ultimately caused the plane to go down.

“From all of the information we have available, there is no doubt that the aircraft and its component parts were in a defective and unreasonably dangerous condition by failing to provide the pilots with necessary and accurate information so they could maintain proper altitude and air speed,” said Steve Marks, partner of Podhurst Orseck who filed the complaints on behalf of the crash victims’ families.  

The lawsuits name a number of aviation and technology manufacturers that contributed to the designing, manufacturing, assembling, marketing, and selling of the subject aircraft and its component parts, including Airbus S.A.S. and Airbus Americas Inc.; Honeywell International Inc.; Motorola Inc.; Intel Corporation; and Thales Group, Thales USA, Inc. and Thales Avionics, Inc. The suits seek damages for pecuniary losses as well as for pain and suffering of the crash victims and their decedents, as well as economic reparations.

Internationally recognized for his aviation litigation practice, Marks has represented victims in countless significant major commercial airline crashes, including, but not limited to, acting as co-lead trial counsel for the California State Court plaintiffs in the 1997 Silk Air Boeing 737 crash between Jakarta and Singapore (successfully obtaining one of the most significant and largest verdicts in a mass disaster aviation case). The Silk Air crash also involved a loss of control while at cruise altitude.  He has also acted as lead liaison counsel for the state court and federal multi-district litigation plaintiffs' steering committees in connection with the ValuJet Flight 592 crash in Miami-Dade County in 1996. Most recently, Marks secured a historic $10 million judgment in Spain in connection with the midair collision between Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 and DHL Flight 611.

Miami-based Podhurst Orseck, P.A., established over four decades ago, is a top flight boutique trial and appellate firm focusing its practice on tort litigation matters including aviation, products liability, serious personal injury, and wrongful death claims, as well as complex commercial litigation and white collar defense. Additionally, the firm has a strong appellate practice, handling appeals for its own attorneys and attorneys throughout the nation, in various state and federal appellate courts, including the United States Supreme Court.  The firm has consistently received an AV-Rating from Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, the highest possible rating, based on legal ability and general ethical standards. For more information, please visit www.podhurst.com.

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