
Airplane Accident Attorneys
Aviation injury cases are ALL we do since 1968
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Global Airplane Accident Attorneys
For over four decades the airplane accident attorneys at Katzman Lampert & Stoll have established themselves as leading experts in the field of aviation law and have prided themselves on serving the needs of aviation injury victim and the families of those killed in these incidents.
Both senior partners at the firm, David Katzman and Bruce Lampert, are experienced litigators, tenacious air accident investigators, and pilots. This provides us with a unique perspective and understanding of the variations in federal, state, and international aviation laws regarding both general and commercial aviation. Our aviation accident attorneys have handled civil, military, and commercial aviation cases all over the United States and in Guam, Korea, the Philippines, Greece, Greenland, and Newfoundland.
Five Reasons to Choose Katzman Lampert & Stoll
Hundreds of Millions Obtained on Behalf of Our Clients
Here are a few examples of recent verdicts and judgments from jury trials we have conducted: twelve million three hundred thirty three thousand five hundred dollars ($12,333,500.00) arising from a trial in Texas in Hanak v DynCorp, involving a crash due to faulty maintenance of a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter in Italy; fourteen million fourteen thousand five hundred and 16/100 dollars ($14,014,500.16) from a trial we conducted in Maryland, in Parsons, et al. v. Midwest Air Traffic Control Services Inc., et al. involving a midair collision; and, fifty four million dollars ($54,000,000.00) involving the crash of a Boeing 747-400 aircraft in Bagram, Afghanistan, as noted above. This is a sampling, as we have been taking cases to trial for many, many, years.
Successful Litigators
We have a long history of successful adversarial litigation with Boeing. Our cases against Boeing in particular, and specifically with regard to design problems in its 737 aircraft, include the representation of many clients reaching back to the crash of United Airlines flight 585, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on March 1, 1991, and the crash of USAir flight 427 while on approach to land at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 8, 1994. Both of those crashes involved a single-point design failure that caused a rudder reversal, leading to crashes of both 737 aircraft. In the lawsuits arising from both of those crashes, our firm was appointed by the federal courts to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, to lead the litigation.
We also represented several clients and served on the Steering Committee arising from the crash of TWA flight 800 on July 17, 1996. That case involved a design defect in the center fuel tank of a 747 aircraft, leaving it susceptible to explosion from spontaneous combustion.
More recently we have litigated with Boeing on product liability and negligence claims involving the 747-400 crash of National Airlines flight 102 at Bagram Airport, Afghanistan, on April 29, 2013. That crash involved improper loading and restraint of military cargo.
Over 5 Decades Representing the People in Aviation Law Cases
In these past fifty-one years we have handled cases ranging from design and manufacturing defects to pilot error and improper maintenance, involving most of the aircraft types, makes, and models certificated in general aviation and transport category aircraft by the Federal Aviation Administration. We have handled cases from trial through appeals up to and including the United States Supreme Court. First and foremost, we are trial lawyers.
Expertise in All Facets of Aviation Law
Our firm employs several consultants, including pilots, aerodynamic engineers, mechanical engineers and materials engineers, who we regularly retain and deploy when investigating and litigating the causes of aviation accidents. In addition, we employ economists and certified public accountants for modeling and projecting economic losses.
Trained and Experienced Pilots
Our firm was founded in 1968 and since its inception has practiced virtually exclusively in aviation law involving product liability and negligence claims causing personal injury and wrongful death. The partners in the firm are pilots. David Katzman holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate (the highest pilot certification issued by the Federal Aviation Administration), and is “type rated” and thus qualified to act as pilot-in-command and too instruct others in several transport category jet aircraft.
Experienced Pilots

Relentless Investigators
In-House Aviation Investigators
Aviation accident attorneys at Katzman Lampert & Stoll possess a leading technological edge. Our engineers and pilots use in-house aviation technology to reconstruct increasingly complex aviation accidents resulting from small airplane incidents, all the way to major disasters.
We operate jet and propjet aircraft. Therefore, we are able to fly staff to trial venues selected to obtain the optimum compensation under the applicable aviation laws for aviation accident victims and their families.
Trusted Attorneys
Aviation Law & Community Service
We apply our aviation law expertise to serve the community as well as our clients. We handle complex public interest cases for little or no fee and regularly evaluate pending aviation legislation on the basis of the best interest of persons seeking compensation for wrongful injuries and death resulting from aviation accidents.
Our aviation law attorneys are frequent spokespersons for the advancement of air safety through better design of aircraft and aviation products. As aviation safety advocates, they have published many articles on these subjects. In addition, our aviation accident attorneys have testified before the United States Senate and House of Representatives on pending and proposed legislation pertaining to aviation law.
RULINGS, CASES, AND CRASH NEWS
Below you will find articles about some of our recent cases, as well as news related to aviation crashes.
11 Dead in Hawaii Skydiving Plane Crash
Incident report: Katzman Lampert is currently representing a mother who lost her son in this crash. Date: June 19, 2019 Location: Dillingham Airfield, Oahu Hawaii, USA Airline: Private Type of Aircraft: Beech King Air 350 Type of Incident: Crashed After Takeoff Total...
10 Dead in Small Plane Crash at Dallas Area Airport
Incident report: Date: June 30, 2019 Location: Addison Airport, Addison TX, USA Airline: Private Type of Aircraft: Beech King Air 350 Type of Incident: Crashed on Takeoff Total Passengers: 8 + 2 Crew Fatalities: 10 (Addison Airport, Addison, TX, USA -July 1, 2019) On...
Miami Air 737 Skids Into St. Johns River
Incident report: Date: May 3, 2019 Location: St. John's River, Jacksonville, FL, USA Airline: Miami Air International Type of Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Type of Incident: Skid off runway into river Total Passengers: 143 Injuries: 20 - all minor Fatalities: 0 (Naval Air...
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 – Boeing 737 Max and the FAA
The Boeing 737 Max debacle has brought another very serious issue to the attention of the flying public. This issue has been one that we at Katzman, Lampert, and Stoll have been contending with for decades and it concerns the cozy relationship that exists between the...
Katzman Lampert & Stoll Wins Top 3 Jury Award
(Chicago, IL, USA -June 30, 2017) The law firm of Katzman Lampert & Stoll represented a plaintiff in the case Estate of Brokaw, et al. v. National Air Cargo Inc., which resulted in the third largest jury award in the state of Illinois in 2017. The awarded amount was...
Aviation Crashes and Emergency Landings – You Have Survived, Now What?
The sensation of the plane falling out of the sky. Panicked passengers crying and screaming on all sides of you. A feeling of complete helplessness. These are just a few of the things experienced by those who survive airplane and helicopter accidents. But it's what...
USA Today – “Lawsuits Loom for Southwest in Flight 1380 Tragedy”
(April 20, 2018) Katzman Lampert & Stoll has filed suit in Philadelphia on behalf of numerous SWA 1380 Victims. Litigation has goals far beyond compensation of accident victims. Where manufacturers and regulatory agencies have abrogated their responsibilities for...
Southwest Flight 1380 – Fan Blade Failures in Turbo Fan Engines
Katzman Lampert & Stoll has filed suit in Philadelphia on behalf of numerous SWA 1380 Victims. Litigation has goals far beyond compensation of accident victims. Where manufacturers and regulatory agencies have abrogated their responsibilities for safety, focused...
Southwest Emergency Landing – Philadelphia – 4-17-2018
Katzman Lampert & Stoll has filed suit in Philadelphia on behalf of numerous SWA 1380 Victims. Litigation has goals far beyond compensation of accident victims. Where manufacturers and regulatory agencies have abrogated their responsibilities for safety, focused...
Arizona Golf Course Plane Crash – 4-9-2018
Incident report: Date: April 9, 2018 Location: TPC Scottsdale Golf Course, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA Airline: Private Type of Aircraft: Piper PA-24-260 Type of Incident: Crash following takeoff Total Passengers: 6 Fatalities: All 6 passengers Injuries: 0 reported...
Marion, Indiana Runway Collision – 4/2/2018
Incident report: Date: April 2, 2018 Location: Marion Municipal Airport, Marion, IN, USA Airline: Unknown Type of Aircraft: Cessna 525 Citation Jet and Cessna 150 Type of Incident: Runway Collision Total Passengers: 5 aboard the Citation, 2 onboard the Cessna 150...
Grand Canyon Tourist Helicopter Crash – 2/10/2018
Incident report: Date: February 10, 2018 Location: Quartermaster Canyon, Grand Canyon West Rim, USA Airline: Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters Type of Aircraft: Eurocopter EC130 Type of Incident: Crash followed by fire Total Passengers: 7 Injuries: 4 Fatalities: 3...
American Airlines Flight 383 Fire – Chicago O’Hare to Miami
Incident report: Katzman Lampert is currently representing one client in this case. Date: October 28, 2016 Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA Airline: American Airlines Type of Aircraft: Boeing 767-300 Type of Incident: Fire on Runway/Takeoff Total Passengers: 170...
Southwest Airlines Emergency Landing – Oakland to Chicago
Incident report: Katzman Lampert & Stoll is currently representing one client in this case. Date: Location: Oakland to Chicago Airline: Southwest Type of Aircraft: Type of Incident: Emergency Landing Total Passengers: Injuries: Fatalities: Katzman Lampert & Stoll...
United Airlines Emergency Landing Flight 6517 Tucson AZ
Incident report: Katzzman Lampert & Stoll has been retained by several victims for representation in this case. Since our team is already intimately familiar with the details of this incident, if you were injured in this accident or believe you are due compensation,...
Our practice exclusively involves injury and death cases resulting from airplane accidents, helicopter crashes, and aviation disasters.
Our Commitment to Air Law and Litigation
Letter to Prospective Clients
The relationship of our law firm with our clients often begins in the midst of great human tragedy. When aviation goes wrong, it has the capacity to hurt and kill. With each death and injury, grief ripples through loving relationships, families and extended families, bringing terrible loss and sorrow.
Often at some point, even in the midst of such horrific loss, there arise questions – the questions of “why and how?” Why did this accident happen? How did it happen? How can it be prevented from happening again?
Like many law firms, we have airline injury attorneys dedicated to advancing our clients’ causes. The difference is that at Katzman Lampert & Stoll, our aviation lawyers are pilots, engineers, investigators, and reconstructionists. We believe there is a need to seek and determine the real and true cause of an aviation tragedy while obtaining fair and just compensation for accident victims and their families. Because governmental agencies have abdicated their policing functions to the very industries they are charged with regulating, our legal system is left to and must hold accountable wrongdoers for their misdeeds. Public policy and corporate boardroom misbehavior can be and often are revealed and influenced by the piercing light of litigation’s discoveries.
Although the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is responsible for investigating and determining the probable cause of aviation accidents in the United States, it lacks sufficient budget, manpower, experts, and inclination to fully and properly investigate most general aviation and many commercial aircraft accidents. In most general aviation accident cases, the NTSB investigators typically spend only one day at an accident scene and quickly send the airframe and engine parts to their manufacturers for examination and testing – the fox watching the hen house – before closing the file with “pilot error” rubber stamped as the probable cause.
Experienced Aviation Attorneys
In high-profile aviation mass disaster accidents, the NTSB will expend more time, manpower, and money; however, in reality these efforts are directed more toward political rather than technical issues. The NTSB’s investigations are a mile wide, but only an inch deep, because the government’s investigators simply do not want to find technical flaws that might negatively affect an entire fleet of airplanes to the economic detriment of the manufacturers. Three specific examples of aviation product design flaws quickly come to mind in which this firm has been deeply involved and where the NTSB has had its “head in the sand”: un-commanded rudder reversal on 737 aircraft; an explosive mixture of fuel and air in the centerline fuel tanks of wide-body aircraft; and the lack of a requirement for use of child restraints on commercial airliners.
Through political lobbying and by actual participation as “party representatives” to most aviation accident investigations, industry has effectively co-opted the integrity of the government accident investigation process. It is left to aviation accident attorneys, especially those of us who are pilots and engineers deeply interested in finding the truth, to expend the time and invest the money and manpower to get to the bottom of these great tragedies. Litigation and the potential of large jury damage awards are, in many cases, the only checks and balances on the unbridled profit motive of corporate entities.
The attorneys of Katzman Lampert & Stoll have an established track record of tirelessly running down every lead and clue, performing the necessary engineering analysis, and undertaking the extensive flight tests needed to determine the cause of an accident. These efforts have resulted in advances in aircraft design, more reliable power plants, improved air traffic control procedures, and more crashworthy aircraft. As pilots ourselves, we prefer to prevent the next accident rather than to re-litigate over and over again the same problem at the cost of additional loss of life and the terrible pain inflicted by each accident. This is the higher goal that we seek to achieve.
You can expect, and we promise, a partnership dedicated to finding the truth and holding legally accountable the individuals or corporations whose actions have caused a tragedy. We seek to hold wrongdoers accountable and obtain fair and just compensation for those who have suffered a tragic loss from an aviation accident, while protecting other people from a similar fate in the future.
VERY SINCERELY, THE AVIATION ATTORNEYS OF KATZMAN LAMPERT & STOLL
Determining the Truth in Aircraft Crashes and Disasters
The truth is an orphan when the investigation of an airplane or helicopter crash isn’t undertaken with the detailed inquiry needed to find all of the causal factors that contributed to an accident.
We have frequently found reason to criticize the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for not digging deep enough in its investigation of general aviation airplane and helicopter crashes. The NTSB is understaffed. Some of its investigators are undertrained leading them to the path of least resistance, rather than delving into the subtle, detailed evidence of crash dynamics. And, worse, some NTSB investigators simply rely too heavily on the aviation industries’ investigators who are invariably ‘assisting’ the NTSB in the official investigation (despite their obvious self interest). The manufacturers’ representatives to NTSB investigations never identify or produce documents that will assist an official investigation if they are adverse to a manufacturer’s legal interests. Because its resources are spread too thin and its investigators are inadequately trained, the NTSB is forced to rely on the airplane, helicopter and engine manufacturers’ expertise. And so, the fox is invited in to watch the hen house.
Attorneys, Licensed Pilots, Experienced Investigators
As pilots, applied mathematicians and engineers, the attorneys at Katzman Lampert & Stoll know how to assemble the right team of experts to delve deeply into all of the evidence and independently determine and verify the cause of an airplane or helicopter accident. In addition to piloting, the experts our firm retains include engineers qualified in aircraft crash reconstruction, metallurgy, aerodynamics and engine and airplane design and certification. When investigating and litigating an airplane or helicopter crash, the experts retained by Katzman Lampert & Stoll use the best-equipped laboratories and facilities available in the United States.
Our commitment in aviation law is to determine the truth and ethically advance our client’s cause.
MICHIGAN OFFICE
Katzman Lampert & Stoll
950 West University Dr #101
Rochester, MI 48307
E-mail: Contact Us
Toll-Free: (866) 309-6097
Phone: (248) 258-4800
Fax: (248) 258-2825
COLORADO OFFICE
Katzman Lampert & Stoll
9596 Metro Airport Ave.
Broomfield, CO 80021
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Toll-Free: (866) 309-6097
Phone: (303) 465-3663
Fax: (303) 867-1565
PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE
Katzman Lampert & Stoll
121 N. Wayne Ave. # 205
Wayne, PA 19087
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Toll-Free: (866) 309-6097
Phone: (610) 686-9686
Fax: (610) 686-9687