Aviation Accident Litigation Since 1968

Katzman, Lampert & Stoll’s sole focus is aviation accident litigation. The firm represents individuals and families affected by aircraft accidents in the United States and abroad, including commercial airline disasters, general aviation crashes, and complex aircraft product liability matters. For more than five decades, the firm has evaluated, investigated, and litigated aviation accident cases involving commercial airlines, corporate aircraft, helicopters, and general aviation operations.

Aviation accidents are sudden and devastating events. Families are often left navigating technical investigations, regulatory processes, and complex legal questions. Many aviation accident cases also involve aircraft manufacturers, airlines, maintenance organizations, and insurers whose interests may not align with a full understanding of the causes of the event. Our role is to explain those processes clearly, conduct an independent evaluation of the accident, identify the parties whose conduct or products may have contributed, and pursue legal remedies when the facts support doing so.

An initial discussion is confidential, without cost, and focused on understanding the circumstances of the accident. If representation appears warranted, we explain the next steps clearly and in writing, including what information will need to be gathered, preserved, and evaluated.

Aviation Litigation Practice Focus

Katzman Lampert & Stoll represents individuals and families in complex aviation accident litigation nationwide. The firm investigates and litigates claims arising from commercial airline disasters, private and corporate aircraft accidents, helicopter crashes, and aircraft product liability matters involving manufacturers and component suppliers. Depending on the facts, that work may include claims involving operational error, maintenance failures, certification issues, and system or component defects.

• Commercial airline accident litigation
• Private and corporate aircraft accidents
• Helicopter and rotorcraft accidents
• Aircraft product liability and systems failure cases
• Maintenance negligence and inspection failures
• Operational control and flight-oversight claims
• Military and government contractor aviation matters

National Aviation Litigation Practice

Aviation accident cases often involve multiple parties, parallel government investigations, and complex technical and regulatory questions. Katzman, Lampert & Stoll handles these matters nationwide in federal and state courts, including cases that require coordinated litigation across jurisdictions.

The firm’s work includes investigating and pursuing claims against airlines, charter operators, aircraft and component manufacturers, maintenance and repair organizations, and other entities whose conduct may have contributed to the accident.

The firm’s litigation experience includes major commercial-airline disasters, product liability matters, and general aviation cases arising across a wide range of operational settings.

Selected Aviation Verdicts and Settlements

Representative Aviation Matters

The firm has litigated many of the most significant aviation disasters of the past several decades, representing plaintiffs in matters that required coordinated factual investigation, complex technical analysis, and sustained litigation against major defendants.

• Northwest Airlines Flight 255 – Detroit, Michigan
• Pan Am Flight 103 – Lockerbie, Scotland
• Continental Airlines Flight 1713 – Denver, Colorado
• United Airlines Flight 811 – Pacific Ocean
• United Airlines Flight 585 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
• TWA Flight 800 – Atlantic Ocean
• Korean Airlines Flight 801 – Guam
• American Eagle Flight 3379 – Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina
• United Airlines Flight 232 – Sioux City, Iowa
• USAir Flight 427 – near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Comair Flight 3272 – Detroit, Michigan
• Comair Flight 5191 – Lexington, Kentucky

The firm also represented the flight crew of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that crashed near Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In addition to major commercial airline disasters, the practice includes substantial experience investigating and litigating general aviation accident cases.

Aircraft Product Liability and Technical Litigation

The firm litigates aircraft product liability cases on behalf of plaintiffs in matters involving aircraft design, certification, manufacturing, and warning-related issues. These cases have included claims involving airframe de-icing systems, rudder control systems, runaway trim events, structural failures, autopilot malfunctions, engine failures, fly-by-wire systems, and augmented flight control systems.

The practice also encompasses claims involving maintenance deficiencies, inspection failures, and operational error under demanding flight conditions.

Federal Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation

Preemption questions can affect whether, and under what standards, aviation product liability claims proceed under state law. Members of the firm have litigated federal preemption issues in aviation matters in federal appellate courts, including proceedings before the United States Supreme Court. That appellate experience informs the firm’s handling of technically and doctrinally complex plaintiff-side aviation cases.

Common Questions

If you are considering whether to contact the firm, our Frequently Asked Questions page addresses common questions about investigation timing, fees, forum selection, and what to expect in the early stages of a case.

Contact

For inquiries related to an aviation accident matter, you may contact the firm directly. Communications are handled confidentially, and initial discussions are focused on understanding the circumstances of the accident and whether further investigation is warranted. Initial consultations are without cost.

PENNSYLVANIA OFFICE
Katzman Lampert & Stoll
121 N. Wayne Ave. # 205
Wayne, PA 19087

E-mail: Click to use our Contact Form
Toll-Free: (866) 309-6097
Phone: (610) 686-9686
Fax: (610) 686-9687

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