Commercial airline accidents are statistically a rare event. Considering the number of flight hours and the number of flights in the skies each day, the chances of being involved in a commercial airline accident are slim. Having said that, they do happen and when a commercial airline accident happens it usually has catastrophic consequences. Just recently, a Southwest airlines flight flying out in to Burbank Airport came within feet of colliding with a Cessna 172 that was departing the airport. The two airplanes came within 200 feet vertically and 10 feet laterally of collided with each other. Luckily, a disaster was averted. Not so lucky were the passengers aboard a Polish Air Force plane in Russia on April 10, 2010. The plane crashed during its approach to Smolensk, Russia killing all 88 passengers aboard including the President of Poland, his wife and numerous Polish government officials.
While these two events represent just a small fraction of the number of airline flights that travel the world within a months time, they show that the consequences of just one airplane accident can be tragic. On any given day in the United States alone there are about 87,000 flights scheduled to travel across the country. Of those, about one-third are commercial airline flights. That amounts to about 30,000 commercial airline flights per day in the United States alone. While a large 747 can hold over 400 passengers, on average a commercial airline flight holds about 200 passengers per flight. That means that there are 6 million people flying on commercial airlines each day in the United States. So what should you do if you have been involved in an airplane accident?
According to California airplane accident attorney Emery Ledger of Ledger & Associates, there are a number of things that you can do to protect any claim you may have as the result of an airplane accident. The first, and most important, thing that you can do is to have a thorough medical evaluation done as soon as possible. As with any type of accident, you may feel that you were not seriously injured only to find out later that you did indeed suffer internal or latent injuries. By seeking immediate medical attention, you not only help yourself but you help your airline accident attorney to show that those injuries are directly related to the accident. You may also need to seek a psychological evaluation and treatment. An airline accident can be an extremely traumatic event – made even more so if you survived while others perished. Your mental health is as important as your physical health and any costs associated with your treatment may be compensable in an airline accident case.
Once you have seen to your physical and mental health, you should seek the advice and counsel of an experienced California airline accident attorney. The majority of airline accidents are caused either by pilot error or mechanical failure. If that was the case in your accident, then someone (either individually or as a company) may have been negligent. If negligence on the part of the pilot, the airline or the manufacturer of the airplane played a part in the accident, then you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries that you suffered as a result of the accident.
If you would like a free detailed evaluation of your airline accident case, please contact California airline accident attorney Emery Ledger at his firm Ledger & Associates. He can be contacted online at www.ledgerlaw.com or at 1-800-300-0001.
