Confidential Airplane Injury Settlement

Raphaelson & Levine recently settled a case involving an elderly woman who suffered a serious injury on an airplane seat. The injury occurred just after she boarded the aircraft when she sat down on the seat she was assigned to and it collapsed.

At the time of the accident, the international flight was still on the ground, but the airline personnel did not seek to provide her with medical assistance before takeoff. The plane took off and, as a result, the woman was forced to sit in a broken and improperly positioned seat during the long flight. Due to this negligent decision made by airline personnel, our client was injured.

In court, the defendants initially denied the airplane passenger seat was broken, but it came to light during the discovery stage this was not the case. The court-ordered maintenance records proved the seat our client was given was broken, and the defendant was on notice of this condition.

The defendants tried to argue the plaintiff suffered a minor muscle injury, however, our law firm vehemently worked to prove this was not the situation. The reality was the plaintiff suffered a more severe muscle injury when the seat collapsed underneath her. The injury the plaintiff sustained affected all aspects of her life.

Before the accident, she was an active and vibrant frequent traveler, including trips to New York City. After the incident, she lost her ability to be independent. The plaintiff became confined to her home and was unable to perform even the simplest tasks, including cooking, shopping, attending church, and other daily chores. After extensive litigation in federal court, Howard Raphaelson was able to obtain a confidential multi-six-figure award for our client.

"This particular case highlights a fundamental principle of accident law that accepts the plaintiff as they come. In this case, that means just because the injured plaintiff was not a healthy young person has no bearing on the fact it caused a severe and permanent injury to our client, an elderly airline passenger."Howard Raphaelson, NYC Personal Injury Lawyer at Raphaelson & Levine

At Raphaelson and Levine, we are proud of our efforts for this wonderful person. Not only did this woman deserve to walk onto that airplane and be seated in a chair in perfect mechanical condition, but she also deserved to be treated with great respect rather than the callous and indifferent treatment she actually received.