Oregon RV-10 Accident Leads to $35-Million Lawsuit

[RV7A Flyer]

BTW...this kind of **** is precisely why my family has *explicit* instructions from me that, in the event I get killed while flying my plane, they are NOT to sue Van's, any manufacturer, supplier, etc.

Some yoyo runs into me mid-air and it's his fault, well, have at 'em, but they are not to go after manufacturers (because *I* built the plane and *I* take the responsibility for it).

[ijustwannafly]

Originally Posted by Mel

It might be worth mentioning here that to my knowledge, no builder has ever been successfully sued over an amateur-built aircraft accident.
I know of a few attempts, but none were ever successful.
On the other hand, if you are concerned, maybe you should not sell your aircraft.

Hi mell

I was being sarcastic in sense but it sure does bring to lite an entirely new concern.

I hope your stats are correct above. That would be reassuring.
The whole world is just sue happy today. Its really sad. We should be mourning the less of these good people and instead the first phone call is not to someone for consoling, hug or family gathering. Its to the first lawyer they can get to.

I live on colorado and everyone all winter long drives up and down I70 back and forth to the ski country. All over I70 there are huge billboards all winter long for attorneys and guess what they say!

"Did you get injured in a skiing accident this weekend! CALL ME NOW! I CAN GET YOU MONEY!"

Its really sad

[n981ms]

One of my medical partners asked me about 10 years ago, "What do you fear more? Someone breaking into your home or the justice system."

Sobering answer for me. I suspect Van's answer is the same as mine.

If more people found themselves on the risk side of liability, maybe more eyes would be opened to the problem that all these suits cause.

[az_gila]

Originally Posted by Mel

It might be worth mentioning here that to my knowledge, no builder has ever been successfully sued over an amateur-built aircraft accident.
I know of a few attempts, but none were ever successful.
On the other hand, if you are concerned, maybe you should not sell your aircraft.

Mel,

This one was sort of successful, living in West LA at the time I remember the accident and lawsuit.

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1097158.html

The insurance company would not pay out because of a fuel system modification and lack of returning to Phase I testing.

I presume the pilot was then held responsible for the garage he destroyed and the DWP power lines.

http://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.av...95LA180&rpt=fa

[BobTurner]

Originally Posted by Mel

It might be worth mentioning here that to my knowledge, no builder has ever been successfully sued over an amateur-built aircraft accident.
I know of a few attempts, but none were ever successful.
On the other hand, if you are concerned, maybe you should not sell your aircraft.

Unfortunately if you are sued you have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees to prove you are not guilty. Even if you win, you lose. In the John Denver mishap the estate sued all previous owners as well as the builder. I have no idea what it cost them to defend themselves. I did read that Boeing spent over $1 million in legal fees defending itself, after the Russians shot down a Korean 747.

[Gary 40274]

There is another possibility here. Say the pilot had a life insurance policy of several or even many millions. The guy dies and the insurer pays out the face value of the policy. Then they go looking for someone to make them whole ( subrogation). Thus they sue anyone with $$$$ or insurance coverage like a manufacturer has. Buried in the fine print of the life policy is your authorizing them to sue on your behalf.

The family may not want to sue and yet they are obligated to be named as the plaintive by the life policy.

That is why in this non lawyers opinion getting a buyer of your aircraft to commit by what ever means to not sue can be circumvented by a previous contract, the life insurance.

As an aside I started and ran my own mfg company for 30 years. There were only a very few months that I was not defending myself against lawsuits. I never lost one but I shudder to think about all the $$$ that were spent by myself and my insurance company to defend against them.

Gary Specketer

[DaleB]

Originally Posted by Bill Boyd

This has nothing to do with protecting anyone form danger. It is a cash-grab; let's not dignify it by calling it less than what it is. There may be a handful of winners in this victim lotto, but there will be multiplied losers everywhere you look.

I wasn't talking about the attorneys. Their goal is cash extraction, pure and simple. I was talking about the potential jury pool. Not everyone believes that people should take any responsibility for their own actions (or lack thereof). Those people often find their way onto juries, and that's what keeps a lot of lawyers in business.

Originally Posted by tjo

And in the end, I don't believe there are any winners, but that's just my opinion.

Oh, no. A lot of attorneys will make a lot of money on this. Everyone else gets screwed.

[flyboy1963]

All comments are welcome, even if the topic is meandering a lot.

my thoughts: what's RTV? I mean, what does that really stand for?
we throw aviation acronyms around like LITW ( leaves in the wind!)
True, a guy building in his basement has the responsibility to research and use the appropriate product, but hey, it's NOT all that easy sometimes. If you are in another country, or listen to some know-it-all builder next door, you are at about 50/50 odds to use the wrong stuff.
EZ-turn, FUEL-lube, just where do you learn the true approved uses, sources, and ingredients of these things? A&P skool?

Frankly, I don't even know what a fuel cube does, but read the threads with great interest. I'll be sure to research it when I need to.

I think my Dad told me, any sealant that you can SEE, probably ain't sealing anything. The gobs of red you see oozing out of some assemblies gives one pause to consider the knowledge and skills of the assembler.

[jetjok]

Originally Posted by Mel

It might be worth mentioning here that to my knowledge, no builder has ever been successfully sued over an amateur-built aircraft accident.
I know of a few attempts, but none were ever successful.
On the other hand, if you are concerned, maybe you should not sell your aircraft.

Could be, Mel. The problem becomes who among us can afford to defend the suit? How many hours at $250+/hour would it take to bankrupt most of us?
The real problem is the system that allows this type of case to even be filed. Liability reform has been marginally addressed by Congress and the President's proper use of a pen decades ago. However, (IMHO) the stroke of the pen was not broad enough, and certainly as applies in the instant case. It is interesting that many of us that sit behind our keyboards pontificating about aviation liability, would not think of sending their thoughts to their elected representatives. Yeah, yeah....Thats what we pay our EAA dues for, right?! On that note, we should also be lighting up the airwaves at the EAA demanding that they take an active role in assisting Van's and FloScan in their defense. The EAA should at very least file an amicus brief citing the responsibilities of the builder, assistance available via Tech Counselors, information available in multitudes of FAA manuals and industry publications, and the oversight of DAR's during the build and final sign off.

[Harvey rv12]

Room Temperature Vulcanizing.
A type of silicone adhesive/caluking/sealant.