Clifford Law Offices is a Chicago law firm that regularly handles complex damage cases, including claims for aviation accidents, wrongful death and personal injury arising out of transportation, medical negligence and product liability claims

Robert A. Clifford, Kevin P. Durkin and Michael S. Krzak, aviation attorneys and partners at Clifford Law Offices, have experience with claims involving turboprop aircraft similar to the single-engine aircraft that crashed in Butte, Montana, on March 22.

Clifford Law Offices’ aviation attorneys are available for consultation given their experience in crashes and accidents involving large commercial jets, as well as turboprop planes. Robert A. Clifford and Kevin Durkin served as lead counsel in the Roselawn, Indiana air crash of a turboprop plane where the inadequacy of the pneumatic de-icing boot was a major issue.  Kevin Durkin traveled to France where the de-icing boot was developed, to take the depositions of the engineers of the device.  After that crash, the design of the pneumatic de-icing boot was changed to make it safer. Clifford Law Offices also represented the family of a certified instructor who was killed when a small turboprop plane crashed on May 5, 2003, in central Illinois.  The pilot there failed to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall during a training flight. 

Our knowledgeable attorneys are experienced in air crash litigation around the world. The firm’s highly experienced trial attorneys have successfully represented passengers and crew members involving commercial aviation litigation as well as private aircraft, corporate jets, turboprop planes and helicopter crashes. Mr. Clifford and his firm have brought lawsuits against a number of major airlines and aircraft manufacturers involved in these tragedies in the last 25 years.

Aviation liability is a highly complex area of law that requires in-depth knowledge of many facets of aviation. Robert Clifford, Kevin Durkin and Richard Burke have deposed literally hundreds of experts and top executives at aviation firms around the world in preparation for trial. The firm, in fact, hires experts from around the globe to help in its trial preparation work. Timothy Tomasik, partner at Clifford Law Offices, also is very active in this complex area of law. In addition to working round-the-clock on the World Trade Center property damage litigation surrounding the tragic 9/11 air crashes, he is handling the case involving the crash of the private jet that killed the younger son of NBC Sports Chairman, Dick Ebersol. A chartered Challenger jet crashed moments after take-off in November, 2004. His elder son dragged his dad out of the fiery plane. Initial National Transportation Safety Board reports indicated the plane's wings were not de-iced in the freezing weather.

Because aviation cases are complex, it’s important to select an airline crash attorney with a proven track record. To contact us via email fill out the form on your right with some details on your case and a convenient time for us to call. You can also call us toll free at 1-800-899-0410 or (312) 899-9090 if you are in the Chicago, Illinois area.

Results for Our Clients from Our Aviation Accident Attorneys in Airplane Crash Litigation:

*Alaska Clifford Law Offices represented a 43-year-old mother of two teenagers killed in June, 1999, who was a passenger in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of Alaska. The firm hired experts to help in the investigation and legal discovery of the accident on behalf of the Blanford family living in Florida. It was found that the pilot became disoriented and crashed the helicopter into a mountain. It resulted in a $900,000 settlement.

*Comair Flight 5191 crashed on Aug. 27, 2006. Forty nine people were killed at the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. Clifford Law Offices represented five families who lost loved ones on that tragic flight. They settled for a confidential amount. The aircraft crashed when it took off in the early morning hours on an unlit runway that was of an insufficient length.

*Alaska Air Flight 261 that crashed into the Pacific Ocean in 2000. Clifford Law Offices represented seven families who lost loved ones and obtained more than $40 million. As a member of the Administrative Management Committee and the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, Kevin Durkin deposed more than 80 people over three years to determine the cause of the crash – the airplane’s jackscrew system. Boeing representatives stipulated to a liability judgment against them as a result of the firm’s efforts, despite the National Transportation Safety Board giving the company a virtual pass in its findings.

* American Eagle Flight 4184 that crashed in Roselawn, Indiana. Clifford Law Offices represented 19 individuals who were killed and took 110 depositions. The firm obtained a $110 million settlement on the eve of trial in federal court for 26 families who had brought suit. For more information, please click here.

* United Airlines Flight 232 that crashed in a soybean field after cartwheeling down the runway in Sioux City, Iowa. Clifford Law Offices obtained a $24.25 million verdict on behalf of a 70-year-old woman who survived and a $15 million settlement for a father who lost his wife and daughter. Mr. Clifford obtained an additional $250,000 from the defendants, which included McDonnell Douglas Corporation, manufacturer of the aircraft, which was donated for a bereavement center at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. For more information, please click here

Clifford Law Offices has been successful in aviation crashes involving small aircraft and helicopters as well. The firm currently represents the widow of popular WGN radio personality Bob Collins who was killed when another plane crashed into his small aircraft while he was landing. Richard Burke obtained a $10.45 million verdict following a five-week trial on behalf of the family of a pilot who was killed when a private jet crashed at Palwaukee Municipal Airport outside Chicago. Concerning that same crash, he also obtained a $13.5 million settlement on behalf of a passenger killed in that Gulfstream IV plane. In May, 2002, Mr. Burke obtained a $6.8 million verdict, as a result of the crash of a Piper aircraft in northwest suburban Schaumburg, which was recognized as the Verdict of the Week in the National Law Journal.

* A Cessna Citation S550 collided with terrain during a circling instrument approach in Dillon, Montana, on May 3, 2007. The pilot was killed along with his passenger, a 30-year-old married man. They were on their way to a fishing trip in Montana. Clifford Law Offices represents the passenger’s widow from Chicago.

* A Chalk seaplane taking off from Miami, Florida, crashed on takeoff on its way to Bimini in the Bahamas, bursting into flames and plunging into the water on December 20, 2005. Horrified beachgoers witnessed the tragedy. Clifford Law Offices represented the family of a prominent Floridian who was on the plane. The case settled for a confidential amount.

* A small turboprop airplane, an Air Tractor AT-503A, crashed on May 5, 2003, in central Pontiac, Illinois, when the pilot failed to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall during a training flight. Clifford Law Offices represents one of the two certified instructors who was killed while aboard the flight.

* A small charter fishing plane crashed in a remote area of Canada carrying four friends on August 24, 2002. A 41-year-old business executive from Geneva, Illinois, was killed. Clifford Law Offices represented his family and obtained a $4.2 million settlement.

Clifford Law Offices represented a 43-year-old mother of two teenagers killed in June, 1999, who was a passenger in a helicopter crash in a mountainous area of Alaska. The firm hired experts to help in the investigation and legal discovery of the accident on behalf of the Blanford family living in Florida. It was found that the pilot became disoriented and crashed the helicopter into a mountain. It resulted in a $900,000 settlement.

The firm also obtained $4.1 million on behalf of a photographer killed in a helicopter that crashed in a northwestern suburb of Chicago and $10 million for a Brazilian entrepreneur killed as he and his wife headed for a short helicopter flight from New York to New Jersey when the pilot flew into inclement weather and was unable to steer the aircraft safely.

Depend on Our Aviation Accident Attorneys:

Robert Clifford and Kevin Durkin have been leaders in the field of aviation. Mr. Durkin has served as Co-Chair of the Aviation Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation for four years. They are frequent speakers on programs that attract attorneys, experts and airline executives. Lawyers from around the country turn to Clifford Law Offices for its vast experience and commitment to professionalism and excellence in pursuing these claims. Richard Burke concentrates much of his practice on product liability law which includes defects found in aircraft, often the cause of many large and small airplane crashes. It is meticulous, intensive work and Mr. Burke is a tremendous asset to the firm in his dedication and knowledge of this area of law.

Clifford Law Offices received national first-tier rankings in Plaintiffs' Product Liability Litigation in the 2010 U.S. News-Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" Guide. Thousands of clients and law firms were surveyed by U.S. News-Best Lawyers. This is the first time that a national ranking has been compiled and it was featured in the October print issue of U.S. News & World Report. Airplanes are considered a product and finding out what goes wrong with them is a complex issue. Robert Clifford, senior and name partner at the firm, was named the 2009 Best Lawyers' Top Personal Injury Attorney in Chicago. The firm also received Metropolitan First-Tier rankings in Plaintiffs' Personal Injury Litigation, Plaintiffs' Product Liability Litigation and Plaintiffs' Medical Malpractice Law in what some have called the most comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession. Thousands of law firms and clients were surveyed. Robert Clifford has been named a Best Lawyer since the publication's inception in 1983. Kevin Durkin and Keith Hebeisen, partners at the firm, were named Best Lawyers in the 2011 edition. Robert A. Clifford was selected in 2004 as one of the "five most respected and feared plaintiffs' attorneys" in the country by Corporate Legal Times, calling him "the best of the bad." The National Law Journal named Mr. Clifford's firm on the "Plaintiffs' Hot List: 20 Go-To Teams" in 2004 and one of the top 25 firms in 2003. The publication also named Robert Clifford one of the Top Ten Litigators in Illinois as well as one of the nation's Top Ten Litigators. American Lawyer Media recognized Mr. Clifford as one of the Top Ten Most Influential Lawyers in Illinois in 2000. He has consistently been voted by his peers as one of the Best Lawyers in America , and he was named one of Chicago's "30 Toughest Lawyers" by Chicago Magazine in 2002. He was selected to be a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates, an invitation-only group of 100 trial lawyers from around the country.

Clifford Law Offices is located in Chicago, Illinois, home of the busiest airport in the world.

For further information please contact us at 312.899.9090 or 800.899.0410.