Split from Minimum Radius Turns.... -Z
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http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/La ... 589-1.html

And so it begins. Forget that the turn was made beginning from the center of the corridor and with a tailwind, lets sue the manufacturer for faulty equipment and the engine manufacturer for providing too much power as well as the prop manufacturer for pulling the aircraft into the building, and....

I spoke with the underwriter on this one and they paid out the full policy limit to the family within a week after the accident since it was an open / shut deal from an insurance perspective. Now a lawyer has decided that the family should get some money out of the deal somehow...remember my post in another thread about the family not ever believing that their loved one could have made the fatal error? This is a prime example of why your insurance is so important in the event of a lawsuit as well as a great example of why insurance rates can cost so much. The manufacturers will most likely have products coverage that will defend them and provide experts for their defense in this frivolous lawsuit and pay out up to the policy limit on behalf of the insured should the court finds them liable for some reason.

Gotta love lawyers

lowflybye wrote:http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Lawsuits_Flying_Lidle_Crash_194589-1.html

And so it begins. Forget that the turn was made beginning from the center of the corridor and with a tailwind, lets sue the manufacturer for faulty equipment and the engine manufacturer for providing too much power as well as the prop manufacturer for pulling the aircraft into the building, and....

I spoke with the underwriter on this one and they paid out the full policy limit to the family within a week after the accident since it was an open / shut deal from an insurance perspective. Now a lawyer has decided that the family should get some money out of the deal somehow...remember my post in another thread about the family not ever believing that their loved one could have made the fatal error? Gotta love lawyers

So is the real answer not to have insurance? That way there is no carrot. The more I read about aviation liability I wonder if there were no carrots would any lawyers even mess with it.
It sounds like this could be a topic for a complete new thread.

Heck no...the carrot is not the insurance, it is the deep pockets of the avionics, prop, engine and aircraft manufacturer. The insurance limit is a lot less than the net worth of the company itself. The lawsuits would happen even without the insurance being in place, insurance just limits the exposure for the insured. This will most likely be a frivolous lawsuit in which the companies will settle out of court since that is usually cheaper than the court and lawyer fees. That is the reason for naming anyone who had any part of making the aircraft, a handful of small settlements turn out to equal a lot of money. Without insurance those fees and settlements would come out of their own pocket.

a handful of small settlements turn out to equal a lot of money. Without insurance those fees and settlements would come out of their own pocket.

I think I know whose pockets those settlements come from and it's not the manufacturers. Product liability is factored into the price we all pay for the equipment we buy. The insidious part is that these out-of-court settlements only confirm to the lawyer crowd that there is a well that is easy to drink from, because the person whose pocket is being picked doesn't even know it. That's the signature of a good pick pocket. Ironically, if the settlement were to directly affect the assets of one of the companies, they would probably be more vigorous in their defense and make the effort to illustrate how silly these claims really are. Instead, by distrubuting the load to the end user, the system only encourages this type of behavior.

How can we fix it? Personally, I don't have a clue. Insurance is only one leg on the stool and as Low pointed out, sometimes the most honorable of those involved. Flying without insurance is not going to teach those lawyers a lesson. It will only hurt those folks you really should help if you inadvertently flame their house.

Yellowbelly wrote:

a handful of small settlements turn out to equal a lot of money. Without insurance those fees and settlements would come out of their own pocket.

I think I know whose pockets those settlements come from and it's not the manufacturers.
How can we fix it? Personally, I don't have a clue. Insurance is only one leg on the stool and as Low pointed out, sometimes the most honorable of those involved. Flying without insurance is not going to teach those lawyers a lesson. It will only hurt those folks you really should help if you inadvertently flame their house.

I wasn't thinking of me, I was thinking of manufactures etc. that as you say just move the costs to us and pay there insurance premium. Your right If that wasn't so easy for them to do the whole picture would change.

Well I have long thought the whole liability issue wold be resolved simply by having to pay 1.5 times what ever a person had for life insurance.
If you caused someone to die and they had 2 million dollars worth of life ins. then pay if they only have 100K why give them 4-5 million they didn't think there life was worth that when they were alive.

Not all manufacturers carry manufacturers' liability insurance. Their philosophy is apparently that they can go after the company in court, but if they win, they'll simply own a small airplane manufacturing company.

Teledyne Continental and Lycoming pretty much aggressively fight every lawsuit, they don't just settle. I don't know if they have some sort of agreement with their insurer, but even if they know they're wrong, they stonewall. I can introduce you to a couple lawyers I know, who are really good lawyers, and had a documented mechanical, which turned out to be a manufacturing deal. They just wanted a replacement engine. They settled for a really small pro-rated percentage after 12 years. And, they weren't going for the throat.

The issue here is that Lidle stood to make a LOT of money if he'd lived. The family may try to recoup that, and in the process "punish" the evil industry. Good grief, look at the John Denver debacle. He had more money than anyone, and the family sued the poor guy who built the airplane.

The industry and the insurance companies need to aggressively fight these things, NOT settle. Sometimes the company doesnt' have a choice, the insurance company figures its cheaper to settle. But, if they stuck to their guns, and bled the bastards lawyers, at least it would deter a few. That's more easily said than done, of course.

MTV