Book Description

"Much has happened as affects helicopter crash litigation in the intervening eight years since the publication of the Second Edition of this book in 2015. Highlights of recent developments covered in this Third Edition include: 1. The U.S. Supreme Court clarified the jurisdictional landscape for the better in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District by emphatically rejecting the defendant manufacturer's claim that the litigation must "arise out of" the defendant's contacts with the forum state and re-affirming the stream of commerce doctrine. This unanimous Supreme Court decision is arguably the most significant development in helicopter crash litigation as it substantially minimizes the prospect of culpable manufacturing defendants' securing dismissal on jurisdictional grounds. 2. The "Helicopter Fuel System Safety" Amendment was enacted to require that all helicopters manufactured and delivered for use in the United States after April 5, 2020 must be equipped with crash resistant fuel systems (CRFS). There is no single greater recent safety improvement within the entire helicopter industry than the addition of CRFS to helicopters. 3. The Federal Officer Removal Statute was rejected as a basis for any aircraft manufacturing defendant's removal of a design defect case to federal court. The Ninth Circuit's decision in Riggs v. Airbus Helicopters, Inc. -- which the author briefed and argued - - laid to rest any notion that aircraft manufacturers are "agents of the FAA" as Airbus Helicopters strained to argue. The defendant sought a writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court which was summarily denied. 4. The global pandemic of 2020-21 engendered the widespread and continued use of virtual or remote depositions in civil discovery and helicopter crash litigation was no exception. 5. The universal social and business usage of electronic media has led to a corresponding explosion in the use of electronically-stored information (ESI) discovery. So-called e-discovery encompasses all manner of electronic communication including e-mails, social media, cell phone data and e- storage, all of which is proving fertile discovery grounds in helicopter crash litigation In addition to addressing in detail the foregoing developments, this Third Edition: Updates and "modernizes" Chapters 1 and 2 dealing with helicopter operation and common failure modes. Updates all of the legal, statutory and regulatory framework applicable to helicopter crash litigation. Continues to expand and (hopefully) upgrade the actual practice techniques and methods recommended for handling helicopter crash litigation including new material on jury selection, opening statement and closing argument. Incorporates material from recent helicopter crash cases handled by the author including the Calabasas, California helicopter crash that caused the deaths of NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna; the Frisco, Colorado crash that resulted in horrific 90% total body burn injuries to flight nurse David Repsher because of the lack of a crash-resistant fuel system (CRFS); and the Kentucky air ambulance helicopter crash that killed three crew members caused by a defectively manufactured main rotor blade. Updates helicopter accident statistics and reviews ongoing efforts for industry safety improvements. As with the First and Second Editions, the greatest outcome of all would be to render the need for helicopter crash litigation much more infrequent if not all together unnecessary"--