Private Plane and Charter Flight Accidents in Houston TX: Who Is Liable for Injuries and Death?

Private and charter flights are a common sight in Houston for residents seeking private travel, drilling crews heading to remote oil rigs, and other travelers. When an aviation accident occurs, the results can be catastrophic for passengers and their families. These crashes often lead to devastating injuries or fatalities, changing lives in an instant and often leaving victims and survivors without any means of financial support.

Seeking justice and compensation from powerful aviation and insurance companies can feel overwhelming. The Houston attorneys at Carabin Shaw protect the rights of aviation accident victims in Texas and ensure they receive the damages they deserve. We are available 24/7 and provide free consultations in English or Spanish to evaluate your legal options. Call our law firm toll-free at 1-800-862-1260 or contact us online to learn more.

Aviation accidents occur for a variety of reasons, and knowing the specific cause will help your attorney determine who is liable for your injuries. Common causes include:

• Pilot error
• Mechanical failures
• Equipment defects
• Air traffic control negligence
• Inadequate maintenance
• Weather conditions

In some cases, more than one factor may come into play. For example, an aircraft may encounter bad weather due to the pilot's miscalculations. Equipment defects undetected by maintenance teams may lead to mechanical failure.

Under Texas’s proportionate responsibility rule, victims of aviation accidents can hold all responsible parties liable according to their portion of fault for the accident. Your Houston aviation accident lawyer will investigate your accident to identify all causes and at-fault parties to ensure you receive all the compensation you deserve.

Charter aircraft are governed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 135. Everyone involved in operating these aircraft must follow the regulations carefully to keep passengers and crew safe during flights.

Breaches in regulations can have devastating consequences, whether that breach involved:

• Pilots, crew, or aircraft operators
• Maintenance providers or ground crews
• Air traffic control or airport operators
• Parts suppliers or aircraft manufacturers

Your attorney must prove the at-fault party’s violations led directly to your accident, which constitutes negligence. Negligence is a failure to exercise a level of care that a reasonable individual would in the same situation. You must demonstrate that the at-fault party owed you a duty of care—in this case, following the federal regulations for charter aircraft. Next, you must show the party breached their duty, and their breach led directly to your injuries.

When an accident occurs, the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will typically investigate to determine the probable cause. However, the findings of these agencies are not legally binding in civil lawsuits. You will need a private plane crash lawyer to build your personal injury claim, demonstrate negligence, and maximize your damages.

If you are the victim of an airplane crash, you need the expert help of a charter plane crash lawyer early in the process to protect your rights and uncover the details of the incident. Federal agencies may not respond to these accidents as quickly, so legal intervention is even more critical to gather key evidence while it is readily available. Your lawyer can:

• Ensure the crash is reported to local and aviation authorities
• Determine the aircraft owner, charter company, and pilot
• Preserve evidence like communications and contracts
• Interview eyewitnesses and reconstruction experts

Your legal team will handle all the heavy lifting so you can focus on what is most important—recovering from your injuries and returning your life to normalcy.

A plane crash is a terrifying experience that often leads to severe injuries or even the loss of someone you love. Call the compassionate Texas lawyers at Carabin Shaw to protect your rights and seek justice for you and your family after an incident in Houston. We offer our services on a contingency-fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we win your case.

You can read our law firm’s client reviews to see how we take care of accident victims like you. Then, call us toll-free at 1-800-862-1260 or contact us online to schedule your complimentary, no-obligation case review.

For more information:

• Texas Statutes 33
• Federal Aviation Administration
• Cornell Law School
• National Transportation Safety Board