Congratulations to Ryan Atkinson and Spencer Brown on their victory in a two-week jury trial. Ryan and Spencer successfully defended a flight school and flight instructor involved in a training helicopter crash with a student. The student claimed that our clients were grossly negligent, and that he suffered a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the crash. He sought nearly $3 million at trial.
Ryan and Spencer put on an excellent case over two weeks, where they called six expert witnesses to address the plaintiff’s medical claims and to discuss the causes of the crash and why the actions of the flight instructor were appropriate. After hearing the case, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before reaching a verdict that our clients were not at fault for the accident.
Aviation cases rarely go to trial because of the complexity of the claims and the risks involved to all parties. Getting a result like this in such a case is a major accomplishment for our aviation group.
