Tour operator liability after an accident

RyanB

RyanB

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How does liability work after an aircraft tour company is involved in an accident with fatalities?

Just nestling through some old photos of mine and I was reminded of an accident that happened at a helicopter tour location in Sevierville back in 2016. The NTSB determined that the accident was caused by mechanical abnormalities and all five occupants were fatally injured.

So moving past the accident and into the following years of operation, how does liability effect this company? I would assume they require a signed waiver before each passenger boards the aircraft, which waives any operator liability, although when a buddy of mine worked as a pilot at this particular operator, I was able to just hop on board without any written documentation.

Part of me assumed an accident of this magnitude at a small operation would be enough to shut it down with the impending lawsuits and such.
 
Ryanb said:
How does liability work after an aircraft tour company is involved in an accident with fatalities?

Just nestling through some old photos of mine and I was reminded of an accident that happened at a helicopter tour location in Sevierville back in 2016. The NTSB determined that the accident was caused by mechanical abnormalities and all five occupants were fatally injured.

So moving past the accident and into the following years of operation, how does liability effect this company? I would assume they require a signed waiver before each passenger boards the aircraft, which waives any operator liability, although when a buddy of mine worked as a pilot at this particular operator, I was able to just hop on board without any written documentation.

Part of me assumed an accident of this magnitude at a small operation would be enough to shut it down with the impending lawsuits and such.
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I can't imagine signing a waiver really has much legal standing in that sort of case.
 
Ryanb said:
Part of me assumed an accident of this magnitude at a small operation would be enough to shut it down with the impending lawsuits and such.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily. That's what a business typically carries insurance for. The insurance defends the lawsuit. Only if they can't settle the claims and/or a payout exceeds the insurance coverage, it may put the company out of business.
 
Ryanb said:
Then what would be the point in requiring one if they don’t hold any clout?
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I would imagine the typical waiver has language that has clout for more minor incidents, but I doubt when there's loss of life that simply saying "they signed the waiver" is going to hold up.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I would imagine the typical waiver has language that has clout for more minor incidents, but I doubt when there's loss of life that simply saying "they signed the waiver" is going to hold up.
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If my lawyer left out ‘loss of life’ on a waiver of that nature, I think I’d be looking for someone else. That’s a pretty crucial element to have for an operation like this.
 
Can the victim of an accident waive rights of family members?
(I am a pax, sign waiver, pilot augers us into the sound, wife cannot successfully sue for her losses?)
[Perhaps this is all dependent on specific laws of the state in question?]
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Can the victim of an accident waive rights of family members?
(I am a pax, sign waiver, pilot augers us into the sound, wife cannot successfully sue for her losses?)
[Perhaps this is all dependent on specific laws of the state in question?]
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Yes.

If the waiver is written correctly, it will include a ‘covenant not to sue’ section that outlines the agreement of [you, next of kin, heirs, legal guardians, legal representatives etc] to not institute a lawsuit.
 
Ryanb said:
Then what would be the point in requiring one if they don’t hold any clout?
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I have seen this done in cases where the company hopes to minimize any thought of lawsuits in people’s minds.
There will be those who take it at face value & not seek counsel.
And, there will be that rare subset of people who will say, “Nope - I agreed to something and I will abide by my word.” (well, for non-fatals)
 
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Ryanb said:
Yes.

If the waiver is written correctly, it will include a ‘covenant not to sue’ section that outlines the agreement of [you, next of kin, heirs, legal guardians, legal representatives etc] to not institute a lawsuit.
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Can you waive the rights of a family member who is not a minor? I don't see how that's enforceable.

Nauga,
who waves his rights
 
nauga said:
Can you waive the rights of a family member who is not a minor? I don't see how that's enforceable.

Nauga,
who waves his rights
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That’s a good question. I believe that will boil down the states law and how the ‘covenant not to sue’ is written. If stated as I wrote above, you would be accepting the inherent risk involved and waiving any third party’s right to initiate a lawsuit on your behalf.

I’m sure there’s a loop hole in there somewhere that would nullify that clause, but maybe one of our lawyers can answer that Q.
 
Ryanb said:
you would be [...] waiving any third party’s right to initiate a lawsuit on your behalf.
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That right there is the crux of the issue I'm raising. First, I don't think an individual can waive any third party's rights. I don't think that's a loophole, I think its a fundamental right. Second, the lawsuits following a death aren't typically 'on behalf' of the deceased, they are on behalf of the survivors. I think a court could certainly take a waiver into account in a suit like this but I don't think a suit is prevented.

Nauga,
whose use for money will go down considerably when he dies
 
When a waiver is created, does it include a line guaranteeing the safety of the signer.?? Or is it just one sided protecting the company.??
 
Zeldman said:
When a waiver is created, does it include a line guaranteeing the safety of the signer.?? Or is it just one sided protecting the company.??
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Typically it’s just one sided to protect the operator. Of course, nobody could guarantee safety of any kind, so I don’t think that would be enforceable to begin with.

I have seen some waivers that will state in the event of an accident where the released party was found negligent, the operator will agree to pay out a fixed sum in order to prevent any further demands by the releasor and their family. Those that state this, make me think that their waiver would not be enforceable, especially if they’re willing to dish out some money to keep things quiet.
 
Where's the AOPA legal commission? @SCCutler?

My partially uninformed opinion is that I'll sign waivers all day long, because they don't amount to a hill of beans.
 
Depending on the state, liability waivers can be very enforceable.
 
nauga said:
That right there is the crux of the issue I'm raising. First, I don't think an individual can waive any third party's rights. I don't think that's a loophole, I think its a fundamental right. Second, the lawsuits following a death aren't typically 'on behalf' of the deceased, they are on behalf of the survivors. I think a court could certainly take a waiver into account in a suit like this but I don't think a suit is prevented.

Nauga,
whose use for money will go down considerably when he dies
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Pretty much what I was getting at. I'm sure there are states and circumstances which allow those waivers to hold more weight, but I feel like I've seen a few case studies in college Business Law coursework that essentially nullified most of the waiver in instances like death/major bodily harm.
 
Ryanb said:
how does liability effect this company?
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Ryanb said:
Part of me assumed an accident of this magnitude at a small operation would be enough to shut it down with the impending lawsuits and such.
Click to expand...
It depends on their insurance coverage or lack there of. Or if it's a one man ops type company and that person is killed. Have assisted in a few helicopter based fatal accidents with small companies and most are still operating, some even expanding. In my experience, the main issue affecting their survival is the ultimate cause of the accident and how it affects their future insurance. In your example, it was an internal engine fuel pump shaft failure and not directly Smokey Mountain. In a different accident, it was directly the fault of the operator on various levels and they closed the doors.
 
nauga said:
Can you waive the rights of a family member who is not a minor? I don't see how that's enforceable.
Click to expand...
I'm no lawyer so I don't know either. But I do know that this happened at a drop zone I used to work for. Husband decides to go for an intro/tandem jump, signs the umpteen pages of waivers all first time jumpers sign, botches up the landing and breaks his ankle.

Wife sues the drop zone saying he might have waived his right to sue but I didn't sign anything and while his injury was healing it prevented him from earning a lively hood for our household yada yada yada. It went to court and they had to defend the case but in the end, the waiver was upheld and she didn't get squat.
 
I don't think any waiver will protect the owner from negligence. Spike, help me out here... IANAL!

-Skip
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Can the victim of an accident waive rights of family members?
(I am a pax, sign waiver, pilot augers us into the sound, wife cannot successfully sue for her losses?)
[Perhaps this is all dependent on specific laws of the state in question?]
Click to expand...
Yes. It depends on the state. Assuming there was a waiver to begin with, the extent of the waiver, the liabilities which could be waived, whether the waiver could effect the rights of survivors, and other enforcement issues depends on state law. Some states are more waiver-friendly or unfriendly than others. Some even have special statutes giving special immunity to recreational businesses.

We also don't know the extent of insurance, whether they had any, whether they were required to gave any, or whether, in the absence of insurance, there was anything substantial to go after.

And, of course, once we are talking about "mechanical abnormalities," that raises some additional liability questions - repair shops, parts manufacturers, and on and on.

None of which we can do anything about other than speculate.
 
Ryanb said:
Then what would be the point in requiring one if they don’t hold any clout?
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Same reason people sign prenups I guess. They're both as worthless as tits on a bull.
 
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