Air Accident Claims

Air accidents can be devastating and have life-changing consequences. If you or a loved one have been involved in an air accident, our dedicated team of aviation specialists is here to help you not only claim compensation, but also find out exactly what happened to cause the accident.

Over several decades, we’ve helped many people to claim after an air accident, whether they were injured themselves, or were claiming on behalf of a loved one.

Our expert team has been involved in many high-profile aviation cases in recent years, including:

Manchester Air Disaster (1985)
Uganda air crash at Rome September (1988)
Lockerbie Terrorist Bombing on PanAm Flight 103 in Scotland (1988)
British Midlands crash at Kegworth (1989)
Bombing of UTA flight over the Sahara (1989)
BA 149 detention of passengers in Kuwait (1990)
British Airways Window Blow Out (1990)
PIA Crash at Nepal (1992)
American Airlines Flight 11 (9/11- Twin Towers) 2001/2002
Kenya Airways Crash in Cameroon (2007)
Bangkok Airways Flight PG266 (2009)
Ethiopian Airways Crash in Beirut (2010)
Pamir Airways Crash in Afghanistan (2010)
Sunway (2010)
Manx 2 Belfast to Cork (2011)
Jet2 Glasgow (2012)
Ryanair FR1703 (2012)
Bhoja (2012)
Dana Air Crash in Nigeria (2012)
Sita Air Crash in Nepal (2012)
British Airways BA 2776 - Fire in Las Vegas (2015)
Shoreham Air Show Disaster (2015).

The legal process for air accidents can be complicated, often involving complex technical and legal issues. Our specialist team has considerable experience dealing with these issues and can help you understand the process at every step.

We deal with a full range of aviation claims, from major airline disasters to light aircraft accidents. We are an international practice with established relationships with leading aviation firms worldwide and lawyers qualified in a number of countries, including the US.

Whatever the nature of your claim, and whether you’re claiming for yourself or for a loved one you’ve lost, we’ll make sure you get the support, the answers and the results that you need.

No Win No Fee*

Experienced aviation lawyers

Offices across the country

Support with rehabilitation and recovery

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0800 056 4110

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Clive Garner Consultant Meet the team

After you’ve contacted us, we’ll set up a free initial consultation to discuss your case and whether you have a legal claim. We’ll discuss what funding options are available to you to pay for your claim, including No Win No Fee agreements*.

Our experts will look into your case in detail to establish who was responsible for your accident. Official air accident reports can often take years to get published, so we’ll use our professional aviation expertise to investigate likely causes of the incident, including potential product faults and how they might have contributed to the accident.

We’ll get in touch with those responsible at an early stage: if they accept responsibility, we’ll seek to secure interim compensation payments, which can fund private medical care and ongoing losses and expenses while we’re working to finalise your case. Any interim payments will be taken out of your final compensation award.

We will fight to make sure your final settlement not only reflects your current suffering, but also the long term effects of your injuries, on both your physical and psychological health.

If you are making a claim on behalf of a loved one you’ve lost, we will claim for the financial support you have lost both in the past and in the future, as well as taking into account the emotional impact on you and your family, and the cost of ongoing support to help you cope.

We’ll always try and negotiate claims out of court, keeping the claim process as short as we can. However, if your opponent doesn’t accept responsibility or doesn’t agree with the amount of compensation we feel you are entitled to, we’ll pursue court proceedings.

Even when trial dates have been set, most claims are settled before Trial starts. If your claim does need to go to court, we’ll be there to help you every step of the way, presenting your case and talking you through what will happen so you feel as comfortable as possible.

They were always there to answer my questions and queries when I was at my most vulnerable and they persevered to obtain the best possible result."

Lisa, client

What Causes Air Accidents?

Establishing the cause of an aviation accident can be a lengthy and complicated process. Possible causes of an accident may include:

Mechanical faults in the aircraft
Manufacturing faults in the aircraft or its components
Poor handling of the flight, either by on board crew or ground control staff
Terrorist attacks or other criminal activity.

Larger planes carry ‘black box’ flight data and cockpit voice recorders, which can help establish what happened following an accident. However, even if the black boxes are recovered they may not provide all the answers. Many smaller aircraft do not carry black boxes.

Understanding what went wrong can often involve the development of credible theories based on the evidence available - this can only be done with a detailed knowledge of both the particular aircraft and aviation theory. Our team is not only experienced in the legal processes of aviation claims, but also works with leading experts in the aviation industry, allowing us to investigate the causes of an accident and to get you the answers you need.

Contact the team today

What Happens After An Aviation Accident?

The investigation following an air accident can be long and complex, especially if it is a high-profile disaster. Our aviation experts can help you get answers as soon as possible.

Official accident reports can often take years to be published, leaving victims and families in a ‘no man’s land’ with unanswered questions and unhelpful speculation. The expertise of our team means we can use specialist knowledge to assess the incident independently and determine who was at fault – whether it is the operator, manufacturer, or other parties.

Once we’ve assessed the accident, we can help you claim against those responsible.

In international air accidents, we may need to consider which of the international conventions is relevant to your claim – this will help us understand which country you should pursue your claim in, and how much compensation you can expect.

How Much Is The Claim Worth?

How much compensation you can receive will depend on a number of factors, including:

The international convention that applies to the flight
The laws around compensation claims in the country where you bring your claim
The severity of the injuries
The age of the passenger
The income of the passenger
The passenger’s dependants, such as a spouse or children.

Working out the full value of each claim is complex and requires a lot of research. It is likely that all responsible parties – for example, the airline, the manufacturer, and the insurers – will want to pay as little as possible, especially when many people are claiming for the same incident. Therefore it is essential to have your case argued by specialist aviation lawyers, who can get you the best settlement.

In certain cases we could help you access an advance payment while your claim is ongoing. If the Montreal Convention or EC Regulations apply, the airline should make an advance payment straight away if you are suffering financial hardship. The amount is normally around $25,000 and we can help make sure these payments are made promptly.

To find out more about how we could help you make a claim, contact us today for a free consultation.

The process following an aviation accident can be confusing and upsetting – but we’re here to help. Call us today for a free consultation on 0800 056 4110.

Why Choose Irwin Mitchell?

Our air accident team has helped many clients to claim compensation after an air accident, including many high profile incidents such as the Shoreham Airshow disaster and Lockerbie terrorist bombing. We are an international practice with lawyers qualified in a number of countries.

Many of our lawyers are fluent in a number of languages, and have extensive experience dealing with the complex nature of international claims. We have long-established working relationships with leading law firms worldwide, meaning that we have the resources to deal with all types of aviation cases, from small aircraft to major airline disasters, around the world.

We have particular expertise bringing claims in the US – this is especially important in claims involving manufacturing defects, as many aircraft or aircraft components are manufactured in the US.

We’ve also been pioneers of the ‘Mid Atlantic Settlement’ process – an approach where non-US victims of international aviation disasters can settle their cases at a level between the often higher compensation levels awarded in the US and the much lower ones available in their own country. This is significant because although the awards are often much higher in the US, the likelihood of settling a claim there can be much lower, and take longer.

Awards & Accreditations

We're always proud to be recognised for the work we do for our clients and have been named as a leading firm in the latest legal guides - which provide information and recommendations about lawyers and law firms in the UK.