TRIAL LAWYERS from two American law firms representing the families of Helios Airways victims in last summer’s tragic crash, yesterday confirmed they had instigated litigation proceedings against Boeing.
Owen, Patterson & Owen, Girardi & Keese and Servicios Legales de Mesoamerica are three firms who have filed civil action claims against Boeing, Helios Airways Inc, Libra Holidays Group Public Ltd and Olympic Airlines as well as any other parties believed to be responsible for last summer’s tragic air accident involving a Boeing 737, which left 115 passengers and six crew dead.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Greg Owen of Owen, Patterson & Owen said its purpose was to communicate to all interested parties the recent developments in the case and to provide written documentation pertaining to the civil action which had been filed in a US court last month.
Specifically on January 27 a wrongful death and survival action was filed in a Los Angeles Superior Court. Owen said the parties had 30 days to respond but that Boeing had already filed its general appearance with the court and denied all charges. Both sides have asked for jury trials, he said. Whether the case goes to trial or not, the lawyers’ 50 clients could be awarded millions of pounds worth of damages if the court rules in their favour.
Owen said: “We made three promises to the victims’ families. One, that that we would file a lawsuit in the US to bring the defendants to justice. Two, that we would force Boeing to take steps to fix their aircraft, whether it takes one or 10 years to do… they have openly stated they know there is a problem with their warning system and are recalling planes. And three, we would seek adequate compensation for the victims’ families.”
The lawyer said they had already kept two out of three promises and that all that remained was the issue of compensation, pointing out that among other things it was their aim to secure enough money to ensure the education and welfare of orphaned children was taken care of.
Owen said the court would only hear evidence relevant to the case, “what caused the accident on this particular day”.
Vincent Carter, a principal in Girardi & Keese added: “Through this action we will have access to documents and witnesses… new venues of thought and possibilities of how the accident happened may arise and we will follow those avenues.”
They were answering questions regarding whether or not the Civil Aviation Authority would be held responsible for the August 14 crash. Grief stricken relatives looking for answers have blamed lax Civil Aviation Authority inspections for contributing to the crash that occurred just 40 kilometres from Athens.
But “right now in this current investigation we don’t see it (the Civil Aviation Authorities responsibility)”, said Owen.
According to Carter it was not uncommon for lawsuits to be resolved in a year, however, this case was likely to take longer as it involved over one hundred deaths.
“Litigation like this should take about two years,” he said.
Owen said the firms would be available for contact around the clock until all claims were resolved. A local number has been set up for this purpose, which he said is “open 24-hours to help with the litigation”.
“Anyone can call at any time. Current clients, lawyers, the media and we’ll get back to you immediately,” he said.
The number is 99250122
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