December 7, 2009
Following a four-day jury trial which took place at the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Lexington, an eight-member jury returned a verdict of $7.1 million in favor of the family of Mr. Bryan Keith Woodward, who was killed in the Comair airplane crash at Blue Grass Airport in Kentucky.
At the trial three of the aviation attorneys at Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. represented the family of Mr. Woodward, a 39-year-old from Lafayette, Louisiana, who was a passenger on Delta Connection/Comair Flight 5191 when the airplane crashed. In the early morning hours of August 27, 2006, the Comair regional jet attempted to take off on the wrong runway, one that was too short. The airplane ran off the end of the runway into the grass, hit a berm, and after leaving the ground momentarily crashed through an airport perimeter gate, then into a row of trees, and then slamming the ground plowing into more trees before coming to rest in flames.
Mr. Woodward was returning home from a business trip to Kentucky. According to David E. Rapoport, lead counsel in the case and the lead trial attorney: “Mr. Woodward was an outstanding father and family man who was also hard-working and uniquely talented. The airline and its expert witnesses insisted Mr. Woodward did not experience conscious pain and suffering. The jury disagreed with the airline.”
Forty-seven passengers and two of the three crew members on board were killed in the airplane crash. The co-pilot survived with severe injuries. Senior United States District Judge Karl S. Forester ruled that the question of punitive damages will be decided by a different jury in a trial that will begin on February 1, 2011.
Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. is a personal injury law firm based in Chicago, Illinois. The personal injury attorneys at Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. have achieved multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for individuals with lawsuits arising from medical malpractice, product liability, semitruck and motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries and construction accidents in Illinois and Wisconsin. Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C.’s premier aviation negligence lawyers represent victims of commercial and general aviation disasters nationwide.
If you feel you may be in need of legal services, personally email an attorney from Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. for a free case evaluation or telephone our Chicago office toll free at 866-693-3806.
