Swissair Flight 111 Airplane Crash Settlement

February 27, 2002

On September 2, 1998, Swissair Flight 111, an MD-11 aircraft, crashed into the ocean off the coast of Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia, en route from New York City to Geneva, Switzerland. All 229 passengers and crew, primarily American, Canadian, Swiss and French citizens, perished. Chief Judge Giles of the United States District Court for Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that punitive damages could not be sought in the case involving the airplane crash of Swissair Flight 111.

The aviation negligence attorneys at Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. who represented a group of families of passengers who died, advised clients early in the case that the prospect of punitive damages was rather limited because of the Warsaw Convention and Death On The High Seas Act. Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C. successfully settled cases for all of these clients. While the terms of each individual settlement cannot be disclosed because of confidentiality agreements, the aggregate amount of the payments to the firm’s clients exceeded $13 million.

When asked to comment about this case, attorney David E. Rapoport noted, “We are not surprised that Boeing and Swissair admitted liability in this case. Flammable insulation fueled a fire that resulted in such extensive damage that the pilots could not control the airplane. In our opinion, this tragedy will be remembered as one of the worst aviation disasters in history.”

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.