If you have been injured or if one of your loved ones has died in an aviation accident in Alaska, contact the plane accident attorneys at The Law Office of Jason Skala, LLC today.

Alaskan residents often utilize small commercial aircrafts in order to get to and from work each day. Due to this, Alaska has one of the highest airplane crash rates in the nation, with over 100 plane crashes occurring here every year. Plane crashes have become such a common occurrence in Alaska that in 2016 the Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning to the charter and commuter air operators in Alaska in response to a year-long spike in the number of aviation accidents in the state.

Plane accidents in Alaska are often the result of unforeseen circumstances that arise due to the difficult terrain and treacherous weather in the state. However, human error often plays a large role in the causation of these plane accidents. Whether they take place as the result of direct pilot error, maintenance crew negligence, or the errors and/or carelessness of the aircraft’s manufacturer, passengers often suffer serious and sometimes fatal injuries.

If you or someone you love has been injured in an Alaska plane crash, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation for your injuries and losses. Working with an Alaska plane accident attorney is your best bet in receiving full and fair financial compensation for your injuries and the resulting damages that they have caused.

Plane accidents require in-depth investigations into extremely technical engineering and forensic issues. What’s more, they usually require revisiting the crash site in order to complete further investigations. Laws surrounding aviation in Alaska have further complicated these aspects which is why it is imperative and in your best interest to work with an Alaska aviation lawyer with the proper skills and expertise necessary to litigate cases of this magnitude.

The Law Office of Jason Skala, LLC will evaluate, analyze, and investigate every aspect of your case necessary in order to determine who was at fault in your plane accident so that you may be awarded the financial compensation you are entitled to.

If you have lost someone you love to an Alaska aviation accident, you may be entitled to significant financial compensation for the wrongful death of your loved one depending on the circumstances of their accident. Contact us today for a free consultation and case evaluation.

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Your Choice of Aviation
Accident Lawyer Matters

Building an aviation accident case is significantly more complex and difficult than building a car accident. The extreme damage that may have been suffered on impact may obscure any useful evidence and increase the difficulty of building a compelling case that directly displays the true cause of injury or wrongful death.

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Because of this, your choice of plane crash lawyer in Alaska is important and can greatly affect the final outcome of your case. The Law Office of Jason Skala, LLC serves the largest city in Alaska, Anchorage, as well as the surrounding cities of Pt. Lay, Pt Hope, Ambler, Kiana, Anuktuvak Pass, Kivalina, Noorvik, and Selawik, among many others. We possess the knowledge necessary in order to properly position your claim during negotiations for settlement and at trial. We know how to seek an efficient yet fair claim resolution for you and your loved ones.

Jason Skala resolves every plane crash claim according to his client’s best interests and ultimate goals. He possesses the skills needed to finalize negotiations with insurance companies for top dollar amounts. He is also prepared to take a case to trial if it seems that this would help craft a more optimal outcome for you and your loved ones. His tailored approach to each unique case, immense flexibility, and complete commitment to his clients sets him apart from other attorneys in Alaska and makes him an optimum choice when seeking just financial compensation for injuries and losses suffered in aviation accidents in Alaska.

Jason Skala is also aware that in the case of a wrongful death, no amount of money can compensate for the devastating loss of your loved one. It can, however, help work for a negligent party is held accountable for their actions and can also help you get through the financial aftermath of their crash. Financial compensation can be awarded for funeral costs, outstanding medical bills, and more in a wrongful death lawsuit. It can also be awarded to you in the form of pain and suffering and other non-economic damages that may have resulted from the loss of your loved one, such as loss of consortium, and loss of life enjoyment, among others.

Personal Injury Claims Related to
Aviation Accidents

Those who become injured in accidents possess the right to file civil claims against responsible parties in pursuit of financial compensation for their injuries and losses. Filing a personal injury claim for a plane crash can result in financial recompense for all past, present, and future crash-related costs, such as:

Lost Wages: Sustaining injuries in a plane accident could mean that you have to spend some time in the hospital recovering, out of work. Missing work means missing pay, which can have a detrimental effect on your financial wellness and your mental state, especially if other costs are piling up such as medical bills. If you were forced to miss work as part of your recovery period, list all of your lost income to be collected as financial compensation for your injuries. This can include the cost of earnings you may potentially earn in the future as well.

Medical expenses: These can include any/all medical care costs for you or your loved one who passed away. These include any future medical care for long term or permanent injuries, and should always be included as part of an aviation settlement awarded to you.

Pain and Suffering: The current criminal justice system in Alaska allows you to seek financial compensation for non-economic damages such as physical pain and suffering, emotional turmoil, mental anguish, and other impacts that are intangible and do not have an exact dollar amount.

Wrongful death damages: If you have lost a loved one of yours due to an aviation crash, you may be eligible to collect financial compensation in the form of wrongful death damages that includes loss of consortium, lost inheritance, and funeral/burial expenses.

Legal Aspects to Consider in
Plane Accident Claims

Oftentimes, aviation crash claims require complex regulations and laws that may increase the difficulty of being able to receive full and fair financial compensation for your injuries and incurred losses. For example, the Montreal Convention introduced a two-tier system for liability in accident cases that proves to be helpful to injured accident victims and their families. Once the convention was passed in 1999, those involved and injured in international flights no longer have to prove willful neglect of the air carrier in order to obtain financial compensation. On the contrary, air carriers are responsible for damages up to $100,000. The goal of this rule was to reduce the amount of time aviation litigation takes.

Other parties may be held responsible for aviation crashes. Liability could be held by the owner of the aircraft itself, its sole operator or pilot, and the equipment manufacturer. Many cases often involve multiple parties who must share fault, such as the manufacturing company and air carrier combined. Shared fault often results in higher financial compensation being awarded to the injured victim. Discuss your crash incident with your aviation accident lawyer in Anchorage in order to shed more insight into your case.

Aviation Accident Causes

There were over 1,300 plane accidents in the United States in 2016. Nearly every one of these crashes was found to be in general aviation rather than commercial. Regardless of the type of crash, our Anchorage law firm is here to help. Our experienced legal team will work with the authorities, investigators, and any other party necessary in order to identify the cause of the accident, determine if negligence was a factor, and prove liability. With the help of a skilled and professional aviation attorney in Anchorage, you will be able to demonstrate to a judge, insurance company, and/or jury that another person’s negligence, carelessness, or recklessness caused your injuries and resulting losses and damages, or the premature and wrongful death of a loved one of yours.

Some other common causes for plane crashes in Alaska include sabotage or terrorist activity, errors of the ground crew on duty at the time of the crash, passenger negligence or the intention to cause harm, the improper loading of plane cargo, obstructions in the runway, and fires in-flight. No matter the cause of the crash, such tragedies should never take place. Contact The Law Office of Jason Skala, LLC after suffering injury or the death of a loved one due to an aviation accident in Alaska. Put your case in our hands and we will launch a professional investigation into the cause and liability of your crash as well as gather any available evidence of negligence, and build your wrongful death or personal injury claim from the bottom up.

Some of the most common causes of aviation accidents in Alaska include, but are not limited to:

Pilot error/human error
People can cause plane crashes by mistakes such as failing to follow proper instructions while taking off or landing, as well as premature descent, missing runways, excessive speed while landing, failing to refuel, dangerous miscalculations, and navigational errors.

Malfunction of equipment

A large number of aviation accidents that take place are the result of mechanical and equipment failures. These can include engine design flaws and structure failures. Liability may be placed on a part manufacturer if the equipment defects or the plane’s owner could be held liable if the problem arose due to poor plane maintenance.

Inclement Weather

At times, the law may refer to “Acts of God” as the cause of an aviation accident. While no one person or company can be held responsible for bad weather, an aviation company or pilot could be held responsible for failing to check the weather conditions before taking off, underestimating the dangers posed by the bad weather, or failing to properly obey the procedures necessary for navigating through a storm.