The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

In August 2006, Comair Flight 191 crashed while taking off from Lexington, Kentucky to go to Atlanta, Georgia. The pilot did not realize that he was on the wrong runway. It was too short, causing the jet to crash, killing all 47 passengers and two of the three crew.

According to the later analysis of the cockpit voice recorder, the captain, Jeffrey Clay, confirmed “Runway two-two” with the air traffic controller but then taxied onto Runway 26 which was unlit. He gave control of the plane to his First Officer. As the plane reached 120 mph, the First Officer said, “There is no lights” and Clay answered, “Yeah”.

But apparently neither one of them tried to abort the takeoff. The plane reached 158 mph, failing to lift its nose, then crashed into a berm, rose into the air, and then collided with trees. The cockpit and fuselage separated from the tail and a fire destroyed the plane. All occupants died instantly except the First Officer, who was severely injured but survived. He suffered brain damage and has no memory of the attempted takeoff or the crash.

Change in Kentucky Law

Lawsuits were filed by survivors of all the passengers and all but one of them were settled by August, 2008 before going to trial. The one not settled was filed by one Jaime Herbert, the widow of Bryan Woodward and mother of two teenage daughters.

Previously, Kentucky law did not allow a spouse to sue for loss of consortium. But that became an issue after the Comair crash and on October 1 of this year, the State Supreme Court ruled that an unrelated case could go forward for loss of consortium. Then on October 10, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled that Herbert could reinstate her claim for loss of consortium against Comair. A jury trial is scheduled to start on December 1. This will likely be the first loss of consortium claim tried in Kentucky.

Further, because Herbert wants Comair to publicly take the responsibility for this crash, a second trial is planned for punitive damages. None of the previously-settled cases had included punitive damages.

Losing your spouse because of another person’s carelessness is surely one of the most painful losses we can suffer. By receiving monetary damages, the survivor at least has financial relief to compensate for the lost spouse’s salary and benefits. A wrongful death claim can give you that benefit, as damages can include funeral costs, medical costs, lost income and other items as well as loss of consortium.

If you have lost a loved one due to somebody else’s negligence and are wondering about your legal situation, please contact our wrongful death lawyers today for a free case review.

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