After an aviation accident, passengers or bereaved families of victims involved want truth, answers and justice. The process that can follow may include an inquest, safety investigation, a civil claim for compensation and in some cases a criminal investigation.

Aviation injury claim for compensation

Partners Sarah Stewart and Peter Neenan from our Aviation Injury team, which has acted for crew, pilots, passengers and bereaved families since its foundation in 2006, explain the processes involved in an aviation claim in this video.

What happens for passengers and bereaved families after an air accident?

The steps included in an aviation claim:

• The air safety investigation

Mandated by international law, this is a process that often takes two years but can take many more. Those involved are excluded from the investigation itself. The objective of the investigation is air safety. Blame is not attributed. Our lawyers can help clients understand the air safety investigation and what happened in the accident.

• Identifying liable parties

Aviation accidents are typically the result of multiple failures, each of which is the result of a party’s fault, be that the airline, aircraft manufacturer, subcomponent manufacturer, air traffic control, maintenance provider and many more. Our specialist team identifies who the potentially liable parties are and in which jurisdiction a claim could be brought.

• Bringing compensation claims

This is a process of litigating against and/or negotiation with the potentially liable parties often in multiple jurisdictions under multiple laws to resolve claims, to ensure the maximum possible compensation for those affected.

Our lawyers recognise that the aftermath of an aviation accident is a traumatic time and will guide our clients through the process to ensure they get the best possible outcome, not only in terms of compensation but also understanding what happened and why.

Our Aviation Team

Our Aviation Injury team has unrivalled experience in dealing with aviation accident claims and aviation litigation.

We are ranked No.1 in the UK by Chambers and The Legal 500 and are one of the top five firms worldwide for aviation accident litigation.