Our Blog

The Ethiopian government released earlier this week its preliminary report to the public for the March 10, 2019 accident involving Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. The report included plots of the Flight Data Recorder data and a detailed time history of events including those derived from the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). Review of these data show the MCAS automatic stabilizer trim activations occurred between 250 and 340 knots indicated airspeed (KIAS), which is on the upper…

PRESS CONFERENCE THURSDAY, 11/4/2019 AT 11 A.M. CST IN CHICAGO Clifford Law Offices of Chicago and Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy of San Francisco, internationally recognized aviation firms, filed a lawsuit on Thursday, April 4, 2019 on behalf of the family of a 24-year-old woman and U.S. citizen who was killed in the tragic crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max8 aircraft March 10. The detailed complaint was filed in federal district court in Chicago against Boeing, manufacturer of the…

The sad story of the toxic Sterigenics plant in west suburban Willowbrook continues with the recent discovery of an increased amount of the cancer-causing chemical in the air near the sterilization facility. Since last August when news broke that air quality monitors detected high concentrations of ethylene oxide along with higher than expected cancer rates among people in those downwind residential neighborhoods, lawsuits have attempted to hold the company accountable for its inexcusable actions. Clifford…

Shannon M. McNulty, partner at Clifford Law Offices, has been inducted into the International Society of Barristers. Membership is by invitation only which is preceded by a rigorous screening process that considers the lawyer’s ability, experience, accomplishments and ethical standards as assessed and recommended by trial lawyers and judges. The Society places emphasis on the preservation of trial by jury and civility. McNulty heads the class action/mass tort practice area at the firm. She handles…

Aeromexico Airlines told a federal judge on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 that it would not contest liability in the tragic incident involving 103 on board July 31 when a plane took off in heavy rain in Durango, Mexico, then crashed moments after takeoff near the runway before catching fire. Thankfully all passengers and crew survived. Clifford Law Offices represents a number of the passengers aboard, including a group from the Chicago area. Litigation is pending…

Robert A. Clifford, one of the nation’s top aviation attorneys, wrote a letter yesterday to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) head offering 10 suggestions he could do to improve the workings of the agency in light of the two recent Boeing Max8 planes. With a focus on safety, Clifford wrote FAA Acting Administrator Daniel K. Elwell of short and long-term priorities that may help restore the public’s confidence in flying, particularly as a new head…

As a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief is about to take the controls with a distinguished aviation education, airline career and “culture of safety” record behind him, it causes one to pause and think just what should the immediate and longer-term safety priorities of the agency be. After many decades of representing airplane accident victims and their families, as well as working closely with our accident investigation and safety engineering experts, the following initial…

Sarah F. King, attorney at Clifford Law Offices and Vice Chair of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) Women’s Caucus, will be co-moderating the organization’s Trial and Practice Tips Seminar on May 10th, 2019. King will be moderating the morning program with Sarah M. Salger of Gori Julian & Associates of Edwardsville. King also will make a presentation on “Pre-Trial Motions.” Other topics to be covered include jury selection, opening statements, closing argument and a…

The Boeing and FAA sins in the 737 MAX design and certification program continue to grow in number, severity, and consequence. This may now include criminal charges, as the US DOJ and DOT Inspector General begin investigations with a grand jury, preservation requests and plenty of media hysteria. This is not the first time that a new Boeing airplane program has had incidents caused by poor system safety design and certification, with Boeing and FAA…