Clifford Law Offices filed four more lawsuits in Illinois against United Airlines on behalf of passengers from various states who are suffering significant emotional trauma and distress stemming from a flight that experienced a fiery engine loss while traveling from Denver to Hawaii on Feb. 20, 2021.
UA Flight 328, a Boeing 777-200, was en route to Honolulu when four minutes after takeoff the right engine failed and was engulfed in flames. Pilots were forced to turn back to Denver as passengers witnessed the plane on fire on the right side of the wing and engine debris fell to the ground. A loud bang could be heard on the plane’s cockpit voice recorder that was later recovered. Pilots were able to land the plane with one engine 24 minutes later.
Individual lawsuits have been filed on behalf of a couple from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania; a man from Woodstock, Maryland, outside of Baltimore; and another man from Hawaii. Clifford Law Offices earlier filed two separate lawsuits stemming from this incident on behalf of two other passengers, one from Hawaii and one from Idaho.
The civil lawsuits seek monetary compensation in the Circuit Court of Cook County for personal, pecuniary and emotional damages as a direct result of the emotional trauma passengers experienced on that flight.
“Although the plane landed safely, it is imperative that the crew be as transparent as possible when stressful things are happening in flight,” said Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices in Chicago, an internationally renowned aviation firm. He is lead counsel in the consolidated litigation involving a Boeing 737 MAX airliner that crashed in Ethiopia two years ago killing all 157 onboard. He represents the families of 72 of those victims. “Apparently there was no information or assurances coming from the crew during the tense 24 minutes in flight despite flight attendants reportedly being in plain sight. All the passengers could do was expect the worst was about to happen.”
Video posted on Twitter from the emergency showed the engine fully engulfed in flames as the plane flew with 239 people on board. Pieces of the aircraft were discovered on the ground below, including debris crashing through a home and narrowly missing a half-dozen teams at soccer practice on a nearby field.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting an investigation into the incident.
For further information or to speak to attorneys Richard F. Burke, Jr., or Charles R. Haskins, attorneys at Clifford Law Offices please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).