KC attorneys get record wrongful death settlement following helicopter crash
Missouri Lawyers Media - January 9, 2024
BY RASMUS S. JORGENSEN
Missouri attorneys obtained what appears to be the largest wrongful death settlement for an individual in U.S. history when a Nevada judge approved a $100 million settlement.
Kansas City-based Robb & Robb represented the parents of Jonathan Udall, a 31-year-old English tourist who was among five people killed as a result of a 2018 helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon. Udall and one other person survived the initial crash but died later due to burn injuries. But his death could have been avoided, his parents claimed, if the helicopter had been retrofitted with a modern fuel tank.
“Jonathan actually had no broken bones or internal injuries. He was able to exit the helicopter, but the helicopter almost instantly caught on fire, and so, he suffered burns over 90 percent of his body, and that’s what eventually took his life,” said Brittany Robb, one of the attorneys for his estate.
Crash-resistant fuel tanks are designed to expand on impact and have self-sealing components, which means they can avoid rupturing and allow crash survivors more time to escape before the fuel adds to any fires. Such fuel tanks were not required for the involved helicopter at the time of the crash. Papillon Airways, one of the defendants in the lawsuit and the company operating the involved helicopter, announced shortly after the crash that it would install crash-resistant fuel tanks in its air tour fleet.
Robb said that if Airbus Helicopters — another defendant — had installed the crash-resistant fuel tanks on the helicopter, Udall’s life would “undoubtedly” have been saved.
The plaintiffs also claimed Papillon had no emergency procedure plan, causing the severely burnt Udall to be left for seven hours in the Grand Canyon with no care. The suit also alleged Papillon was negligent in its hiring and training of pilots.
The case was filed in the spring of 2018 and took nearly six years to settle. During that time, Airbus unsuccessfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to find that the manufacturer was carrying out duties delegated by the Federal Aviation Administration and was, therefore, acting under a federal officer, which would have allowed them to remove the case to a federal court. The case also made it to the Nevada Supreme Court over jurisdiction issues but eventually returned to the district court in Las Vegas.
According to Robb, Udall’s parents’ determination to cause change in the helicopter industry was critical to reaching this settlement. An essential condition for them in agreeing to the settlement, in which the defendants admit no fault or liability, was that it would be public.
“(Airbus and Papillon) knew that they were not going to take confidentiality for any sum of money, and so I think once they really came to grips with our clients’ resolve and strength, they came to the table with this,” Robb said.
At $100 million, this is the largest wrongful death settlement for an individual in U.S. history, according to the database maintained by VerdictSearch, a division of ALM. The large amount speaks to the injuries and suffering that Udall experienced, but it was also important because it gives his parents a megaphone to call for crash-resistant fuel tanks to be retrofitted to helicopters, even when not required by federal regulations.
Attorneys for Airbus and Papillon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
