Kansas City firm scores record N.Y. verdict in suit stemming from chopper crash

Missouri Lawyers Media - October 25, 2024

BY DAVID BAUGHER

A New York court case over a malfunctioning floatation device, an unusual restraint system and a deadly helicopter crash has resulted in a nine-figure verdict against multiple defendants in what the plaintiff’s Kansas City attorney says may represent the largest wrongful death award in Empire State history.

“There were 19 experts, over 150 motions in limine,” said Andrew Robb of Missouri-based Robb & Robb. “We had to present evidence against every defendant so our case in chief took weeks.”

The upshot is a verdict in excess of $116 million, including more than $3 million in punitive damages, for the family of Trevor Cadigan, a 26-year-old who perished with four other passengers when the tour helicopter they were riding in plunged into Manhattan’s East River in 2018 after a sequence of events during a “doors off” ride in the aircraft which was designed to promote a better view of the city including the opportunity for an individual to snap a photo of their feet dangling in front of the skyline.

However, the excursion turned tragic when a shutoff was accidentally triggered by a passenger leaning back to take a photo as recommended by the tour operators.

“As he was doing that, his tether catches on one of the helicopter’s fuel controls and shuts off the engine in flight,” said Robb, one of four attorneys at his firm which worked on the case.

Unfortunately, though the passengers survived the initial crash, Robb said that the safety systems onboard the helicopter proved fatal to them.

“The emergency floatation equipment deploys and it doesn’t deploy properly so it flips over and overturns immediately,” he said.

Worse, the ill-fated tourists found themselves unable to escape the restraint system which Robb said that the tour operators had assembled from materials obtained at a local home improvement store. In the event of an emergency, passengers had been instructed to use small knives they’d been given which were designed to cut their harnesses but this method proved ineffective in practice. All five drowned. Robb said that Cadigan perished still strapped into his seat just a few feet from the surface of the water.

Ultimately, the only survivor from the incident was the pilot who was not strapped in using the same system.

“We had a GoPro video of the entire accident sequence from the inside of the helicopter so we knew exactly what happened,” he said. “It is the most compelling piece of evidence that any of us involved in this case had ever seen.”

Also compelling was a courtroom demonstration by the defense which in which Robb said that a defense expert attempted to show that the restraint system could be easily removed in just seconds during an emergency using one of the knives.

However, Robb said the in-court demonstration went poorly for the defendants.

“It was not cutting,” he said. “Three seconds pass. Ten seconds. He’s just cutting away. Twenty seconds. Nothing in the courtroom except for the noise of this man trying to cut the tether and escape the restraint system. Thirty seconds. Forty-five seconds, a minute. At this point people are laughing.”

Robb said it took about a minute and a half in court for the defense witness to cut himself free.

“We presented evidence that came out during discovery that these people actually knew that, in the event of an emergency, people could not escape from this harness system,” he noted.

In addition to the GoPro, Robb said that the accident was also filmed by bystanders from the ground.

Robb said that the makers of the floatation device acknowledged that it had not worked as intended however they contended that it hadn’t been the cause of the deaths.

“It was really a finger pointing game at the other defendants,” he said.

Ultimately, jurors returned a verdict that put 80 percent of fault on the joint operators of the tour, FlyNYON and Liberty Helicopters, who created the restraint system. The remainder of the liability fell on DART Aerospace which was responsible for the floatation device.

An additional defendant, Airbus Helicopters, was also named based on the design of the fuel shutoff. However, jurors found no liability with that company.

Robb said the trial process was a long one and received considerable media attention including articles in the New York Post and New York Times. The trial took place in the same courtroom as former President Donald Trump’s E. Jean Carroll civil trial.

“We represented this family for six years and had two years of COVID delays,” he said. “It has meant a lot to them to have this verdict out there and they feel like justice was done after a long, hard fight.”

Anthony U. Battista, David Harrington and Diana Gurfel of Condon & Forsyth were listed as representing FlyNYON. David Loh, Anthony Eckert and Larry Kaplan of KMA Zuckert were listed as representing DART.

Bautista and Loh declined comment on the matter.

Ross Cunningham, Gary Gardner and Kris Kennedy of Cunningham Swaim were listed as representing Liberty. Eric Strain and Paul Stinson of Locke Lord were listed as representing Airbus.

They did not return a request for comment.