KC law firm wins largest single wrongful death verdict in New York history
Kansas City Business Journal - September 30, 2024
BY JAMES DORNBROOK
Robb & Robb LLC consists of (left to right) Andrew Robb, Gary Robb, Anita Robb and Brittany Robb.
Kansas City-based Robb & Robb LLC won a $116 million verdict related to a tourist helicopter flight crash — the largest single wrongful death verdict in New York’s history.
The 2018 flight involved a doorless helicopter that used store-bought fall-protection gear designed for constructions workers, not aviation use. Federal officials determined that the helicopter crashed into the East River after a passenger tether got caught on a floor-mounted fuel shutoff control and caused the engine to stop running. The helicopter had a flotation system, but only one float deployed, causing the helicopter to flip upside down in the river. The passengers then failed to escape from their harnesses.
The pilot, who had an aviation seatbelt, was able to escape and survived. His five passengers all drowned. They were Trevor Cadigan, 26; Brian McDaniel, 26; Carla Vallejos Blanco, 29; Tristan Hill, 29; and Daniel Thompson, 34.
Robb & Robb represented Cadigan’s family. Defendants in the case were FlyNYON, which was hired to set up the flight; Liberty Helicopters, which owned the chopper and hired the pilot; and Dart Aerospace, which made the flotation device that didn’t deploy properly after the crash.
The jury found that FlyNYON carried 42% of the fault, Liberty 38% and Dart 20%.
Andrew Robb, attorney at Robb & Robb, said the three-month trial ended in a verdict on Sept. 19 after more than 150 motions and 19 expert witnesses.
Husband-and-wife lawyers Gary and Anita Porte Robb founded Robb & Robb in 1984. Their son, Andrew Robb, and daughter-in-law, Brittany Sanders Robb, joined the firm as associates in 2020. The firm carved out a specialty handling litigation related to aircraft crashes.
“Given the size of our firm, we’ve always been quite selective about what we work on,” Andrew Robb said. “Our goal has always been to do what we can to make the world a better, safer place. This case, through the attention it garnered, grabbed the attention of the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, causing them to respond in a positive light to everything this verdict revealed. We feel honored to be at a firm that can make that difference.”
Robb & Robb has handled many high-profile cases, including a lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant, widow of the late Kobe Bryant, after he and their daughter Gianna died in a helicopter crash in 2020. The firm earned an $18 million settlement in a case where professional wrestler Owen Hart died at Kemper Arena in Kansas City in 1999 after falling out of a harness during a stunt. It also represented Jean Carnahan in a lawsuit filed after her husband and former Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan and son Randy died in a plane crash in 2000.
Other victories include two of the highest jury verdicts in U.S. history for helicopter crashes, worth $350 million and $70 million. They also obtained the largest personal injury pretrial cash settlement for any single injury in U.S. history of $100 million.
