Personal Injury Law

Plaintiffs of Chicago Plane Accident Awarded $15 Million Settlement for Restaurateur?s Illinois Wrongful Death

In Cook County, Illinois, a judge has awarded the family of Michael Waugh $15 million for his airplane accident death. Waugh, a 37-year-old Algonquin resident, was one of four people killed when the Cessna 421B they were riding in crashed in a storage yard in January 2006.The twin-engine plane was heading to Chicago Executive Airport in Wheeling.

$6 million of the $15 million Chicago wrongful death settlement is to go to Waugh?s widow. The remainder of the award will go to the Waugh?s three sons.

The Chicago plane accident complaint accused Morgan Stanley of acting improperly by letting employees use personal planes when doing business. According to the family?s Chicago airplane crash lawyer, all other financial institutions prohibit this practice.

The lawsuit accuses Mark Turek, a Morgan Stanley senior vice president and the person who was piloting the plane when it crashed, of negligence. Turek, 59, also died in the Cook County aviation accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board reported that based on its investigation, the Illinois plane crash occurred because of pilot error. Turek was an amateur pilot, not a professional one. The NTSB says that Turek was unable to maintain airspeed as the plane was getting ready to land. As a result, the aircraft stalled before crashing.

The two other people who died in the plane crash were Sybaris Clubs International Inc. founder Ken Knudson and Morgan Stanley financial adviser and Chicago resident Scott Garland. Waugh was chief operating partner and general manager of Chicago dining locale Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak, and Stone Crab Restaurant.

Chicago Airplane Accident
There are many laws, regulations, and other factors that must be taken into consideration when proving liability in your Chicago plane crash case. Your Illinois aviation accident attorney will also have to determine who and/or how many parties can be held liable. Possible defendants might include the airline company, the private plane chartering firm, the party that rented or owns the plane, the plane manufacturer, a plane parts manufacturer, the pilot, the Federal Aviation Administration, ground crew workers, and others.

Plane crash lawsuit settled: $15 million settlement approved by judge in 2006 crash near Wheeling airport, Chicago Tribune, September 4, 2009

Family Of Small Plane Crash Victim Files Lawsuit, CBS2Chicago, February 8, 2006

Related Web Resources:
Federal Aviation Administration

National Transportation Safety Board

Full post as published by Chicago Injury Attorney Blog on September 07, 2009 (boomark / email).