Lawsuit After Delta Flight Dumps Fuel over L.A. Area Schools

Shortly before noon on Tuesday January 14, 2020, a number of Los Angeles area schools – mostly elementary schools – were affected after a Delta flight from LAX had an emergency which required it to dump its fuel before returning to the airport. Dozens of people, including students and faculty, were harmed; all affected parties were treated for minor injuries at each of the affected campuses.

The first report of the incident was at Park Avenue Elementary School, located at the 8000 block of Park Avenue in Cudahy roughly 14 miles east of LAX. This school had the highest number of affected children and adults. A total of 31 patients were treated for minor injuries at the school.

Two schools in South Gate were also affected by the incident. At San Gabriel Avenue Elementary and Tweedy Elementary, there were 6 additional patients; once again, they were treated for minor injuries. A short distance away, in the Florence-Graham area, another patient received treatment for minor injuries at Graham Elementary.

Jordan High School (the only high school affected as of latest reports) in the Florence-Firestone area was also affected. In the Green Meadows area, 93rd Street Elementary School was also affected. Between these two campuses, an additional 16 patients received treatment for minor injuries.

At Gallatin Preschool in Downey, another 7 patients received treatment for their minor injuries.

The minor injuries suffered included itchy eyes, itchy skin, and sore throats. The authorities advised all parties affected to take thorough showers and wash all exposed/contaminated clothing separately with regular detergent.

Members of the community complained of the lingering fuel odor even hours after the incident. Many community members (specifically in Cudahy) stated that they could rub off the residue of the fuel left on their cars with their fingers. The Department of Public Health, however, is urging all residents in the affected areas to avoid direct contact with any residue of the fuel.

According to the fire department, there are no unsafe or elevated levels of chemicals in the affected areas; therefore, no evacuations have been ordered. LAUSD dispatched its Office of Environmental Health and Safety to the affected schools.

The plane was identified as Delta Flight 89, a Boeing 777 headed to Shanghai. Delta confirmed specific details surrounding the incident in the following statement:

“Shortly after takeoff, Flight 89 from LAX to Shanghai experienced an engine issue requiring the aircraft to return quickly to LAX. The aircraft landed safely after a release of fuel, which was required as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight. We are in touch with Los Angeles Word Airports and the LA County Fire Department and share concerns regarding reported minor injuries to adults and children at [the schools] in the area.”

The Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the incident, also released a statement claiming that according to procedures “fuel [must] be dumped over designated unpopulated areas, typically at higher altitudes so the fuel atomizes and disperses before it reaches the ground.” Considering that the fuel was dumped over a highly populated area and at a low altitude, the procedure appears to have been blatantly ignored.

There is no doubt that the incident has shaken up the community. The incident has also left many people wondering whether they have grounds to take any legal action for the harm associated with the incident. If you or your child were directly harmed by the incident discussed above, you should consider seeking legal assistance immediately – you can trust our experts at Kenmore Law Group. Our lawyers have many years of experience handling all types of claims and fighting for the rights of victims and their families. If you would like to learn more about whether you could pursue a claim, do not hesitate to contact our law firm as soon as possible.

Important Questions Surrounding the Incident

According to incident reports, the Boeing 777 headed for Shanghai experienced engine problems just a short time after taking off from LAX. The mechanical problems forced the plane to return to the airport; the planes fuel was released to reduce weight which is necessary for a safe landing.

Many people in the affected communities share a common concern – if the plane had mechanical problems, it should have never been allowed to take off. This concern is followed by a critical question: why was the aircraft allowed to take off?

All planes must go through a number of routine inspections to ensure that they are safe for air travel. Therefore, it is suspicious that the mechanical problem present in the plane was neither identified nor addressed prior to take off. This has led to the following questions. Why wasn’t the problem identified prior to takeoff? Who failed to both identify and address the mechanical problem present on the plane before takeoff? Could the emergency have been prevented? If the mechanical issue could have been prevented, then the fuel dump could have also been prevented.

What does all of this mean? Airlines have a duty to ensure that their planes are completely safe for air travel prior to take off; therefore, it is possible that someone failed to do their job correctly – leading to the incident.

Do You Have Grounds to File a Claim?

Victims and their families might have grounds to sue for the harm caused by the incident. Could you sue for the harm that you or a member or your family suffered? In many cases it is difficult to understand whether you have the right to sue for an incident, especially if the details surrounding the incident are unclear.

In general, the right to pursue a claim is based on negligence. Essentially, if the reckless or negligent actions of a party or entity directly contributed to the harm suffered, the party or entity could be held accountable. Without a doubt, conclusions or assumptions cannot be drawn because the incident is still under investigation. However, all affected parties should note that the negligence of the airline, the pilot, and even the plane manufacturer could have contributed to the incident; if this is true, liability could be easily established.

You could pursue a personal injury accident against Delta or any other potentially liable party. However, because so many people were harmed by the incident, it might also be possible to file a class action lawsuit against the liable parties. A class action lawsuit allows multiple parties to join one another to take action against another party or entity.

For more information about your right to sue for the harm that you or a member of your family suffered, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm immediately.

Could You Recover Compensation?

Could you and your family be eligible to recover any form of monetary compensation? If you decide to pursue a claim and if the claim reaches a successful outcome, you could be compensated for all the harm suffered. Although there is no guarantee surrounding the specific compensation that you could be eligible to receive, some could be compensated for medical bills, lost earnings, pain and suffering, and even punitive damages. If you would like to learn more about the type and amount of compensation that you might be eligible to recover if you successfully file a claim for the harm suffered, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with the experts at our firm at your earliest convenience.

You Must Act Quickly

If you are considering the possibility of filing a claim, it is essential that you act quickly. All claims are subject to a statute of limitations – a deadline to sue – which establishes a very strict length of time to file a claim. Failure to file your claim on time could cause you to lose your right to sue (meaning that you would also lose your right to recover any form of compensation).

In California, claims are typically subject to a two-year statute of limitations, meaning that claimants only have two years to pursue their claims. However, exceptions could apply; these exceptions could significantly affect the total length of time that you have to file your claim. If you would like to learn more about the time that you have to file a claim, do not hesitate to seek legal assistance with our firm immediately. Our lawyers will help you understand all applicable deadlines to ensure that you file your claim on time.

Contact Our Law Firm Today

If you or your child were affected by the fuel dump incident over the Los Angeles area, you might have grounds to file a claim for the harm suffered. You should seek legal assistance immediately with the experts at our law firm. At Kenmore Law Group, our lawyers have many years of experience handling all sorts of claims. Regardless of the specific claim we are handling, we are always committed to representing our clients’ best interests and helping them recover the compensation that they deserve.

To ensure that victims and their families have access to the legal representation necessary to pursue a claim, our firm offers free legal services. Our free legal services include both free consultations and free second opinions. During these free legal services, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions, address all your concerns, and provide you with all the information necessary to either start or continue your claim. You could benefit from our free legal services by contacting our firm immediately.

Our law firm also offers a Zero-Fee guarantee that ensures that our clients never have to worry about paying any upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. Because our firm is also based on contingency, our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a positive claim outcome.

Are you ready to discuss your claim with our experts? If so, do not hesitate to contact our law firm at your earliest convenience.