The highly-respected aviation attorneys at Wisner Baum have a strong track record of success in providing legal representation to people affected by aviation accidents. Having represented plaintiffs in claims against nearly every major U.S. airline that has had a crash, including Southwest Airlines crashes, our law firm has the extensive experience and unique, in-depth knowledge of the aviation industry to conduct meticulous investigations and provide aggressive legal representation.
Our attorneys are ceaselessly committed to ensuring victims of aviation accidents are properly compensated for the harm done to them, and continue to fight to improve aviation safety. Because of that dedication, we have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our aviation accident clients in claims against Southwest Airlines and other major carriers.
Call us at (310) 207-3233 or contact us online to start exploring your legal options with a free consultation.
Started in 1967 by Herb Kelleher as Air Southwest Co., Southwest Airlines is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and it is the largest domestic air carrier in the United States, based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s reporting of domestic-originating passengers boarded. In its 2018 annual report, Southwest Airlines reported annual net income of $2.5 billion.
Southwest’s main routes are point-to-point service, in which passengers fly direct nonstop to their destinations. As of December 31, 2017, Southwest had 675 nonstop routes, between 100 destinations in the US and 10 additional countries. During peak travel seasons, Southwest Airlines has more than 4,000 weekday departures. In 2014, Southwest began international service, with flights to Nassau, Bahamas; Montego Bay, Jamaica; and Aruba. In 2019, it began service to the Hawaiian Islands. In 2018, Southwest began offering cargo service to international destinations.
Southwest’s top 10 airports by departures are Chicago, Las Vegas, Dallas, Denver, Baltimore, Phoenix, Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Oakland. According to the Southwest Airlines annual report, in 2018, the airline carried more than 134 million revenue passengers.
In 2011, Southwest acquired AirTran Airways and by the end of 2014 had fully integrated AirTran. The airline currently does not partner with other carriers. As of 2019, Southwest Airlines has approximately 59,000 full-time equivalent employees.
Southwest Airlines uses exclusively Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet of 754 planes:
Wisner Baum has handled cases against many of the largest airlines in the world, including the following Southwest Airlines crashes and incidents:
At Wisner Baum, we can take on more than just airline accident cases: In some instances, you may need to file a claim against an airline for other reasons. Joining Cronus Law, our team at Wisner Baum represented two Southwest Airlines flight attendants, Renee Steinaker and David Steinaker, in their lawsuit against Southwest Airlines and two of its pilots. The lawsuit alleges Southwest pilots Terry Graham and Ryan Russell set up a hidden camera in the lavatory of a Southwest plane that recorded and streamed video to an iPad mounted to the windshield of the cockpit during a commercial flight.
Renee Steinaker and her husband, David, are both Southwest Airlines flight attendants who worked at the company for decades. Their lawsuit sought compensatory and punitive damages against Southwest, Graham, and Russell.
“With my every being — every bit of myself — I knew this was wrong. And I could not let something like this go. I knew it was the right thing to do to report it. I thought I was safely able to report this and that it would be handled.” – Renee Steinaker
If you or a loved one has been involved in a Southwest plane crash, incident, or accident, it is in your best interest to speak with an experienced aviation law firm about your case. To learn more about filing a Southwest lawsuit, feel free to contact us online or give us a call to schedule a free consultation. With nearly 50 years of experience and a dedication to justice, our team can give you the compassionate counsel you deserve after a Southwest Airlines incident or accident.
Call (310) 207-3233 today for more information.
"Wisner Baum gave exceptional attention to all aspects of the case, detailed inquiry, and tenacious overview of all the information submitted. The paralegals are efficient and diligent. I was completely surprised to find an empathic personal message to take care of my own health during the challenging time of being a full-time caretaker.*"
In May of 2019, the jury in the case of Pilliod et al. v, Monsanto Company ordered the agrochemical giant to pay $2.055 billion in damages to the plaintiffs, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a Bay Area couple in their 70s. R. Brent Wisner served as co-lead trial attorney for the Pilliods, delivering the opening and closing statements and cross-examining several of Monsanto’s experts. Wisner Baum managing shareholder, Michael Baum and attorney Pedram Esfandiary also served on the trial team in the Pilliod case.
The judge later reduced their award to $87M. Monsanto appealed the Pilliod’s verdict which the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District denied on August 9, 2021. Monsanto then requested the California Supreme Court review the appeal’s court decision, which the court denied on Nov. 17, 2021. Monsanto (Bayer) then submitted a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court which SCOTUS denied on June 27, 2022, allowing the final judgment of $87M to remain intact.
$289.2 million jury verdict in Monsanto Roundup trial
Wisner Baum co-represented Dewayne “Lee” Johnson in the first Roundup cancer lawsuit to proceed to trial. On Aug. 10, 2018, a San Francisco jury ordered Monsanto to pay $39.25 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages to Mr. Johnson, a former groundskeeper who alleged exposure to Monsanto’s herbicides caused him to develop terminal non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Months after the jury verdict, the judge overseeing the trial reduced the punitive damages to $39.25 million. Mr. Johnson decided to accept the remittitur, bringing the adjusted amount awarded to Mr. Johnson $78.5 million.
Monsanto (Bayer) appealed the verdict and Johnson cross appealed. On July 20, 2020, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict against Monsanto but reduced Mr. Johnson’s award to $20.5 million. The company chose not to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, ending the litigation.
In 2016, Wisner Baum attorney Timothy A. Loranger and six other attorneys in the Plaintiffs’ Management Committee were able to secure a $265 million settlement for victims of the 2015 Amtrak 188 derailment in Philadelphia, one of the largest in the U.S. for 2016.
