On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 encountered engine failure that caused all three of the plane’s hydraulic control systems to fail. An emergency landing was attempted at the airport in Sioux City, Iowa. Lack of functioning controls of the DC-10 resulted in a crash landing, igniting the plane upon initial impact. Of the 296 people aboard, 111 died in the crash as a result of smoke inhalation and/or fatal impact injuries.
Wisner Baum represented 11 passengers in personal injury and wrongful death litigation involving Flight 232. As experienced aviation accident attorneys based out of Los Angeles, our team can represent you and your family if you suffer serious losses in a United Airlines crash.
Contact us at (310) 207-3233 today for a free same-day consultation with a qualified attorney.
United Air Lines, Inc., (also known as United Airlines) is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and operates major hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Washington, DC, and Chicago. The airline’s beginnings can be traced to Varney Airlines air mail service in the 1920s. The airline was purchased by Boeing Air Transport in 1927, later changing its name to United Aircraft and Transport Corp. (UATC). United Airlines was formed in 1931 to manage the subsidiaries of UATC.
In 2010, United Airlines acquired Continental Airlines. All previous Continental flights now operate under the United Airlines name.
A member of the Star Alliance network, United Airlines offers flight destinations across North America, Central America, South America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. The airline has U.S. alliances with United Express, Great Lakes Aviation, Gulfstream International Airlines, Island Air and Mokulele Airlines. International affiliates include Grupo TACA, Tam Airlines, Virgin Blue and Bulgaria Air. Regional flights are marketed as United Express under a code-share agreement with United Airlines. United Express is operated by Chautauqua Airlines, Colgan Air, GoJet Airlines, Mesa Airlines, Shuttle America, Skywest Airlines and Trans States Airlines.
United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 3,300 daily flights and serve more than 300 domestic and international destinations. United employs over 80,000 employees in the U.S. and worldwide.
The following is a summary of the major accidents and incidents of United Airlines, including those involving United Express:
Wisner Baum has handled some of the largest and worst air tragedies in history, including the following accidents involving United Airlines:
Aviation accidents are incredibly complex, so when you need to seek compensation for your losses, it’s important to receive the assistance of a lawyer who has experience in this area. At Wisner Baum, our attorneys have won over $4 billion for injury victims nationwide and half a billion just for high-profile plane accident cases. From the minute you hire our team, we will relentlessly pursue a fair outcome for you and your family.
Call (310) 207-3233 or contact us online to file an accident or injury claim involving United Airlines. Our attorneys handle both domestic and international cases.
"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.