A lawsuit has officially been filed against Delta Air Lines following a fiery crash-landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday that injured 21 passengers.
Minnesota resident Hannah Krebs, who was among the injured passengers, launched the suit against the airline and its subsidiary Endeavor Air through Motley Rice LLC on Friday.
Krebs claims she continues to suffer from “extreme” injuries and emotional distress after being “violently thrown about the cabin” after the plane slammed down on the runway on landing and ending up toppling over.
In the statement of claim, reviewed by CTV News Toronto, Krebs alleges Delta and Endeavor Air were negligent and reckless, and in violation of various airline industry standards.
“Among an extensive litany of errors and omissions, the Flight 4819 flight crew failed to observe the most fundamental procedures for a landing approach into YYZ, failed to appropriately monitor flight conditions on approach, and failed (to) communicate and react in the cockpit to those flight conditions,” the statement of claims reads.
The suit also claims the crew was not adequately trained and that both Delta and Endeavor failed to comply “with the most rudimentary cockpit resource management protocols,” placing blame on their missteps and omissions and not due to the negligence or wrongful act of any third party involved in the accident.
Under the Montreal Convention – the multinational treaty establishing an air carrier’s liability for carriage of travellers, of which both the U.S. and Canada are signatories of – Krebs is seeking damages, the amount of which is requested to be determined by a jury trial.
“This was a preventable accident that never should have occurred. The passengers on Delta Flight 4819 had their lives forever changed having endured such a traumatic experience,” Jim Brauchle, the Motley Rice aviation attorney representing Krebs, told CTV News Toronto.
On Thursday, a separate lawsuit against Delta and Endeavor was filed in Georgia by Texas resident and Flight 4819 passenger Marthinus Lourens through DJC Law.
The complaint, reviewed by CTV News Toronto, alleges that Lourens suffered “significant injuries to his head, neck, back, knees and face as a result of the plane crash.”
The complaint also alleges that as the plane rolled upside down, Lourens was “drenched with jet fuel” and suffered additional physical injuries when he released his seatbelt and “fell to the ceiling” of the upside down aircraft.
“Experiencing the crash and being suspended upside down by his seatbelt while drenched with jet fuel, in a burning plane, caused Mr. Lourens to suffer severe emotional distress and mental anguish,” the complaint reads.
It also claims that Lourens “assisted in the evacuation” by opening the emergency exit.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
Both lawsuits comes days after Delta offered $30,000 to each passenger onboard Flight 4819 as a “no strings attached” gesture.
A Canadian husband and wife aboard that flight retained legal representation with Toronto-based firm Rochon Genova earlier this week, with Vincent Genova, head of the firm’s aviation litigation group, saying they sustained “bruising and soft tissue injuries” from the accident.
“Just from our experience today, we have had other passengers reach out to us and it is possible that the clients will want us, and we may recommend, that we proceed by way of a class action. That would encompass all passengers that fall within our jurisdiction, unless they opt out of the class,” Genova told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday. Genova also hinted they had been in contact with other U.S. firms who were hearing from American-based passengers onboard Flight 4819.
Erin Applebaum, an aviation partner with Kreindler and Kreindler, previously explained to CTV News Toronto that passengers are not able to claim psychological injury under the Montreal Convention alone—saying it has to be attached to a physical injury, even as minor as bruising from the seatbelt after they were tossed around in the aircraft.
While the results of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s investigation have not yet been announced, Applebaum says passengers may be able to claim up to US$200,000 (roughly CA$284,000) in damages without having to prove Delta’s liability under the Montreal Convention.
A spokesperson for Delta Air Lines declined to provide a comment on “pending litigation.”
With files from CP24’s Bryann Aguilar and Chris Fox
