Representative Cases

Over the past thirty-five years, Sterns & Walker has been involved in almost every major air carrier accident case and hundreds of other cases involving claims against major defendants, including: the United States of America; Boeing; General Electric; Sikorsky Helicopter; Airbus; Raytheon; Bell Helicopter; Honeywell; and others.  Major cases our firm has handled include:

• Commercial Carriers
• Helicopters/Private Planes
• Crew Cases
• Embassy Bombing in Kenya
• Why Don't I See the Amounts of Your Settlements and Verdicts?

Commercial Carriers

• 2009 Air France 447 - Airbus lost over Atlantic
• 2007 GOL Airlines, Brazil - Amazon mid-air collision
• 2005 Helios Boeing 737, loss of pressurization on flight, Nicosia, Athens; Metroliner commercial air crashes, Australia and New Zealand; Cessna Caravan, Moscow, Russia
• 2004 Flash Air Boeing 737, Red Sea, Egypt 
• 2001 AVjet at Aspen, Colorado; Marsh Harbor, Bahamas;  AA-587 at New York; Linate SAS Cessna Runway Collision, Milan, Italy
• 2000-Singapore Air at Taiwan; Air Philippines Boeing 737 crash at Mindanao Island, Philippines
• 1999 EgyptAir 990, Atlantic Ocean off Rhode Island
• 1998 Swissair MD-111 at Peggy's Cove, Halifax Nova Scotia
• 1997 Korean Airlines 801 at Guam, Silk Air Boeing 737 Indonesia
• 1996 Birgen Air Boeing 757 crash, Dominican Republic; T-43 US Air Force at Dubrovnik, Bosnia; "Ron Brown" Crash, TWA 800 Boeing 747 Long Island, New York; Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 Comoros Islands Hijacking
• 1995 Nigeria Air crash at Kaduna, American Airlines Boeing 757 at Cali, Colombia
• 1994 USAir Boeing 737 crash near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• 1993 El Al Boeing 747 crash into apartment building in Amsterdam
• 1989-1992 TWA Lockheed L-1011 crash at JFK Airport, USAir Fokker F-28 off the runway at La Guardia Airport
• 1989-1991 USAir/Skywest Boeing 737 runway collision at Los Angeles International Airport, Lauda Air Boeing 767ER crash near Bangkok, Thailand, United Airlines Boeing 737 at Colorado Springs - rudder malfunction
• 1989 United Airlines DC-10 crash at Sioux City, Iowa; United Airlines Boeing 747 explosion over Honolulu
• 1988 Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 structural failure; Hawaii, Pan Am Boeing 747 explosion over Lockerbie, Scotland
• 1987 PSA BAE-146 crash near San Luis Obispo
• 1983 Korean Airlines flight 007 Boeing 747 shot down over Sea of Japan
• 1978 American Airlines DC-10 crash at Chicago, PSA Boeing 727 crash over San Diego
• 1977 Pan Am/KLM Boeing 747s collision on runway at Tenerife
• 1974 Lufthansa Boeing 747 crash at Nairobi
• 1974 Turkish Air DC-10 cargo door failure and crash, Paris, France
• 1969-71 Three Pan Am crashes, Asia-Pacific
• 1968 - Flying Tiger cargo crash at SFO

Helicopters/Private Planes

• 2008 Sikorsky S-61 Oregon Firefighters' crash, Trinity National Forest, CA
• 2007 Brazil Amazon mid-air GOL Airlines
• 2006 Boeing Apache helicopter crash, Ramon Air Base, Israel
• 2005 Baltic Sea Copterline Sikorsky S-76 crash
• 2005 Marbella Spain Robinson R-44 helicopter crash
• 2004 Robinson R-22 helicopter crash - Israel
• 2003 Sikorsky S-67 North Sea Oil Derrick crash
• 2003 Sikorsky S-61 Cargo helicopter crash, Northern California
• 1999 Bell helicopter crash, Prince Rupert Island, British Columbia
• 1995 - Enstrom Coire strike case, Idaho wilderness
• Private fixed wing aircraft too numerous to list here individually

Crew Cases

Sterns & Walker has handled a number of cases for flight crew, who are often the target of the first round of investigation in most crashes.  However, diligent work has shown in many cases that there was an airframe or component problem that actually caused the accident, or compromised the crew's ability to handle the matter. 

• 2009 Turkish Air 1951 crash at Amsterdam
• 2005 Baltic Sea S-67 crash
• 2002 Alaska Air, Point Mugu, California
• 2001 Avjet at Aspen, Colorado
• 1999 American Airlines, Cali, Columbia
• 1999 Egypt Air 990, Atlantic Ocean off Rhode Island
• 1991 Lauda Air, Thailand
• 1983 Lusaka Zambia, Dan Air
• 1974 Lufthansa at Nairobi, Boeing 747
• 1967 Flying Tiger, San Francisco  

Embassy Bombing in Kenya

Sterns & Walker is currently working on behalf of Kenyans injured in the 1998 attack made by Al-Qaeda on the U.S. Embassy in Kenya and Tanzania.  A U.S. fund established to compensate victims of the bombing dried up in 2002 after disbursing $37.5 million meant in humanitarian assistance to some recipients unknown.  Since that time, attorney Gerald Sterns and a small group of dedicated public service lawyers have been pursuing a claim through a law providing compensation to foreign civilians injured as a result of U.S. operations abroad.  Meanwhile, the U.S. has provided $7 billion to victims of the attacks on U.S. soil, via the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund, which paid out on average $1.8 million per victim; the Kenyan and Tanzanian victims were not allowed to participate. 

Why Don't I See the Amounts of Your Settlements and Verdicts?

While Sterns & Walker has obtained substantial recoveries for clients via trial, settlement, or arbitration, unlike some firms with a presence in the Internet, the firm does not publish or disseminate specific numbers unless they are already a matter of public record.  We are confident our research are the equal or better than many who disseminate such information, and this policy arises out of our ethical obligation to maintain client confidentiality, and out of respect for our clients' privacy, as the detail of their cases and recoveries may be matters of intense personal concern. 

Moreover, the potential client considering selection of counsel in a challenging, potentially high-damage value case would be well-advised to take some of the numbers of other sites with a significant grain of salt.  We have seen reports of settlements where the sum announced is the total amount of payouts over many years, as in an annuity structure, which is not the present value of the deal - which is what the defense actually pays.  There is a huge difference.

In some instances, our lawyers have been asked for references from former clients, and are pleased to provide these in cases where former clients consent to discuss aspects of their case.  To discuss how we may be able to help with an aviation accident case, contact the Law Offices of Sterns & Walker today