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Bailey & Partners has been involved in aviation cases since the firm’s beginning over 30 years ago. Aviation is not only what we do, it’s Patrick Bailey’s passion . Aside from handling aviation cases including helicopter accidents, Bailey is also a certified flight instructor for single and multi-engine aircraft, and he flew as a charter captain under part 135. Flight is in his blood.

Before taking on an aviation case, it’s important for a lawyer to bring all of the skills necessary to win. While a case may start with investigating the site of a plan crash, it’s also important to know what to investigate:

Are there ground scars? What was the reported weather? Was there a design defect in the airplane?

If you have not been there, if you have not sat in the left seat and know what it is like to fly at night, alone, when it is dark and raining, you really do not understand the struggles the pilot went through or some of the struggles the pilot should never have confronted because of a lack of experience. All of these play what could be a pivotal role, and if you don’t understand how all those pieces come together then you may miss the point.

Bailey shared his aviation law knowledge with Tom Wait of KCAL, on the incident where a passenger was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight.

“United Airlines knows it and United Airlines will pay dearly for it.”
Bailey says this will likely put the heat on United and possibly other carriers to make changes.
“Will it change the way they operate? Yes. Will it change the way they operate in a favorable manner? I believe the answer is yes.”

So, whoever you choose for your lawyer, make sure that he or she has a significant aviation background or you could be at a disadvantage.

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