Hodgson Russ Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Victims of Flight 3407 Crash

Hodgson Russ LLP filed lawsuits today in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York on behalf of the families of two victims of the crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 in Clarence, New York. The victims, Darren Tolsma and Ernie West, were employed by Northrup Grumman Corporation and were returning home from a business trip.

The lawsuits name four defendants: Colgan Air, Inc.; Bombardier Aerospace Corporation; Pinnacle Airlines Corp.; and Continental Airlines, Inc. The lawsuits seek to recover wrongful death damages for each estate, damages for the conscious pain and suffering that Mr. Tolsma and Mr. West endured, and punitive damages from the defendants.

Hugh M. Russ, III leads Hodgson Russ’s team of attorneys representing the families of crash victims. Mr. Russ, who has extensive trial experience in product liability and negligence cases such as this, is assisted by Paul I. Perlman, who has over thirty years of experience in complicated federal court litigation. Mr. Perlman is also a licensed pilot and plane owner. The team also includes other litigation attorneys, trusts and estates attorneys, and business attorneys.

Mr. Russ said, “It is greatly rewarding to offer some measure of comfort to these families as they grieve, not only with this lawsuit but with the myriad other legal issues they face as a result of the crash. Our challenge is provide unparalleled legal support to them in all areas as our litigation team helps assure this kind of tragedy never occurs again.”