Survivors of the Delta Tire Explosion at Hartsfield-Jackson Have the Right to Sue

• August 28, 2024
• Attorney Matt Stoddard
• Premises Liability

Two people are dead and a third under hospital care, following an accident at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on the morning of August 27th, 2024.

The victims, Mirko Marweg, Luis Aldarondo, and a currently unidentified Delta employee, were working in a technical operations maintenance facility at the airport, removing a tire from the detached wheel section of a Delta Airlines plane. The tire exploded, killing Marweg and Aldarondo, and severely injuring the other employee.

Delta has issued a statement, promising its full support to the victims, their families, and the ongoing investigation.

Of course, when a company promises its “full support,” that almost never translates to reimbursing victims for their full monetary losses, let alone offering reasonable compensation for priceless and irreversible damages, like death.

To claim anything like justice for this tragedy, the injured employee and grieving families will probably need to take legal action.

This Is Not the First Issue Delta Has Had with Its Plane Tires

While the explosion might seem like a freak accident at first, there have been concerning warning signs around the safety of Delta plane tires for a while.

In January of this year, while a Delta plane was taxiing for takeoff from Hartsfield-Jackson, one of its frontmost tires fell off and rolled down an embankment near the runway.

There have also been multiple recent incidents of Delta tires failing upon landing. Two tires burst on one Delta plane during a landing at Hartsfield-Jackson almost exactly a year ago, and two more burst on a Delta plane landing in Los Angeles a year before that. Witnesses to the Los Angeles incident say it wasn’t even a particularly hard landing.

Like any other company, Delta has a duty to watch for signs that its products and services may be putting people in needless danger, and to address any known problems accordingly.

The Stoddard Firm Has a Long History of Successful Lawsuits At Hartsfield Jackson.

The Stoddard Firm received a $5,750,000.00 verdict against the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport just last year.  The previous year, the Stoddard Firm settled a Hartsfield Jackson Airport injury case over $1,500,000.00.  Prior to that, the Stoddard Firm settled case occurring at Hartsfield Jackson Airport for $3,000,000.00, $475,000.00, and $300,000.00.

At the time of writing this article, the Stoddard Firm represents a Delta employee in a lawsuit for an injury lawsuit where plane tire fell on her, and a disabled Delta customer who suffered serious injuries after being dropped by staff at the airport.

Many of these cases were referred to the Stoddard Firm by other lawyers, and there is a reason that other lawyers bring their clients to the Stoddard Firm for Airport cases – the Stoddard Firm knows what it is doing.

Employers Are Typically Immune to Accident Lawsuits, but There May Be Other Negligent Parties

Worker’s comp law forbids almost all personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits that would target a victim’s direct employer. Instead, the worker’s comp system ignores the question of liability and offers all injured employees a fast but small compensation payment, regardless of the cause of the accident.

In spite of this, injured workers and their families still have the right to sue other negligent parties, who are not the victim’s employer, for full compensation.

In this Delta accident, two of the victims were Delta employees, and one was not. So, the next-of-kin to the non-employee might be able to sue Delta, but the other two families will have to look elsewhere.

Depending on the exact details of what happened, they might instead be able to claim full compensation from:

The Plane Manufacturer – Delta does not manufacture its own planes. It purchases them from Airbus and Boeing. The plane that lost a tire before takeoff in January, in particular, was reportedly a Boeing 757. If the plane involved in the recent explosion had a design flaw that made it more likely to lose or burst tires, the manufacturer could be liable for the accident.

The Tire Manufacturer – Airbus and Boeing manufacture airplanes, but they don’t manufacture their own tires. They purchase them from companies like Goodyear and Michelin. If the flaw that led to the explosion was in the tire itself, the tire manufacturer might be the most appropriate defendant for a suit.

Maintenance Contractors – Airplanes require constant maintenance, and airlines generally don’t handle this work entirely in-house. In fact, the non-Delta-employee who was killed in the explosion was described to the press as a “contractor.” It’s likely that this person worked for a smaller company that services planes for big airlines like Delta.

If that contractor company ordered the deceased worker to do something unsafe, or if another contractor working on the plane made a mistake earlier, such as overfilling the tire or seating it incorrectly on the wheel, the company that created the problem would be the one liable for the injuries.

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport – Landlords have a duty to keep an eye out for signs of danger to their guests, and to take all reasonable steps to address any hazards they know (or should know) about. If Delta or any of its contractors have been habitually violating safety best practices on Hartsfield-Jackson property, the airport itself could be liable for not intervening.

Hartsfield-Jackson could also be responsible for the accident if it did anything to make the situation more dangerous than it needed to be. For example, if the airport’s rules for clearing runways and keeping flights on schedule forced Delta to move the plane in a way that put more stress on the failing tire, that could qualify as negligence on the airport’s part.

Harry Reid International Airport – The plane with the exploding tire reportedly arrived in Atlanta from Las Vegas last weekend, which would most likely mean a departure from Harry Reid International Airport. If the issue started with poor pre-flight maintenance, Harry Reid, just like Hartsfield-Jackson, might be responsible for a lack of attention to safety on its property.

The appropriate defendant for wrongful death and personal injury litigation might be one of these entities, or several. The FAA and OSHA investigations will hopefully shed some light on this incident, but it’s important to note that victim compensation is not a primary priority of these types of investigations. Having a lawyer perform an additional investigation on behalf of the families might help answer the questions most relevant to potential legal action.

The Stoddard Firm Has Experience Fighting for Victims of Aviation Accidents

Hiring a lawyer can feel like an overwhelming task, especially after a catastrophic accident. It’s all the more challenging when the accident involved a complex piece of machinery, like an aircraft.

Finding representation quickly can make all the difference in your search for justice, accountability, and the best possible future for yourself and your loved ones, but at the same time, it’s important to make sure the lawyer you choose is truly qualified to handle your case.

In addition to our general expertise in personal injury, wrongful death, premises liability, and product liability law, the Stoddard Firm has extensive experience with airport and aviation accident cases. We can speak knowledgeably and authoritatively on the technical aspects of aircraft safety, and on the unique laws that govern the aviation industry.

Above all, we’re passionate about fighting for the victims of corporate carelessness and helping each one of our clients collect the compensation they deserve, in as low-stress a way as possible.

If you are the injured Delta employee, or if you are next-of-kin to Mirko Marweg or Luis Aldarondo, please feel free to reach out by phone or chat, to learn more about your options in a free consultation.  We are eager to help and have a deep knowledge of the Hartsfield Jackson Airport.