Law Office of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman

Mass Disaster and Aviation Accident Lawyers

For more than 20 years, Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman has been representing aviation accident victims in some of the worst aviation disasters in our history. The firm’s aviation accident attorneys have litigated the cases of more than 540 passengers, ground victims and crew for aviation personal injury or wrongful death claims across the United States and around the world.

Ronald L. M. Goldman is a New York native, pilot and a veteran trial lawyer based in Los Angeles. He is board certified as a civil trial lawyer, certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, with 37 years of experience handling airline disasters. He is a senior partner and lead trial counsel for the firm.

Ron created and taught the course on Aviation Accident Law at Pepperdine School of Law where he worked as an adjunct law professor for 21 years. He has handled a wide variety of sophisticated litigation, at both the trial and appellate levels including personal injury, product liability, domestic and foreign airline and general aviation cases, etc. He has represented more than a thousand clients and has been lead counsel in hundreds of litigated cases including aviation.

Among his trials are leading aviation and product liability cases which resulted in aviation law changes and improvements in aviation safety. He has years of experience and expertise, and an understanding of the issues and the law which uniquely affect each aviation case the firm takes on.  His wide breadth of experience as a trial lawyer, appellate attorney, professor, expert witness, and neutral hearing officer are very much appreciated by the clients he represents.

Ron was the lead negotiator in one of Baum Hedlund's most significant aviation litigation achievements when he won, as part of the settlement agreement from the January 8, 2003 Air Midwest Flight 5481 crash in Charlotte, NC, the agreement of the airline and maintenance company, in an organized ceremony, to deliver an unprecedented official public apology to the families for the crash. He also served on the Plaintiffs' Executive Committee for the September 11, 2001 aviation tort litigation.

John A. Greaves  is a pilot and seasoned airline accident lawyer who has represented hundreds of airline accident victims in more than 35 airline disasters. He was also on the team that negotiated the Air Midwest Flight 5481 public apology and settlement. He has been part of Baum Hedlund’s aviation team since joining the firm in the early 1990s. He works out of their Los Angeles office.

As an airline transport pilot and a former Captain for Comair, John has flown over 10,000 hours total flight time since 1966 and over 3,000 hours as a Captain in Part 121 and Part 135 scheduled airline operations.

In the capacity of licensed pilot for more than 40 years, John spent five years as a pilot in scheduled airlines service, four years of which were in the capacity of captain. Details of his pilot experience include Comair Airlines, Captain; Wright Airlines, First Officer; Aero-Mech Airlines, First Officer; and Air Illinois, First Officer. As an airline captain, John supervised flight and ground crews, ensured compliance with all FAA operations and maintenance regulations, documents and inspections. He served six years as a Flight Instructor and four years as a Charter Pilot and Charter Company Operator. He was Operator/President/CEO of VIP Pilot, Inc. He was Contract Administration Committee Chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association, Council 37. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Air Line Pilots Association, Council 37.

John has served on several plaintiffs’ steering committees overseeing airline accidents involving multi-district litigation including: the 1995 Atlantic Southeast Airlines Crash, near Carrollton, Georgia; the 2000 Singapore Airlines Crash, Taipei, Taiwan; the September 11, 2001 Tort Litigation (airline passenger cases); and the 2001 American Airlines 587 Crash, Belle Harbor (Queens), New York.

Baum Hedlund attorneys have been appointed to 18 different Plaintiffs Steering/Executive Committees (PSC) including 11 involving aviation disasters. Some aviation disasters require the creation of a judge-appointed PSC which oversees multi-district litigation in complex litigation cases.

Many aviation accident victims or their families hire Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman because of their many years of experience handling airline, other commercial and general aviation accident litigation.  The firm is listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and maintains the highest *AV® peer review rating, obtained through a rigorous process conducted by the leading international lawyers’ directory, Martindale Hubbell.

Several Baum Hedlund attorneys are described in Aviation Counsel Magazine's list of Recommended High Flyers (considered by International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Legal Department as one of “the most elite lists of aviation law practitioners ever produced”) to be “among the best aviation lawyers in the world by the aviation legal community.”

Baum Hedlund has been on the prevailing side of some of the most highly-publicized cases in the nation. Their firm’s aviation attorneys have serve(d) as members on the following Commercial Aviation Plaintiffs' Steering/Executive Committees and Trial Teams:

• Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee, MDL-2085, In Re: Air Crash near Clarence Center, New York, on February 12, 2009 (Colgan Air dba Continental Connection)
• Trial Team Member, 2003, Airborne Charter Inc./Avjet, Gulfstream Crash, Aspen, Colorado, 2001
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL 1448, American Airlines 587 Crash, Belle Harbor (Queens), New York, 2001
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Executive Committee, September 11, 2001 Tort Litigation
  
  
  • American Airlines Flight 11, World Trade Center, northern tower, New York, New York
    
    
  • United Airlines Flight 175, World Trade Center, southern tower, New York, New York
    
    
  • American Airlines Flight 77, Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia
    
    
  • United Airlines Flight 93, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania
    
    
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL 1394, Singapore Airlines SQ 006 Crash at Taipei, Taiwan, 2000
  
  
• Lead Counsel for Coordinated Discovery Cases, Southwest Airlines Flight 1455 accident, Burbank, California, 2000
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL 00-1343-CAL, Alaska Airlines Crash, off Point Mugu, California, 2000
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, American Airlines Crash, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1999
  
  
• Trial Team, 2006, Bell Helicopter Crash, Los Angeles, California, 1998
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee Atlantic Southeast Airlines Crash, near Carrollton, Georgia, 1995
  
  
• Trial Team Member, MDL 1041, USAir 1016 Aircrash of Charlotte, North Carolina, 1994
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL 1041, USAir 1016 Aircrash of Charlotte, North Carolina, 1994
  
  
• Plaintiff Steering Committee, Illinois State Court Proceedings for USAir 427 Aircrash near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, 1994
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, Perris Skydivers Crash, Perris, California, 1992
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL 891, Northwest Airlines Crash, Detroit, 1990
  
  
• Trial Team Member, United Airlines Crash, Sioux City, Iowa, 1989
  
  
• Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, MDL 817, United Airlines Crash, Sioux City, Iowa, 1989

*AV® Rating Explanation: Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards. "CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies." "An AV® rating reflects an attorney who has reached the heights of professional excellence. He or she has usually practiced law for many years, and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity."

Case History

Continental Connection Flight 3407, Clarence Center, NY

Practice Area: Aviation

Description: Colgan Air operating as Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed into a house near Buffalo, New York on February 12, 2009. All 49 people aboard and a person in the home were killed.

Outcome: Lawsuit filed.

Continental Airlines Flight 1404, Denver, CO

Practice Area: Aviation

Description: A Continental Airlines Boeing 737 veered off the runway into a ravine at Denver International Airport on December 20, 2008 after an aborted take-off. The plane lost its left engine, both main landing gears and caught fire.

Outcome: Several passengers have retained aviation attorneys at Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman to represent them.

JetBlue Flight 262 hard landing, Sacramento International Airpor

Practice Area: Aviation

Description: Jet Blue Flight 262 had two tires blow upon landing. The plane then caught on fire and passengers were evacuated through emergency slides

Outcome: Several passengers were injured and Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman have been retained in this case

American Airlines Flight 33, runway accident, Norman Manley Inte

Practice Area: Aviation Accidents

Description: An American Airlines plane carrying 154 people slid across a runway and crashed after a failed landing at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, on Tuesday night. According to investigators, the Boeing 737-800 attempted to touch down in heavy rain when it bounced and began to skid on the slippery runway. The aircraft then ran off the runway, hit a fence and crashed into a sandy embankment less than 15 feet from the Caribbean Sea. Miraculously, no one was killed in the crash although airport officials said four passengers were seriously injured and another 44 were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Outcome: Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman have been retained in this case

Lawyers

John A. Greaves, Aviation Disaster Attorney and Airline Transport Pilot

Free Case Review

Location : Los Angeles, CA

Practice Areas: Aviation Accidents

Michael Baum

Free Case Review

Location : Los Angeles, CA

Practice Areas: Aviation Accidents

Ron Goldman Pilot and Board Certified Trial Lawyer

Free Case Review

Location : Los Angeles, CA

Practice Areas: Aviation Accidents

Ilyas Akbari

Free Case Review

Location : Los Angeles, CA

Practice Areas: Aviation Accidents

Paul Hedlund

Free Case Review

Location : Los Angeles, CA

Practice Areas: Aviation Accidents