D.C. plane crash victim's family files $250 million legal claim against FAA and U.S. Army
A Chicago-based law firm has filed what appears to be the first legal claims against the federal government after the deadly mid-air crash last month in Washington, D.C.
Clifford Law Offices represents the family of Casey Crafton, a Connecticut man who was one of the 67 people killed when an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided and crashed into the Potomac River.
Crafton's widow now has to raise their three young sons alone. Their attorney, Bob Clifford, said Crafton coached his son's Little League baseball and youth soccer teams, and was returning from Wichita on a business trip at the time of the crash.
Clifford's firm has filed $250 million in pre-case claims against several federal agencies, including the FAA and the U.S. Army.
"The passenger families on that aircraft demand justice, they demand answers, and they demand accountability, and they're entitled to that," Clifford said.
The filings are required before the family can pursue any actual lawsuits against the federal government. If the government doesn't respond to the pre-case claims filed by Crafton's family within six months, the family can file federal lawsuits in the next two years.
Meantime, Clifford's office also has sent letters to American Airlines and Sikorsky Aircraft and Collins Aerospace – the makers of the Black Hawk helicopter – to demand they preserve all evidence from the crash
