The survivors of the Fond-du-Lac plane crash have filed a lawsuit against airline West Wind Aviation, claiming that the company violated safety protocols.
The lawsuit also named Athabasca Basin Development, a company which owns a 65% share of the airline, as a defendant.
The court document, filed late last month by Merchant Law Group, claims that the airline traumatized passengers who were allegedly left to fend for themselves. Claims made by the lawsuit include general, special exemplary and punitive damages, as well as costs and “other relief the court may allow,” the documents said.
As of January 29, none of the claims detailed in the lawsuit have been tested in court,
Prince Albert Daily Herald reported.
The statement of claim said that passengers were forced to wait to board the plane outdoors on a cold runway, additionally alleging that the airline took no steps to de-ice the runway and plane.
Moments after take-off, the airplane suddenly suffered a malfunction and subsequently crashed. The passengers allegedly did not receive any direction or instructions from pilots or flight staff during the crash, the claim read.
The lawsuit also said that there was no warning from the pilot or flight staff that the plane experienced problems during the crash.
Injuries to the passengers listed by the suit include broken vertebrae, pelvis, arms, ribs, ankles, noses, other broken and fractured bones, punctured lungs and internal bleeding, facial injuries and lacerations, death, PTSD and severe emotional stress. Some claimants also suffered mental shock and distress as a result of the disaster.
The airline has issued a response following the lawsuit.
“We are hearing that legal proceedings may be initiated. If this does come to pass, we certainly will respect the legal process and its due diligence processes,” West Wind vice-president of business development and corporate services Dennis Baranieski told
CBC.
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