Clifford Law Offices, a nationally recognized aviation firm in Chicago, filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York today (Tuesday, March 31, 2009) on behalf of the family of Jennifer Neill, 34, of Buffalo, who was 27 weeks pregnant with her first child.

The complaint alleges a series of charges that focus on the failure of the airlines, the aircraft manufacturer and others for failing to take the necessary steps to protect its passengers in the event of the loss of speed on landing with a wing contaminated with ice and snow.  Advanced warning systems are available through easily installed computer programs on an aircraft’s airspeed alerts but were not on this Bombardier Q400 and are recommended but not required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The complaint also alleges negligence on the part of the defendants for failing to install an auto-throttle that also is available, like cruise control in a car, that automatically keeps the airspeed of the plane where it needs to be.  It also alleges negligence on the part of the owners and operators of the aircraft for the crew’s lack of training.

Robert Clifford, senior partner at the firm, was the lead counsel in the Roselawn, Indiana crash that killed all 68 aboard on Oct. 31, 1994, due to faulty de-icing on the plane’s wings.  The complaint to be filed today alleges insufficient training of the crew in the known atmospheric icing conditions at the time of the crash as well as of the Bombardier turboprop that crashed Feb. 12 killing all 49 board and one person on the ground near Buffalo, New York.

Among the defendants are Colgan Air, Inc., of Virginia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines, Corp., a Delaware corporation that owned the plane; Continental Airlines who permitted Pinnacle and Colgan to operate as Continental brand under the name Continental Connection; and Bombardier Aerospace Corp., of Texas, designers, makers, inspectors and assemblers of the plane.

The complaint alleges 21 separate instances of negligence by the defendant common carriers who owed the passengers the highest duty of care.  The complaint also alleges separate negligence counts against Bombardier as well as a strict liability count and a breach of express and implied warranty count against Bombardier for the apparent defective and dangerous condition of the aircraft.  The complaint, which does not specify a dollar amount of compensatory damages, also seeks punitive damages.

“Jennifer was a loving person and was surrounded by a loving family and fiancé.  They were expecting their first child in May,” Clifford said with the filing of the lawsuit.  She lived with her parents, James and Mary Neill of Clarence Center, the site of the crash.  “It is a tragedy that this occurred to this lovely family and to all of those who lost loved ones aboard Flight 3407.”  Jennifer also had two brothers, Brendan and Patrick, a major in the Air Force.

Neill’s fiancé, Todd Eacker, last spoke with her when she was at the Newark airport waiting for the plane to depart.  She had been on a business trip to New York City as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Shearing-Plough.