Sacramento International Airport is a public airport located 10 miles from Downtown Sacramento. Owned by Sacramento County, the airport is a gateway to many of California’s most popular attractions, such as Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and Heavenly Mountain Resort. Currently, the airport is in the process of expanding its services to include additional parking spaces, ticket counters, a rental car facility, and many other features. As a result, Sacramento International Airport is an extremely busy and crowded facility, which increases the likelihood of an accident. However, most accidents are preventable through basic means, like regular cleaning, inspections, and maintenance by airport operators and employees.
If you or a loved one was in an accident at Sacramento International Airport, please take a moment to learn about your rights from one of our attorneys. Based on the circumstances, you may be entitled to compensation from the County of Sacramento, the airline, or any other entity that’s responsible for your injuries. The lawyers of Normandie can help you recover maximum payment if you’ve been harmed from one of the following incidents:
- Slip and fall / trip and fall
- Hit by falling objects
- Injuries in airport bathrooms
- Wheelchair accidents
- Assault and battery / sexual assault
- Accidents on the tarmac
- Car crashes, pedestrian accidents and other parking lot incidents
- Injuries inside the airplane – from slip and falls, trip and falls, falling objects, first to third degree burns from hot drinks, etc.
Our Recent Verdicts and Settlements
$2.5 Million
$1.1 Million
$1.5 Million
$600,000
$525,000
$734,851
What to Do after an Accident at the Airport
Being injured at an airport can be a scary and chaotic experience, but it’s important to take control of the situation and follow the correct procedures to succeed in a claim for compensation. Here are the steps we recommend if you’ve had an accident at an airport:
- Ask for help right away and make sure that your accident is documented by someone at the airport. Get the names of any employees you spoke with in case you need to track them down for a statement.
- Statements should also be obtained from airport guests and visitors that saw your accident. Since most people are in a rush when they’re at an airport, ask for their contact info so that you can speak with them later.
- Document your injuries and the scene of the accident by taking photos with your phone. Then, look around for any surveillance cameras that may have captured your accident.
- Remember that less is more when you are asked questions about what happened. Give short, factual answers without emotional reactions, like “I’m sorry,” or “I shouldn’t have done that,” which the airport will try to use against you.
- See a doctor right away, so that you can’t be accused of being injured somewhere other than the airport.
- Retain legal representation from a personal injury lawyer, who can take immediate action on an airport accident injury claim.
Liability for an Accident at Sacramento International Airport
In order to have a case against Sacramento International Airport for an accident on their property, you will need to prove that they are legally liable for the incident that caused your injuries. This can be done by establishing the following factors:
- You had a valid reason to be on the premises of the airport, i.e., you were not trespassing.
- There was a hazardous situation at the airport that should have been taken care of by the airport or one of its employees (for example, black ice on the runway, sticky floors, leaking sinks in the bathrooms, etc.)
- Because of the airport’s negligence, you suffered bodily harm in the form of physical and mental injuries.
If your accident was caused by an act of negligence, you can obtain monetary damages from Sacramento County, which may include medical costs, pain and suffering, and missed pay from work. For more information on the compensation you can receive, contact us to speak with a Sacramento International Airport accident injury attorney.
Airline Liability for Injuries
Aside from proving a case of airport liability for injuries, we can also assist you if your accident was caused by an airline. Common incident claims against major airlines include injuries due to in-flight turbulence, slip and fall accidents in the aisles, and falling object injuries from overhead compartments breaking loose.
Alternatively, both the airport and airline may share responsibility for your injuries, which means you can file an accident claim against both entities. A common example involves passengers that use wheelchairs or mobility scooters. These individuals must be escorted and closely monitored, especially as they are entering and exiting the plane. If the wheelchair tips over and the passenger sustains injuries as a result, it’s typically the airline that’s responsible for the accident. However, it’s possible that conditions at the airport contributed to the airline employee losing control of the wheelchair. In this type of scenario, the victim may have grounds to sue the airport, as well as the airline.
How Long do I have to File a Claim?
For a personal injury claim against a private entity, the statute of limitations is typically two years from the day you were injured. However, Sacramento International Airport is a public entity owned by Sacramento County and operated by the Sacramento County Airport System. That means you will need to file a government agency claim, which must be submitted within 6 months of the accident date. The county will approve or reject your claim in 45 days, or they may not respond at all. If you get a denial in writing, you have 6 months from the date of rejection to file a lawsuit. If there is no response to your claim, you have up to 2 years from the incident date to sue the county.
Average Value of a Lawsuit against Sacramento International Airport
As there are so many factors that are involved in the valuation of an airport injury claim, it’s difficult to say what these cases are worth on average. The biggest factor in determining the value of a case is the victim’s injuries, which include physical damage as well as emotional trauma. However, you can also be reimbursed for any wages you’ve lost during your recovery, as well as future lost wages and lifetime care costs if you are left with permanent injuries. That’s why some cases bring in settlements of around $15,000 to $50,000, while other cases are worth $1 million or more. One of our attorneys can help you figure out the approximate value of your claim during a free consultation, so please give us a call at your earliest convenience.
How Long it will Take to Recover Your Payment
The urgency to receive your payment is understandable when you are the victim of an unforeseen accident. It’s always our goal to resolve your case within the first 6 months, but we never want to sacrifice the value of your settlement. Negotiating a fair amount of damages can take up to a year in many cases, depending on the extent of your injuries. If a lawsuit, and possibly a trial, is required to secure the compensation you deserve, the legal process can take two or more years from start to finish.
Second Opinion on Existing Airport Accident Cases
Second opinions can be a valuable way to receive clarification on the laws or confirm that your lawyer is giving you the right advice. However, you may be worried about the cost of seeking advice from another attorney. That won’t be a problem here at Normandie Law Firm, since you will be offered a free second opinion from an experienced airport accident lawyer. Our priority is to educate you on your legal rights, so there is no pressure to switch lawyers by meeting with us. However, if that is something you’re interested in, we will contact your lawyer and have your case transferred to our law firm at no cost to you. The only thing you have to do is contact us for a free second opinion consultation.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation
Here at Normandie, experience and dedication is behind everything we do, so you can count on us to take immediate action and bring you the settlement you deserve. We know these cases inside and out, and we are not afraid to go after the County of Sacramento for the harm they’ve caused you.
During this time, our goal is to provide you with exceptional legal representation while ensuring that your finances are never at risk. With that in mind, we will offer you a Zero Fee Guarantee from the very first consultation. What does that mean? You pay nothing upfront if you decide that we are the right firm to handle your case. We bill the county for all our expenses, and we only get paid by winning your case. In essence, the only way we get paid is if you get paid.
Contact us to learn more about the actions we can take on your behalf if you’ve been injured from an accident at Sacramento International Airport.
Other Pages on Our Website Related to This Topic
Stockton Metropolitan Airport Accident Injury Attorney
Mammoth Yosemite Airport Accident Injury Attorney
Merced County Castle Airport Accident Injury Attorney
