thedrifter
09-03-08, 03:21 PM
Jury says SDG&E negligent in helicopter crash
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 09/03/2008 12:59:55 PM PDT
SAN DIEGO—A jury has found San Diego Gas & Electric negligent in the deaths of four Marines who were killed when their helicopter hit an unlit utility tower on Camp Pendleton in 2004.
Jurors on Wednesday awarded more than $15 million in economic damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the families of the Marines.
The jury found the utility failed to install safety lights to prevent accidents. During the trial, lawyers for SDG&E said crash was not the result of negligence but rather pilot error.
Jurors were scheduled later Wednesday to consider possible punitive damages against SDG&E.
Ellie
thedrifter
09-04-08, 05:45 AM
Jury says SDG&E negligent in helicopter crash
27 minutes ago
A jury has found San Diego Gas & Electric negligent in the deaths of four Marines who were killed when their helicopter hit an unlit utility tower on Camp Pendleton in 2004.
Jurors awarded more than $55 million in damages in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by the families of the Marines.
The jury found the utility failed to install safety lights to prevent accidents and that two of SDG&E's representatives acted with malice by not ordering the installation of lights or markers on the tower.
The jury first determined that the parents of all four Marines should receive $2.125 million in damages. Jurors also found the wife of one the Marines, 1st Lt. Michael S. Lawlor, was entitled to $6.7 million.
After hearing more testimony Wednesday afternoon in the trial's punitive damages phase, the jury awarded another $10.1 million to the families of each Marine.
The accident occurred Jan. 22, 2004, when two helicopter crews were practicing nighttime maneuvers. The crews were using night-vision goggles.
During the trial, attorneys for the families told jurors the accident would not have happened if lights or other markers had been installed on the tower. They said the utility company was negligent for operating under a policy where lights were only used on structures 200-feet or higher, even though company officials knew most collisions occurred at lower altitudes.
But attorneys for SDG&E argued the crash was a result of pilot error, not negligence. They told the jurors that Marines involved in the training knew the area and had been briefed about the power lines.
Ellie
thedrifter
09-04-08, 05:51 AM
$55.6 million awarded in fatal Marine helicopter crash
Four Marines died when their aircraft hit a utility tower at Camp Pendleton in 2004. A jury agreed that San Diego Gas & Electric had negligently failed to install lights.
By Tony Perry
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 4, 2008
SAN DIEGO -- — A jury Wednesday awarded $55.6 million to the families of four Marines killed in a 2004 helicopter crash at Camp Pendleton.
The four died when their helicopter, a UH-1N known as a Huey, crashed into a 130-foot-tall utility tower at the Marine Corps base.
The families filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against San Diego Gas & Electric Co., alleging that the company was negligent for not installing safety lights on the tower in rugged Talega Canyon.
The jury's decision included $15.2 million in compensatory damages and $40.4 million in punitive damages. SDG&E said in a statement that it would appeal the judgment.
Since the crash, the company has installed lights, said Todd Macaluso, the lawyer for the families.
"We feel justice has finally been done," Macaluso said. "At the end of the day, we made things safer for other Marines."
Capt. Adam Miller, 1st Lt. Michael Lawlor, Staff Sgt. Lori Privette and Cpl. Joshua Harris were killed in the crash. All Iraq veterans, they were part of a helicopter squadron attached to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. They were practicing late-night, low-level flying when the crash occurred.
The $15.2 million was based on lost income and loss of companionship for the Marines' families. The $40.4 million was based on the jury's belief that SDG&E acted with malice in not providing lighting.
Of the $15.2 million, $2.2 million was for loss of income. Under the jury's decision, SDG&E is responsible for the full amount. Of the remaining $13 million of the $15.2 million, the jury found the company responsible for 56% or $7.28 million. The remaining amount was ruled the responsibility of parties who were not part of the lawsuit, including the pilot.
SDG&E is responsible for the entire $40.4 million in punitive damages.
Macaluso argued that the utility was aware of the dangers. The company had a policy of putting lights only on towers taller than 200 feet, according to testimony.
In its statement, SDG&E said that "we respectfully disagree with the jury's verdict. But we realize that, regardless of the outcome of this litigation, there can be no winners."
The company said the power line had been on the base for 25 years and that SDG&E would have installed lights if the Marine Corps had asked.
During the three-week trial, lawyers for the utility said the crash was the result of errors by the crew, not lack of lighting. The jury decided that the company bore the majority of responsibility for the crash, although the panel also put some responsibility on the pilot.
The Huey and a Cobra helicopter crew were training for a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf region. The Cobra landed safely. The pilots were wearing night-vision goggles.
tony.perry@latimes.com
Ellie