SOME passengers injured in the crash-landing of American Airlines flight AA 331 in Kingston last month are eyeing hefty compensation packages after retaining a Texas-based law firm to represent them.

The aviation law firm of Slack & Davis, which has been invited here by lawyer Delano Franklyn to team up with local law company Wilson Franklyn Barnes, has a reputation of winning huge aviation cases — some running into millions of dollars — in its 17 years of representing clients hurt in aircraft accidents.

The company’s decision last week to team with Wilson Franklyn Barnes in handling cases from the December 22 crash, when the Boeing 737-800 aircraft overran the runway at the Norman Manley International Airport and broke in three pieces injuring physically, emotionally or psychologically the 148 passengers on board, has injected more interest in the matter.

It is anticipated that all passengers will pursue some form of legal action against American Airlines.

At least one other US law firm has announced that it will be representing passengers affected.

Two of the main players on the Slack & Davis aviation law team, both pilots and lawyers, arrived in Jamaica Monday and held talks with some of those affected, as well as local legal representatives.

Michael Slack, the firm’s managing partner and a former senior aerospace engineer at the National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA), and Ladd Sanger, partner and head of the company’s Dallas office, finalised plans for the company’s approach in the matter, before jetting back home the same day.

Jamaica attorney Anthony Hylton, the former minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade had advised passengers that they should refuse AA’s initial offer of US$5,000, as they could get up to US$135,000 in compensation.

However, documents obtained by the Observer, show that Slack & Davis has won hefty settlements and the company aims to do just that in the case of the AA incident in Jamaica.

In the case involving the Manus family of Arkansas, American Airlines had to pay heavily, after a US appeal court found that the family and two friends, had suffered severe psychological, physical and emotional damage.

The Manus family, parents Jimmy and Stephanie, and minors Lauren and Emily were travelling on AA flight 1420 from Dallas, Texas, to Little Rock Arkansas on June 1, 1999, when the plane crashed in similar fashion to last month’s accident here.

The flight was delayed twice and did not approach Little Rock until close to midnight, June 1.

The Eight Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals found at the end of the matter in January 2003:

“The plane touched down in a raging thunderstorm. Instead of decelerating in a normal fashion, the plane ran off the runway and came to a stop only after striking an electrical stanchion and breaking into three pieces. The body of the plane split open between rows 18 and 19 and the left wing was completely detached from the body of the airplane. Jet fuel from the detached wing spilled into the fuselage and caught fire.”

There were more indepth details about the crash and at the end of it, the court ruled that American Airlines should pay US$2 million to Stephanie Manus for pain and suffering and lost earning capacity; US$35,000 and US$18,000 to Lauren and Emily respectively for medical costs and US$800,000 to Lauren and US$500,000 to Emily for their respective pain and suffering.

After the decision, the district court denied American Airlines’ motion for a new trial.

Spokesman for Wilson Franklyn Barnes, former senator and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Delano Franklyn, said that entitlements will be determined by the court which will hear the matters in the US.

Wilson Franklyn Barnes, which specialises in civil and criminal litigation, said in a statement that it was overwhelmed to partner with Slack & Davis in getting the best for their clients.

“Slack & Davis has litigated claims against major airlines, aircraft manufacturers and other aviation-related corporations and are well-prepared to match the well-funded legal teams of multimillion-dollar corporations,” Franklyn said in the statement.

“We chose Slack & Davis as our partners because of the firm’s reputation for success, specific experience and technical expertise. In addition, we feel that the firm’s location in Texas, American Airlines’ base of operations, will be extremely valuable in representing passengers,” Franklyn said.