Jacksonville, Florida Military Aircraft Accident Lawyers

The men and women who serve in our military pledge to support and defend our constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. Our firm believes that these deserving young men and women should not be treated as second-class citizens if they are injured or die in military aircraft accidents that occur on active duty.

Two of our law partners are former commissioned officers in the U.S. military. Their unique knowledge, education and training regarding the civil-military litigation system have ensured our firm's success in crashes of fighter jets, helicopters, and other military aircraft. We have represented clients stationed at military bases throughout southeastern United States, including Fort Rucker, Fort Stewart, Jacksonville Naval Air Station, and Mayport Naval Air Station.

Investigating Military Aircraft Accidents

Military aircraft accidents are governed by a different set of rules than general aviation accidents. Some military aircraft cases are barred under the FERES Doctrine, a Supreme Court decision from 1951 that says active-duty national guard members and military personnel cannot sue the military if they are killed in a military aircraft. However, there are exceptions to this rule. Our military aircraft accident lawyers know the exceptions and been successful in helping our clients overcome the difficult barriers that prevent military service members and their family members from having their day in court in connection with a personal injury or wrongful death case. In fact, many of the clients we have represented over the years had been told by other lawyers that they didn't have a case.

A partial list of military aircraft cases that our attorneys have been handled include:

• Blackhawk Crash - Wiesbaden, Germany, 1994
• UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter Crash - Hortense, Georgia, 1995
• F-14 Tomcat Crash - Nashville, Tennessee, 1996
• AH-1F Cobra Helicopter Crash - Honolulu, Hawaii, 1996
• C-23 Sherpa Airplane Crash (US ARMY), Unadilla, Georgia - 2003
• AH-64 Apache Helicopter Crash (US ARMY), Camp Blanding, Florida - 2003

Our lawyers work closely with the Collateral Investigation Board, which investigates military aircraft accidents, and with the Safety Centers for the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force. We are familiar all of the laws that apply to military aircraft accidents, including the Code of Federal Regulations, the Federal Tort Claims Act, government contractor defense, and issues of sovereign immunity.

Our lawyers handle military aircraft accidents that occur anywhere in the world, including those covered by the Death on the High Seas Act (which applies to accident that occur 12 or more miles offshore), as well as accidents occurring in foreign countries which are covered by the International Air Travel Agreement (IATA).

Our firm is proud of the compensation we have obtained for our clients in the highly specialized area of military aircraft crashes. We handle all aviation accident cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that you pay no attorney fees unless we are successful in obtaining compensation for you.

Your Military Aircraft Accident Attorneys

Don Maciejewski is a Board-Certified aviation law attorney, a professional pilot and an accident investigator who has litigated a wide variety of aviation accident cases. Prior to joining the firm, Don was a partner in another Jacksonville law firm, and before practicing law, he was a commissioned officer and helicopter pilot in the United States Army. He holds a commercial instrument rating in helicopters with extensive flight experience in UH1, OH58 and Hughes 300 aircraft. He is a retired Major in the United States Army Reserve. While in the military, MAJ Maciejewski became a certified aircraft accident investigator and attended advanced courses in Crash Survival & Investigation. He is also a graduate of the Aviation Safety Officer's Course.

Barry Zisser is a FAA-certified pilot and a former military aviator.

Contact the military aircraft accident attorneys at Zisser, Robison, Brown, Nowlis, Maciejewski & Cabrey in Jacksonville, Florida.

Our military aircraft accident lawyers serve clients in Florida, Georgia, and throughout the southeastern United States and internationally, including South America.