Two former United States’ military personnel were recently awarded a $13.55 million personal injury settlement by a U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in their lawsuit against Boeing and others over a helicopter accident which left both men with spinal injuries. Chief Warrant Officers Juan Beltran and Ron Carns were serving the United States in Tikrit, Iraq when they went on a maintenance flight of an Apache Longbow, the Army’s primary attack helicopter, in April 2003. Carns piloted the helicopter at 800 feet when a gear box in the copter failed, causing the loss of tail rotor control and the Apache Longbow to spin. The helicopter quickly nosedived 800 feet and crashed, leaving both men with life-changing personal injuries.

According to the story on Rotorhub.com, Beltran’s spinal cord was compromised, which rendered him a quadriplegic. The 31-year-old Beltran also suffered a serious head injury and finger amputation. Carns’ spinal cord was not compromised, but his movement is still restricted. Carns has a metal device in his neck and back as a result of the accident. Since the Army is immune from suit, the men filed a personal injury lawsuit against the helicopter designer, Boeing, and other part manufacturers, who all claimed that they also had “government contractor immunity” from such legal action.

The personal injury attorneys of the two injured military personnel successfully avoided dismissal on this “government contractor immunity defense,” and a final settlement was reached shortly before going to trial. Beltran was awarded $11,247,500 for his personal injuries while Carns got $2,302,500. According to the story, this is the largest personal injury settlement for military personnel injured in the Iraq War.

Specifically, the helicopter crashed due to excessive vibration caused by inadequate lubrication in the gearbox and the failure of an accelerometer, a device which did not to warn the pilots of this problem in the gearbox. The accelerometer was manufactured by Chadwick Helmuth, Torance CA and Honeywell, the helicopter by Boeing, the bearings by MPB Corp., and the gearbox by Aircraft Gear Corp. All of these defendants contributed to the personal injury settlement.