Often when you think about the word counterfeit it is easy to link it with currency, clothing or fashion items rather than airplane parts. A large percentage of airplane accidents are a result of mechanical or maintenance issues; these include knock off parts on the aircraft. This article will discuss counterfeit airplane parts and how they relate to compensation in respect of injury and fatalities.
According to one dictionary [Counterfeit Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com] counterfeit means to be “made in imitation so as to be passed off fraudulently or deceptively as genuine”. Generally, when people speak about counterfeits or knock offs you would think of a Rolex watch or Gucci bag that is sold by an unauthorized vendor. However, there exist other counterfeits that put people’s lives at risk. These have been found in the aviation industry where counterfeit parts are sold as authentic including something as small as nuts and bolts or as sophisticated as electronic equipment. Counterfeit aircraft parts have become problematic that even the U.S. military struggles to prevent their purchase and installation on military aircrafts. While a counterfeit Rolex watch poses no real harm to an unwary customer, counterfeit airplane parts put the lives of passengers and crew at risk as they are made from inferior quality materials or are repurposed parts from old planes that are sold as new. For legal advice and representation in a plane accident in Wasilla contact a plane accident lawyer today.
Well-crafted knock offs or counterfeit airplane parts are very hard to distinguish from an original making them even more deadly. For example, a semiconductor for electronic parts is manufactured in what is referred to as a clean room environment this is because tiny minute dust particles negatively impact the device’s reliability. Now counterfeit semiconductors are produced in far less sterile conditions resulting in a greater risk of the devices failing and impacting the aircraft as a whole.
Unfortunately, airlines have proved to be hesitant when it comes to investigating the authenticity of parts. As a result, some airline officials choose not to carry out the job of replacing them because of the associated expenses and difficulty. In fact, most information regarding counterfeit airplane parts has been a result of investigations in respect of counterfeit parts sold to the U.S. military.
If you are involved in an aircraft accident that results in some form of injury or loss and it is established the aircraft accident is caused by counterfeit parts you may be eligible to receive compensation by way of a personal injury claim. Defendants in such a claim would include the manufacturer of the counterfeit part, the distributor and or the retailer of the part.
It must be noted that the General Aviation Revitalization Act (GARA) is a federal law that provides a restriction on the time frame in respect of when a lawsuit can be filed against an aircraft with a seating capacity of 20 passengers or less that arises from defective parts. Plaintiffs are only able to file suits within 18 years of the product’s manufacture. However, it does not apply when the manufacturer concealed or misrepresented the product parts’ airworthiness. To learn more contact a personal injury aircraft accident attorney.
Resource Box: To contact a brain injury lawyer in Alaska, the author recommends the Crowson Law Group.
