Home News and Events

The Daily Record News Briefs: February 17, 2009

Daily Record Staff Report

Lawyers help plane crash victims

The New York State Bar Associationmobilized its Mass Disaster Response Committee to help victims' families after last week's crash of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 in Clarence.

Committee members worked with federal, state and local authorities as well as emergency response personnel to provide disaster assistance, the association announced.

NYSBA President Bernice Leber commended the committee for its quick response and reminded attorneys to respect the privacy of victims' families.

Members of the Mass Disaster Response Committee opened an assistance center to answer questions and provide information in the event family members were solicited by attorneys.

Continental Airlines' hotline for family and friends of crash victims is (800) 621-3263.

Copyright 2009, The Daily Record, used with permission.

‘Dozens’ of 3407 civil lawsuits likely

BY MATT CHANDLER
BuffaloLaw Journal

It’s been more than a week since Continental Airlines Flight 3407 fell from the sky, but it will take months, maybe years, for the families of the 50 people who died to confront the harsh reality of the damage caused by the disaster.

Stephen Foley, a personal-injury attorney who’s a partner in Paul William Beltz PC, is representing the family of Douglas Wielinski, the Clarence Center man who died when the aircraft crashed into his home.

His wife, Karen, and daughter Jill managed to escape the burning wreckage; now they must deal with the reality of losing not only their husband and father, Foley said, but their worldly possessions.

“There are so many basic issues this family is facing,” he said. “They have nothing to go back to, and they have to try and figure out: How do we rebuild our lives?”

Read the full article.