Though a Southeast man died as the result of a helicopter crash, his family may have trouble recovering money from a lawsuit, a prominent D.C. trial lawyer said Thursday.
Steven Gaston was already gravely ill and being flown to Washington Hospital Center when his air ambulance crashed on the golf course of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Northwest.
The D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office determined that trauma from the accident killed Gaston, 51.
His widow said on television Wednesday night that someone “should pay” for the accident that killed her husband.
Brenda Gaston refused to say whether she had talked to a lawyer or was considering a lawsuit.
But she said her husband was “a wonderful man.”
Wayne Cohen, former president of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington D.C., said that despite the stark tragedy of the crash, the family may have a tough time obtaining damages from the wreck.
“Causation is going to be a very, very big issue,” said Cohen, who also teaches trial law at the George Washington University law school.
Any litigation from the crash will follow one of two tracks, Cohen said.
If authorities determine that the crash was caused by pilot error, Gaston’s family could file suit against pilot Darryl Johnson and his employer, CJ Systems Aviation Group.
If the crash was caused by a faulty product, the family will have claims against the helicopter’s manufacturer.
But, given the critical condition Gaston was already in when the crash occurred, “their exposure is much lower,” Cohen said.
