Lawsuit Blames Helicopter Company for Fatal Crash in Arlington Heights
Press Release, 06/01/1998A lawsuit was filed Monday, June 1 in Cook County Circuit Court on behalf of a Wilmette man killed in a May 18 helicopter crash in Arlington Heights.
Robert Clifford, a nationally prominent personal injury attorney, filed the case for the family of Yasuo Sato, 62, against Rotors in Motion, a Delaware-based company.
"We are piecing together the condition the aircraft prior to its final take-off," Clifford said. "In particular, we are closely examining the engine."
Four men were killed when the 1,600-pound aircraft crashed through the roof of a ranch home in suburban Arlington Heights. Three of the four men aboard, including Sato, were Japanese citizens. The pilot, Scott Maras, 40, was from Lake Geneva, Wis.
The lawsuit alleges that the company and Maras were negligent. Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
Clifford Law Offices of Chicago is a firm nationally recognized for its work in aviation, transportation, medical negligence, product liability, personal injury and wrongful death litigation.
Currently, Clifford also represents one of Brazil's most prominent families who lost its patriach, Matias Machline, in a helicopter crash in New Jersey. That case is pending in federal district court in New York. Machline owned Sharp electronics corporation.
