Public Justice Joins Fight To Save Airline Passengers From Toxic “Bleed Air” Exposure

Provided by an Experienced Seattle Injury Attorney

National public interest law firm Public Justice has joined the case of Williams V. Boeing, a Washington state lawsuit filed on behalf of a flight attendant who experienced permanent injuries from breathing engine oil fumes emitted from a defectively-designed aircraft.

The lawsuit contends that Terry Williams, 38, of Pierce County, Washington, was a flight attendant for 17 years until she experienced injuries that doctors say are due to her being exposed to contaminated bleed air. The lawsuit was filed on her behalf by a qualified Seattle injury lawyer against McDonnell Douglas Corporation, the company that manufactured the aircraft, and The Boeing Company, McDonnell’s parent company.

“Public Justice is joining this case because toxic bleed air is a problem of national importance,” said Leslie Brueckner, the lead Public Justice attorney on the case. “One of Public Justice’s core missions is to use damage litigation to compensate victims of corporate misconduct. Success in this case will also create a financial incentive for Boeing to get the poison out of the air breathed by its passengers and crew members.”

Terry Williams is represented by Public Justice cooperating counsel and Seattle injury attorney, Michael Withey of Seattle, Washington, Ted Leopold of Leopold~Kuvin in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Brueckner and Brodkowitz and Public Justice’s Melanie Hirsch.

Commercial aircraft typically use ventilation systems that “bleed” breathable air off engines. Air from the outside is drawn in through engines, cooled and routed into cabins and flight decks of aircraft. However, due to their defective design, these aircraft ventilation systems often allow toxic chemicals from hydraulic lubrication products and engine oil to harm the air supply. The chemicals often include toxins that were once used in pesticides and insecticides but that are now banned in most states.

Some people like Ms. Williams, suffered dizziness, tiredness, difficulty breathing, respiratory illnesses, headaches, large black spots in their vision, rashes, tingling and numbness in their feet and hands, uncontrolled tremors, bronchial spasms and impairments in cognitive functioning and speech.