Bins are often designed in such a way that if a bin opens at the wrong time, bags and other items can fall directly on the passenger in the aisle seat. While soft bags (like messenger bags and laptop totes) often do not cause injury when they fall, rolling suitcases and other unusual items, such as picture frames or wheelchair parts, can cause serious injury when they land on a passenger.

If you’re injured by falling luggage, you might have claims against either the airplane manufacturer for the faulty or unsafe design of its bins (this would be a “product liability” claim) or against the airline for not being careful enough to ensure the bins are securely closed and latched before take-off (this would be a “negligence” claim). Product liability claims can be made against a component (or bin) manufacturer, the final manufacturer of the airplane, and the various people involved in marketing the airplane. Negligence claims can be made against the negligent person, like the flight attendant, and the airline which employs that person, or against the airline for setting standards that result in injury.

Bins should be designed safely so that they don’t come open during turbulence or rough landings, and they should be designed with safety features that prevent baggage and other items from falling if a bin does accidentally come open. Airlines should check to make sure all bins are securely fastened before takeoff and should restrict use of the overhead bins for items that are safe. Necessary items like wheelchair parts that are dangerous to passengers should be stored in a different place in the airplane.

Another frequent cause of in-flight injury is impact with the rolling carts used to serve food and drink. In one case, a passenger was rammed so hard in the shoulder by a food cart that it ripped out a prosthetic device that had been installed during shoulder reconstruction surgery a short time before. Earlier cases had held that injuries caused by flight attendants were barred under the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. In Chara v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Congress did not intend to bar this kind of suit. That ruling opened the door for other lawsuits against airlines for injuries caused by the negligence of flight attendants.

Other aviation-related injuries occur during crash landings, when hand baggage can become missiles, and in slip-and-fall accidents. So, though air travel is almost as safe as an elevator ride as far as crashes go, passengers still need to take care to avoid injury.

If you have been injured on an airplane, seek the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney right away to determine if you have a claim. All states have a limit on the time in which you can sue on an injury claim (for example, two years). This is called the state’s statute of limitations. If you do not file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations period, you will be forever barred from suing on that claim. To find an experienced aviation accident attorney in your area, go to AttorneyPages.com. If you would like a free case evaluation from an experienced attorney, fill out the case evaluation form and an injury lawyer will contact you, no cost and no obligation.