The Bavis Wrongful Death Lawsuit is the Last of the 9-11 Suits to be Settled

That memory of 9/11 will be with everyone until the day they die. It will never fade from the minds of Americans.

Aside from the anguish of 9/11 and the heart-wrenching deaths, there is another side to this story. Many stories unfolded in court in the form of wrongful death lawsuits that arose from those terrorist attacks. The last of the suits was settled in early October 2011. The Bavis family’s goal was to inform the public about the weaknesses in America’s air safety system.

When they had done what they could to draw attention to serious security risks, they let the memory of the Los Angeles Kings hockey scout rest in peace with the knowledge that they had given him a voice, even after death. In part, the family settled with United Airlines and the security company, Huntleigh USA Corp., as they found out the trial, slated for November 7, 2011, would be limited to three weeks.

The focus of their suit was security lapses on the day that is forever burned into the world’s collective consciousness. The family wanted important information about airport and airline security to be put into public record so Americans understood, in part, what happened on September 11. That day, Mark Bavis, whose remains other than a miniscule bone fragment have never been found, was on United Airlines Flight 175 at Boston’s Logan Airport. His mom, Mary Bavis, filed the suit and the terms of the eventual settlement were not released to the public.

The family’s desire to keep awareness on airport screening has not dimmed. Their drive is to make future travel for others safer, and they will not stop until they have achieved their goal. It is something that would have perhaps saved hundreds of lives that day, had those that killed Americans been nabbed prior to boarding.

The Bavis family points a finger squarely at Huntleigh and United for security failures that allowed the terrorists to hijack the flight their son was on. These failures involved not hiring and retaining qualified screeners or properly training them in light of heightened terrorism threats.

This became the focus of the lawsuit when it was discovered that at least nine airport security screeners, immigrants who spoke limited to no English, did not even know that the threat level had been raised to the likelihood where terrorists would attack civil aviation targets. Those same nine screeners had no clue who Osama bin Laden was and had not heard of al-Qaida.

It was not just the screeners that did not know the threat level had been raised. It was management too, as the shocking fact that the security company’s director of training and its general manager at the airport had never heard of bin Laden or al-Qaida. Management and screeners allowed knives, pepper spray and Mace onboard that fatal flight.

None of it should have happened; none of it. It left the world in tatters and will haunt everyone forever. Nothing can be done to turn the clock back, but one thing is certain – if you are dealing with a situation in which a loved one lost their life due to the wrongful actions of others, do not hesitate to contact a skilled and compassionate Arkansas injury lawyer.

If you seek justice for harm done to you, the only way to get a fair hearing and be fully informed of all your options is to discuss your case with an experienced Arkansas injury lawyer.

Michael G. Smith is an Arkansas injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com.