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Law Offices of
George H. Lyons
(602) 912-3888(phone)
(866) 912-3888(toll-free)
(602) 912-3898(fax)
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Mr. Lyons has been trial counsel in a large number of personal injury and wrongful death claims resulting from a wide variety of causes including, but not limited to, vehicular collisions, airplane accidents, bicycle accidents, tire blow-outs, tire tread separation, falls, defective products, highway design defects, home appliance design defects, fights, and toxic chemical poisoning. While each of these subjects represents separate challenges, certain types of litigation are frequently encountered and a more detailed discussion is appropriate.
Highway/Street Design Defects
Mr Lyons has represented many severely injured clients, and the surviving relatives of persons killed in all types of vehicle accidents, ranging from a freeway median crossover head-on impact, to the more common improper left turn. Throughout his 35+ years of experience he has developed significant experience in putting together teams of expert accident re-constructionists, vehicle design engineers, biomechanical experts, road design experts, and traffic engineers specifically suited to the facts involved in each case.
Notable results were obtained in a case against the State of Arizona alleging failure to provide median crossover barriers on an urban freeway that resulted in the death of the clients two children and injury to others. Although the amount of each individual settlement remains confidential, the total of all settlements exceeds the low seven figures and the clients will gladly provide a strong reference for Mr. Lyons upon request.
In another tragic but interesting factual setting, Mr. Lyons represented the surviving husband of a young woman who was fatally injured when she struck a horse while driving her Z3 BMW convertible on a dark section of the county highway. In the litigation that followed, Mr. Lyons was able to offer evidence that the County had been warned many times about the danger of horses on this specific section of highway and had largely ignored the warnings. Additionally, the rancher failed to fence the horse grazing area, had been aware of the horses on the highway for some time, and was aware that the horses preferred the vegetation on the roadside to ordinary food supplied by the rancher. Again, the settlement amounts from each defendant are confidential; however, the result was clearly satisfactory to the client.
Roadway design cases are unusually difficult because everyone, including potential jurors, is opinionated; usually in favor of the defendant and against the driver that lost control of a vehicle. Jury research efforts generally establish that most jurors believe that anyone who fails to maintain control of a car is at fault, regardless of the design or condition of the roadway. Mr. Lyons has been successful in refocusing the natural inclination to blame the driver in defective road design cases.
Vehicle Design
Mr. Lyons has been trial counsel in a variety of vehicle design cases, most notably involving the lack of roll over protection in some types of SUVs. Both Ford and Toyota have settled SUV stability and occupant protection cases presented by Mr. Lyons. Any prospective client with a vehicle defective design case must understand that the costs incurred in preparing such cases are so high, only cases involving severe injury or death can be accepted. It is not unusual to incur $300,000 or $ 400,000 in out-of-pocket costs before a vehicle design case is ready for trial. Since Mr. Lyons frequently advances all costs incurred in litigation, the $300,000-$400,000 comes out of his pocket and requires a major case as justification.
Aircraft Cases
Mr. Lyons has been involved in helicopter crash litigation and airplane design cases. The Eurocopter A-Star 350B-2 case involved a flight control system failure that resulted in a hard impact injuring both occupants, followed by a fire that consumed the helicopter. Mr. Lyons was able to obtain the services of a former employee of the NTSB responsible for investigation of many prior aircraft accidents together with an experienced helicopter design engineer that offered opinions that the flight control system design was defective in several respects. The case was eventually settled.
Other cases involving Mr. Lyons include a Cessna 210-P that crashed killing both occupants while on approach to a local airport. Questions were raised concerning Cessnas fuel system design. Mr. Lyons was also involved in litigation related to a fatal hot air balloon accident that resulted in a significant settlement before trial.
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