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On July 30,2014, skydiving instructor Christopher Scott was paralyzed after a jump that also took the life of a NYC corrections officer when their parachute encountered an atmospheric change, sending the two men crashing to the ground. While many people may have viewed this as a tragic accident, the law firm of Finz & Finz, P.C., feels strongly that this “accident” was the result of negligence.
The 27-year-old instructor for Skydive Long Island was taking what he thought was a routine jump with Gary Messina, who was to celebrate his 26th birthday the following day. However, after jumping from the plane, and when they were approximately 75 to 100 feet from the ground, the direction of the parachute was abruptly changed and control was lost due to the air current. The parachute collapsed sending the men into a free fall to the ground. Scott suffered a spinal cord injury that rendered him a quadrapalegic while Messina did not survive.
So how does a weather condition qualify as negligence? As reported in The New York Post, Skydive Long Island used a designated drop zone at Calverton Executive AirPark, that was an improper landing area. The two men should have been headed towards a grassy area for a safe landing. Instead, they were dropped over an area where the abundance of concrete, blacktop and buildings actually caused the air to become unstable due to heat rising from the hard surfaces and piercing through the cooler air just above the ground. An investigation at the scene showed that Scott did everything he could to change direction but he was too close to the ground at the time he encountered the atmospheric change to do so.
As seen with this heart-breaking incident, sometimes accidents are not accidents at all and something could have been done to prevent the situation. The attorneys at Finz & Finz, P.C., are working diligently to obtain justice for Christopher Scott and they can do the same for you. If you or a family member or friend has been injured in an accident, please call Finz & Finz, P.C., to stand up for you.
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Finz & Finz, P.C. is a New York and Long Island personal injury law firm based out of Mineola, NY. It was founded in 1984 and is highly rated, with many honors and awards of excellence.
