DENVER — Law firms Ramos Law and DJC Law have filed a notice that they intend to sue the City and County of Denver on behalf of passengers aboard the LA-bound plane that struck and killed a man on the Denver International Airport runway Friday, according to a joint release from the firms.
The man, now identified at 41-year-old Michael Mott of Pueblo, had scaled a perimeter fence in 15 seconds and was hit by the plane just two minutes later, according to airport officials. Twelve people were injured, with five of those people hospitalized.
The firms call the incident "one of the most preventable aviation incidents in recent history" and claim the passengers are now "confronting both physical and psychological injuries."
They say they're seeking more than $10 million in damages.
Attorney Joseph LoRusso, who also holds a pilot's license, sat down with Denver7 on Wednesday. He is representing a handful of passengers who were aboard the Friday night flight.
"The universal story that I'm hearing from everybody that I've talked to who have cried to me on the phone for the past 48 hours has been Joe, I thought I was going to die," LoRusso said.
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LoRusso said the firms are also demanding all evidence related to the incident be preserved, including surveillance video, sensor data, access-control logs, radio and dispatch communications, internal incident reports, training records, and policies and procedures.
"Our clients deserve a full and transparent accounting of what the airport knew, when it knew it, and what was, or was not, done about it," attorney Andres Pereira with DJC law said in a statement.
► Watch Claire Lavezzorio's report in the player below:
Denver7 received a copy of the “notice of claim”, that must be filed before any official lawsuit can be filed, which details both mental and physical injuries some passengers suffered, including exposure to smoke and fumes and spinal strains.
During Wednesday's interview, LoRusso pushed back on comments made by Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington, who said at a Tuesday news conference that the airport did not have enough time to intervene.
"Absolutely not. We deal in seconds in aviation, and this was two minutes. There was plenty of time," LoRusso said.
According to the firms, a notice was served Tuesday to the Denver City Attorney and the Colorado Attorney General, with courtesy copies to the Chief Executive Officer of Denver International Airport, the Denver Clerk and Recorder, and the Chief of the Denver Police Department.
The attorney's office for the City of Denver, which operates DIA, said they had not received notice of the claim and do not comment on pending litigation.
This is a developing story that may be updated.
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