Why weren’t the power lines marked? Why weren’t the power poles painted? When a young Missouri family lost their father and husband in a helicopter crash, Gray Ritter Graham attorney Morry Cole conducted the trial that exposed the cause of the crash. A rural electrical power cooperative had not placed high visibility marker balls on power lines spanning a river in mid-Missouri. The lines were virtually invisible to pilots flying in the area. Industry standards for conspicuity of the lines and power poles had not been followed and the helicopter struck the lines and crashed into the river. After a multi-week jury trial a verdict was rendered in favor of Cole’s clients resulting in a final judgment in excess of $17 million dollars.
Helicopter Crash Wrongful Death Case