Two Highest Settlements for a Plane Crash Victim's Wrongful Death
Thomas Demetrio and the firm he co-founded, Corboy & Demetrio, have set two astonishing records for the highest settlement of a single plane crash victim in aviation history, still held today.
The first record was a $25 million settlement in a case stemming from the crash of a United Airlines jet in Sioux City, Iowa in 1992.
Seven years after that, Thomas broke his own record, acquiring an even larger compensatory damages settlement - $25.2 million - for the death of a passenger in the crash of a USAir jet outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
It was the top settlement for the death of a person in a commercial aviation wrongful death action at the time and remains the top in 2025.
About the United #232 Record-Setting $25 Million Settlement
United Flight 232, a DC-10, left Chicago and was flying toward Philadelphia when it lost power in one of its engines and was forced to make an emergency landing at the Sioux City airport on July 19, 1989.
The crash occurred when the plane's tail-mounted engine exploded, causing the pilots to lose control. The plane attempted to land, but the emergency landing was too much for the disabled plane. Tom and Corboy & Demetrio obtained a $25 million settlement for the family of a businessman killed in the crash.
It set a record in aviation history in the U.S. for a single plane crash victim’s wrongful death. In all, Corboy & Demetrio handled 39 cases from the United #232 crash, securing a total of $73.9 million in damages.
About the USAir #427 Record-Setting $25.2 Million Settlement
Then, in1999, Tom broke his own record, obtaining a settlement of $ 25.2 million in a lawsuit arising from the crash of a USAir flight near Pittsburgh.
Tom and his firm represented the estate of a businessman killed in the crash, as well as the estate of three others. The businessman was among the 132 people killed on USAir Flight 427, heading from Chicago to Pittsburgh when the Boeing 737 aircraft crashed on Sept. 8, 1994.
The settlement of $25.2 million represented the highest in Cook County for the death of an individual in an airline crash.
In all, Corboy & Demetrio’s four settlements on behalf of USAir families totaled more than $48 million.
Thomas Demetrio and Dr. Dao:
In 2017, Thomas Demetrio obtained a confidential settlement with United Airlines on behalf of Dr. David Dao, just 18 days after his ordeal, which was captured on video and viewed worldwide.
Watch excerpts from the Dr. Dao news conference.