USA23 September, 20263 min read
Jesni Sam Sues DeKalb County Venue And Prestige Helicopters After Georgia Wedding Crash Killed Dave Fiji
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Jesni Sam filed wrongful death and survival lawsuits against the wedding venue and helicopter operator. Dave Fiji, Delta pilot, was killed; Jesni Sam survived, trapped under his body for hours.
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Lawsuit After Crash
Jesni Sam filed a wrongful death lawsuit in DeKalb County against the wedding venue and helicopter operator after a helicopter crash minutes after their wedding in Georgia killed her husband, Dave Fiji, and pilot Nikhil Nargundkar.
Andrew Robb, partner at Robb & Robb LLC, said, "In a matter of minutes, Jesni went from celebrating the happiest day of her life to experiencing something almost impossible to comprehend," as lawyers alleged the helicopter should not have taken off in deteriorating weather conditions.
Jesni Sam’s complaint, filed Sept. 22 by lawyers representing her, alleged the defendants did not assess worsening weather conditions and were negligent in continuing the flight.
The lawsuit said the flight was operated by Prestige Helicopters and arranged through The Revere, and it described the helicopter striking tall trees before an impact with terrain in a heavily wooded area.
WRDW/WAGT reported that Sam was seeking damages and coverage of legal fees, and it said the case would be tried before a jury in DeKalb County.
Weather, NTSB Details
The National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report did not determine a cause of the crash, but it said the area had "moderate rain and mist, and scattered clouds," with a visibility of about 2 miles and a cloud ceiling near 200 feet above ground. The lawsuit alleged the helicopter left the venue at about 11:45 p.m. for DeKalb-Peachtree Airport and crashed in the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area about five minutes later, killing Fiji and Nargundkar. FOX 5 Atlanta said the complaint accuses the pilot of failing to properly assess the weather and cancel or abort the flight, and it also raised questions about the helicopter’s altitude, its distance from trees, and the pilot’s control of the aircraft.
The lawsuit also alleged Prestige Helicopters failed to properly train and supervise its pilots and failed to establish adequate rules for canceling flights during unsafe weather. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said Sam hired a lawyer represented by the same firm that represented Vanessa Bryant in litigation over the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, in January 2020.
Injuries, Hours Trapped
Jesni Sam survived the crash but remained trapped in the wreckage for about six hours, and The New York Post said she was trapped under her husband’s dead body for six hours waiting to be rescued. People quoted the suit’s description of the ordeal, saying, "For nearly six hours, Jesni remained trapped in the rubble, with the deceased corpse of the man she had married only hours earlier lying on top of her," as the filing sought damages for physical and mental suffering. The lawsuit alleged Sam suffered serious injuries to her hip, leg, neck, fingers, arm and stomach, and it also listed headaches, dizziness, loss of balance and extensive scarring.
FOX 5 Atlanta said Sam continues to experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, grief, anxiety and a fear of flying, and it said she is seeking compensation for medical expenses, rehabilitation, pain, emotional suffering and permanent scarring. The NTSB investigation remains ongoing, and FOX 5 Atlanta said a final report has not been released while the agency continues to investigate the cause of the crash.