The widow of a man killed last year when a plane crashed into an office building housing Internal Revenue Service offices has settled her wrongful death lawsuit against the pilot’s estate. The widow’s late husband was a 68-year-old IRS employee and one of two people killed last February as a result of the crash. The widow also worked in the building but escaped without injury.
According to an article in the Austin American-Statesman, the pilot had left behind an internet message in which he blamed the IRS for his financial trouble. He had also set his home on fire prior to crashing into the building. About 200 IRS employees worked in the northwest Austin office building that was struck by the plane.
The attorney for the widow of the employee, stated that funds for the settlement will come from insurance proceeds and that “”there were no assets taken from the (pilot’s) estate.” He would not discuss any other specific details of the settlement and the total amount of the settlement was not released. The initial lawsuit also requested that Travis County medical examiner’s office be precluded from releasing any details from the employee’s autopsy.
When the lawsuit was originally filed shortly after the tragic incident, the widow’s attorney explained that a wrongful death lawsuit was an appropriate means of determining whether any insurance funds might exist which could be awarded to the family of the deceased employee. The news story says that the attorneys for the pilot’s estate were not available for comment.
Source: Austin American Statesman Widow agrees to settle suit against pilot’s estate January 19, 2011