Flight 1420 Survivors Win $3.35 Million PTSD Verdict Against American Airlines

On June 1, 1999, American Airlines Flight 1420 approached Little Rock National Airport in the middle of a violent thunderstorm. The MD-82 failed to stop on the rain-soaked runway, struck an electrical stanchion at high speed, and broke into three sections. The left wing sheared off and jet fuel ignited. Ten passengers and the captain died in the wreckage.

Stephanie Manus was on board with her daughters Lauren, four years old, and Emily, two. After the fuselage split apart between rows eighteen and nineteen, Stephanie carried Emily out through the debris field and located Lauren, who had been pulled clear by other evacuees. The family then waited in the open, pelted by hail larger than golf balls, before rescue crews reached them.

All three were later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Stephanie also developed major depression, suffered nightmares and flashbacks, and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery that left a five-percent permanent impairment to her leg. The children showed persistent behavioral changes: recurrent nightmares, fear of thunderstorms and aircraft, and emotional disturbances that required ongoing therapy.

Michael Slack served as counsel for the family, alongside Arkansas attorneys Ted Boswell and Jim Jackson, in the litigation in federal court in the Eastern District of Arkansas. The jury heard evidence on each family member's diagnoses, the children's ongoing therapy needs, and Stephanie's reduced earning capacity. After a five-day trial, the jury awarded Stephanie $2,000,000 for pain, suffering, and lost earning capacity; $800,000 to Lauren for pain and suffering plus $35,000 in medical costs; and $500,000 to Emily for pain and suffering plus $18,000 in medical costs. The total verdict came to $3,353,000.

American Airlines moved for judgment as a matter of law, a new trial, and remittitur, arguing the damages were excessive and that expert testimony on future medical expenses was speculative. The district court denied all three motions. American appealed to the Eighth Circuit, which issued its opinion on January 9, 2003, affirming the verdict without reduction. The court declined to disturb the jury's credibility findings or its assessment of appropriate compensation for the trauma the family endured.