Settlement reached in final Asiana crash claim
Doctor sued for injuries suffered in 2013 that she claims impeded her practice as a surgical dentist
Hours before the first Asiana Airlines crash claimto go to trial reached the courtroom, the airline and the Santa Clara surgical dentist injured in the disaster reached a confidential settlement, an attorney’s spokeswoman said late Thursday.
Dr. Kyung Rhan Rha sued Asiana Airlines for injuries suf- fered in the July 6, 2013, crash at SFO in which four people died and 49 of the 307 people on board were injured. She claims an injury to her right arm precludes her from grasping the tools she needs as a prosthodontist, a surgical dentist who handles facial and dental problems that involve restoring missing teeth and jaw structures.
The airline had challenged the severity of Rha’s injury.
“A confidential settlement of Dr. Rha’s case has been reached,” the spokeswoman for Rha’s attorney told the Bay Area News Group. “The trial is off calendar.”
Jury selectionwas scheduled to start Friday inthe trial thatwould have only determined damages because Asiana had already admitted liability for the crash.
All other known claims by the 307 people on board the aircraft had been settled out of court. This was the only one that got close to trial.
The Boeing 777 was finishing a transpacific flight from Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea, when Flight 214’s tail and landing gear struck an SFO sea wall and cartwheeled onto the runway. Federal investigators concluded the air crew was at fault.
Dozens of claims have been resolved in the four years since the crash, most with similar confidential settlement amounts. Last year, the city of San Francisco settled with the airline for $3.45 million.