“Primary responsibility for the accident resides with the Army crew, who created the dangerous condition and failed to take any steps to warn about or alleviate it,” U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni said.
A federal judge in Massachusetts this week awarded an attorney a reduced total of $3.3 million for injuries he suffered from a snowmobile crash with a U.S. Army helicopter that was parked on an active trail in 2019.
Following a bench trial and the parties’ proposed finding of facts and conclusions of law, U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni of the District of Massachusetts Monday issued a decision in the case captioned Smith v. United States regarding federal tort claims stemming from the March 2019 crash. Mastroianni found the government 60% at fault for leaving the camouflaged helicopter parked on an active snowmobile trail without warning, while the Westfield, Massachusetts, attorney, Jeffrey Smith, was found to be 40% responsible for failing to drive the snowmobile in a safe manner.
