People are looking to find out who will be held liable for the deaths of all 16 people who were onboard a hot air balloon owned by Heart of Texas Hot Air Balloon Rides, which caught fire, slammed into a field, and finally crashed in Lockhart on July 30, 2016.
The hot air balloon owner was insured, but the policy will probably cover far less than what the families of the victims are expecting, a report from the American-Statesman showed. Standard balloon operator insurance policies – which are carried by 95% of balloon operators in the country – provide a ceiling of $100,000 per person for bodily injury and a cap of $1 million for every incident.
According to a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Insurance, aviation insurance is not federally mandated in the state, and provisions providing for such are not found in the Texas insurance code, unlike in other states, like California.
All of us at the Benton Law Firm take accidents like these very seriously, hoping to provide justice and support to any affected people. Our thoughts go out to all of the victims and those that survive them.