MedFlight Helicopter Crash

Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy Retained in MedFlight Helicopter Crash

Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy is privileged to announce that the firm has been retained by Stacey Bean, M.D. and her two children to represent them in a claim against those responsible for the May 10, 2008 helicopter crash in which her husband, 37 year-old physician Darren B. Bean, M.D., lost his life. The MedFlight helicopter had departed the University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinic to retrieve a patient in Prairie du Chien and transport her to Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse. The Eurocopter EC135 crashed into a ridge between La Crosse and Onalaska shortly after refueling at La Crosse Airport. Also lost in the crash were Mark W. Coyne, R.N. and pilot Steve H. Lipperer.

Weather conditions at the time of the crash included fog and rain, which hampered search and recovery efforts. The wreckage was not discovered until the following morning. A local resident reported hearing the helicopter and stated it did not sound right. She does not recall hearing the actual crash.

In a tragic coincidence, as a young child Darren Bean was previously represented by Magaña, Cathcart & McCarthy in a claim involving the death of Darren’s father, Bruce Bean, in an airplane crash. Bruce Bean died in the crash of a Beech Queen-Air upon takeoff from the Albuquerque Airport on May 19, 1972. The firm successfully litigated a claim on behalf of Darren and his mother, Danielle. Bruce Bean was only 28 years old at the time of his death.

Darren Bean was a MedFlight physician for six years and the Madison Fire Department’s Medical Director. An assistant professor with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Dr. Bean was a graduate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He leaves behind his wife; Stacey Bean, M.D., an emergency room physician at St. Mary’s Hospital, and two preschool children; Parker and Caitlyn.