Sal Zambri, Chris Regan, Pat Regan, Emily Lagan, Victor Long, Paul Cornoni and Jacqueline Colclough.
A catastrophic mid-air collision over Washington, D.C., on a cold January morning claimed 67 lives when a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter struck American Airlines Flight 5342. Both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River, leaving families grieving and investigators searching for answers.
At the center of the legal battle seeking accountability stands Patrick Regan, a nationally recognized personal injury attorney and founding partner of Regan Zambri Long. Known for taking on catastrophic cases and winning them, Regan leads the investigation into the crash, committed to securing justice for victims and systemic change to prevent future disasters.
Regan brings nearly four decades of experience representing individuals and families in the most demanding personal injury and wrongful death cases in the country. With a track record built on excellence, integrity and results, he has consistently delivered transformative outcomes for his clients and secured multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements, including an extraordinary $77M wrongful death settlement, one of the largest in the region.
Often called the "go-to personal injury law firm in D.C.," Regan Zambri Long handles a broad range of consumer advocacy cases, including civil rights, medical malpractice, food safety and bike, auto and aviation accidents. The founders' influence extends far beyond the courtroom as respected leaders in the legal community, actively involved in national and regional trial lawyer associations, where they help shape best practices and advance plaintiff advocacy.
A Powerhouse Firm Built for Catastrophe Cases
Founded in 1997 by Patrick Regan, Sal Zambri, and Victor Long, Regan Zambri Long has grown into one of Washington, D.C.'s most trusted firms for serious injury matters. With more than a century of combined experience, over $1B in settlements and verdicts, and a reputation for trial-ready representation, the firm's mission has always been clear: hold the powerful accountable and deliver real justice to the injured.
"We started this firm to champion victims, challenge corporate negligence and force meaningful change," says Regan. "Not just compensation, but consequences."
The partners came together with a shared belief that the law should be a force for good, a catalyst for accountability, safety, and lasting change. Regan, Zambri and Long each saw too many lives upended by avoidable harm and too many influential institutions avoiding consequences. They created a firm that would not only fight for the injured but also push for safer systems, smarter laws, and a legal culture rooted in ethics, integrity and justice.
A Reputation That Refers Itself
At Regan Zambri Long, cases don't come through flashy commercials or cold Google searches. They arrive through trust, reputation and word of mouth. Nearly every client is a referral, often from lawyers the firm has known for decades or from past clients. It's the kind of reputation money can't buy – only years of consistent, ethical, client-first practice can earn.
"Nearly all my cases come through personal referrals from former clients or fellow lawyers who know and trust my work," says Regan. "Just like choosing a doctor or accountant, people place far more confidence in a recommendation from someone they trust than in an ad or a Google search."
We started this firm to champion victims, challenge corporate negligence and force meaningful change. Not just compensation, but consequences.
Regan Zambri Long operates on the principle that every referral is a personal endorsement, which means treating every client like family with professionalism, respect and responsiveness. Big-name defense firms send their own loved ones here, not because of marketing, but because they know this firm shows up for its clients. The lawyers answer their phones at all hours, file real lawsuits instead of chasing quick settlements, and prioritize doing right by the person over simply closing a case.
"When other lawyers refer someone – a family member, a neighbor, or a client – they want to know that person will be treated with the same professionalism, respect, attentiveness, and thoroughness that they give their own clients," says Regan.
The D.C. Mid-Air Collision: A Preventable Tragedy
Like many of Regan's cases, the Black Hawk crash litigation was referred by a trusted legal colleague and has since become a central focus for the firm. Regan and his son, Chris Regan, now a partner at the firm as well, are leading the litigation together. As they review the events that led to this disaster, they are uncovering multiple warning signs that contributed to the tragic crash.
"The most devastating part of a case like this is that it never had to happen," says Chris Regan. "It's our job to find some justice for the families of the loved ones who died needlessly that day."
The preliminary investigation into the collision points to serious failures on multiple fronts, with both the helicopter crew and the FAA, particularly air traffic controllers, bearing significant responsibility. The helicopter was allegedly flying unusually high along a known hazardous route with a history of near misses, many of which had gone under-reported.
"That helicopter flight path should never have been used – it became a recipe for disaster," says Pat Regan. "There's clear responsibility on behalf of the pilot, clear responsibility on behalf of the FAA for allowing that flight path to continue to be used when there were all these near misses."
The risk was compounded by the flight being part of a night vision goggle certification test conducted in an urban area, where light pollution significantly impaired the pilots' peripheral vision. Investigators believe the crew may have mistaken another aircraft for the American Airlines flight, which had been diverted to a different runway. The test was conducted during a busy time in challenging airspace, raising questions about why it wasn't scheduled during less congested hours.
"That training flight could have been done at 2 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m.," says Pat Regan. "Instead, they chose to fly through heavily lit airspace at a busy time."
The leading litigator also points to what he sees as systemic issues within the FAA, including staffing shortages and insufficient oversight, that further amplified the dangers. Since the crash, the flight path has been permanently closed. According to their litigation, the incident highlights a troubling mix of pilot error, flawed FAA protocols and poor risk management.
A History of Aviation Expertise
Pat Regan is no stranger to this arena. Early in his career, he tackled a helicopter crash matter involving a fatal power failure over the Tidal Basin in D.C. This litigation immersed Regan in aviation mechanics, pilot training, and crash dynamics, sparking a lifelong focus on aviation accident law. Since then, he has handled many cases involving private planes, helicopters, and commercial aircraft, developing unmatched expertise in the field.
Regan's courtroom skill, paired with a comprehensive understanding of federal aviation regulations, makes him one of the nation's leading authorities in aviation litigation. Over the years, he has successfully represented clients in demanding lawsuits against formidable government entities such as the U.S. Army and the Federal Aviation Administration, where proving liability requires a thorough knowledge of federal procedures and sovereign immunity exceptions under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). His ability to take on these technically complex and high-stakes matters has helped establish the firm's national reputation for excellence.
The most devastating part of a case like this is that it never had to happen. It's our job to find some justice for the families of the loved ones who died needlessly that day.
Food Poisoning & Public Health: Sal Zambri's Expertise
Sal Zambri became interested in the law during his teen years on Long Island, New York, where a high school teacher recognized his critical-thinking ability and encouraged him to consider a legal career. Now, Zambri is nationally renowned for the results of his work on a variety of personal injury matters. For instance, he has obtained the largest settlement in history ever paid out by the District of Columbia.
Although he handles a wide range of personal injury matters, his expertise includes food poisoning and public health litigation, having successfully handled various cases involving E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria, Hepatitis A and other foodborne pathogens that often affect vulnerable populations. "These aren't just stomach bugs; they're serious medical conditions," says Zambri. "I've had clients die, others need organ transplants, and many are forced to live with chronic illness for life."
According to Zambri, tracing outbreaks can be incredibly challenging. Long incubation periods – 15–50 days for Hepatitis A – make it difficult to identify the source of contamination unless it's part of a larger outbreak.
"Medical providers are required to notify state health departments of laboratory-confirmed food poisoning, after which the health departments, along with the CDC, start their own epidemiological traceback, which helps," says Zambri. "But we can't rely on that alone. Agencies are underfunded, and without proper oversight, public health suffers. Greed leads to cutbacks in staffing and sanitation, and that's when things go horribly wrong."
Zambri is particularly concerned about the lack of mandatory Hepatitis A vaccinations for food service workers. The virus is easily transmitted through even trace amounts of fecal matter. Zambri emphasizes how inexcusable it is to allow such a preventable risk to persist, attributing the inaction largely to the politicization of vaccines. For Zambri, the failure to implement basic public health safeguards like routine immunization for frontline food handlers reflects broader negligence in addressing avoidable threats to public safety.
"There's no federal requirement, and that's absurd," he says. "A simple shot could stop deadly outbreaks."
From Metro Disasters to National Policy Change
Pat Regan and Sal Zambri served as lead counsel in one of Washington, D.C.'s worst transit disasters – the 2009 Metro train collision that killed nine people and seriously injured dozens more. Representing both survivors and the families of those lost, Zambri handled a matter defined by technological failure and systemic breakdown.
"When technology fails, it's people who pay the price," says Zambri. "My job is to stand up for those people – dig into every detail, expose where the system broke down, and make sure the human cost isn't ignored or dismissed."
The crash occurred when one subway train rear-ended another due to a failure in the automated control system. The system relied on sensors and signals to detect train positions and regulate speed, but a critical warning – known as a "non-reporting block" – was repeatedly triggered and ultimately disabled, creating a fatal blind spot.
The litigation raised urgent questions about human oversight. The conductor, who died in the crash, was criticized for not activating the emergency stop.
"Automation can't replace human vigilance," Zambri says. "When systems fail, people pay with their lives."
Advocating For Civil Rights: Victor Long's Mission
Victor Long is a veteran trial attorney known for securing some of the nation's largest verdicts and settlements in personal injury law. His record includes a $4.5M settlement for a stroke victim due to medical negligence, $4.2M for injured U.S. Army soldiers in a bus crash, and $3.8M for a child burned by a defective appliance – a verdict that prompted a new safety label in the industry.
When technology fails, it's people who pay the price. My job is to stand up for those people – dig into every detail, expose where the system broke down, and make sure the human cost isn't ignored or dismissed.
For Long, a former DOJ civil rights attorney, it's all about making change and looking out for those who come long after the case is settled. Though his focus is unique, Long and his co-founders at the firm are aligned in their fight for change, all working to hold institutions responsible. Whether it's a corporation cutting corners or a government entity denying someone's rights, the mission remains the same: justice for those who have been wronged.
"The cases that stay with me most are those where we've changed the standard of care – shaping safety and medicine to protect future lives," says Long. "The firm is thorough, expert-driven, and committed to uncovering the full truth, combining legal and medical knowledge to hold parties accountable and achieve meaningful results for clients."
In one of Long's many impactful cases, a young woman with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis was given an immunosuppressant – methotrexate – after returning from travel in the Philippines, leading to a severe tubercular brain lesion. The litigation revealed that foreign travelers should be screened for TB exposure before they're prescribed immunosuppressants, helping to spur a nationwide change in prescribing practices. This result contributed to the now-common disclaimers in drug ads advising patients to inform doctors about foreign travel before starting medications like methotrexate.
"Law can change the lives of individuals," says Long. "It changed mine."
A Long History in the DOJ
Long's early work in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in the '80s was a profoundly formative chapter in his legal career. Tasked with enforcing voting rights on Maryland's Eastern Shore – a region where, despite a large Black population, no Black official had ever been elected – Long helped expose and dismantle racially discriminatory voting structures through detailed historical research. His efforts contributed to the implementation of single-member voting districts, fundamentally transforming local representation and opening doors for African Americans in both politics and public life.
This experience cemented Long's belief in the power of the law to drive real, lasting change – a conviction that has guided his work ever since. Long recently secured a favorable settlement for the family of a man who drowned after swimming in a pool where lifeguards failed to provide adequate supervision. While initial reports indicated a heart attack caused his death, medical experts proved the drowning triggered the heart attack, and not the other way around. The firm worked tirelessly to demonstrate that timely assistance during the heart attack would likely have saved him.
"What was so important about that case is we were able to show this didn't have to happen," says Long. "If the lifeguards had been paying attention, if he'd gotten help when he needed it, he likely would've survived. It really underscored how critical it is to follow safety protocols – and how those split-second decisions can mean everything."
The litigation not only helped to raise awareness about lifeguard response protocols but also helped establish a legal precedent tying medical causation to negligence in safety supervision and emphasized the intersection of medical expertise with civil litigation.
"The best cases are those where we changed the standard of care," Long says. "That's where law becomes legacy."
The Next Generation of Trial Advocacy
The next generation is now stepping up. Chris Regan, working alongside his father, brings fresh energy while maintaining the firm's hallmark values – client-first service, courtroom excellence and unshakable integrity.
Carrying the legacy torch of high-impact litigation for the Regan family, Chris Regan is quickly earning his place among D.C.'s top trial lawyers. A partner at the firm his father founded, he brings his own command of personal injury law, an instinct for strategic litigation, and a fresh perspective to some of the firm's most complex matters – including the recent Potomac air disaster.
"He's got the courtroom instincts and the compassion you can't teach," says Pat Regan of his son. "Watching him grow into a leader in this field has been one of the great joys of my career."
With a shared passion for justice and a unique dynamic as a father-son work duo, Patrick and Chris Regan are building something rare in modern law – a legacy of advocacy that spans generations. Pat Regan attributes their success to setting clear boundaries between home and office from the outset of their work together, to ensure that their family life remained intact.
"Chris and I have been very careful not to let it ruin Christmas," jokes Regan.
Over the past decade, the two have tried many cases together, including major air crashes and product liability litigation.
"I've learned so much from my dad, and I still learn so much from him every day," says Chris Regan. "I know I'm biased, but he's truly the best in the field, and it's been such an honor to learn and grow alongside him."
More Than Lawyers: Advocates for Change
The partners at Regan Zambri Long have united behind a shared belief that the law should aim to fix what's broken. From aviation to food safety to civil rights, their work isn't just about monetary gains – they're about making a difference and changing the law.
Regan Zambri Long is a firm built on trust and a shared mission. It's been shaped by results and driven by purpose. With a commitment to personalized attention and direct attorney access, the firm fosters lasting relationships – the kind that bring clients back and earn referrals from lawyers across the country. The firm takes on the most demanding cases, stands up to the most formidable defendants, and delivers results that reverberate far beyond the courtroom walls. Whether it's rewriting safety standards, forcing systemic reform, or giving a voice to the unheard, Regan Zambri Long makes an impact that lasts.
"At the end of the day, it's not just about winning a case," says Regan. "It's about making sure what happened to one client doesn't happen to anyone else."
