It boils down to someone in 1A could get 12 million, while the passenger in 2A could max out 15747
After main deal all this stuff comes into the receipes. claims can then be made in any one of five places: the primary residence of the plaintiff, the destination of the flight, where the ticket was bought, where the carrier is domiciled or its main place of business.
The nationality of each passenger will make a staggering difference to the compensation
Public liability lawyers say the biggest disparity will be the difference between the payouts offered to the relatives of western passengers, compared to those from Asian countries.
American aviation crash attorney Floyd Wisner said passengers and crew from China, Malaysia and Indonesia would fare worse in their claims due to what they are calling a limited view of damages.
'They could evaluate these cases and say a Chinese life is (of) less value than an American life.
Under the multilateral Montreal Convention, relatives of air crash victims from signatory countries are entitled to about $US176,000 in damages without having to prove fault.
Ms Rolfe estimated an American court would pay compensation of between $8-10 million per passenger, while Chinese relatives would likely receive less than $1 million per passenger.
MAL 370:
The lawyer said the airline could pay between $500-750 million in damages to relatives it was probable it had liability insurance of about $1 billion.
It has been reported that $US110 million has been placed in an escrow account and the insurance company settled to make hardship payments to the families of those lost.
Malaysia Airlines said it will not consider compensation payouts until what happened aboard the flight is determined, the
Sydney Morning Herald reported.
AN AIr FRance one NOT 447
Within one week of the crash, cash payments ranging from C$1,000 to C$3,700 (all figures in this article in
Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated) were given to passengers for interim emergency use. These funds were given to passengers through an emergency centre set up in the Novotel Hotel in
Mississauga, near the airport. These payments were independent of the claims process, which has been started for passengers who have not retained counsel. It is expected that the insurers of Air France will pay for all damages as well as extra compensation for having passengers go through the ordeal; however, only amounts of 6,000 to 9,000 have been offered, prompting passengers to turn to the lawsuit to seek legal action. The insurance is handled by the
Societé de Gestion & D'Expertises D'Assurances in France. All passengers have also been offered a free round-trip ticket to any Air France destination in the world in the same fare class in which they were originally booked on AF358.
After a lawsuit lasting four and a half years, Air France settled the compensation lawsuit with 184 of the 297 passengers (no crew members included) aboard Flight 358. The compensation is for a total of $12 million. Air France will pay $10 million, and have been released from passengers claim's stemming from the incident, according to the judgement's summary. Airbus and Goodrich, the company that made the emergency evacuation system on the plane will pay $1.65 million and claims against them in a lawsuit have been released.[SUP]
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J.J. Camp, a Vancouver lawyer representing claimants, says passengers seriously harmed with either physical or psychological injuries will be eligible for the maximum payout of $175,000. Passengers who weren't seriously harmed in the crash will receive the minimum payment of between $5,000 and $10,000.[SUP]
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