Americans are worth more than Europeans it seems.
Insurers for Lufthansa have reportedly set aside $300 million (£200 million) to cover costs associated with last week’s Germanwings crash, the lion’s share of which is for compensation claims by the victims’ families.
However that sum is unlikely to be divided evenly among the families of the 150 people who died in the crash.
By some estimates, the three American victims could receive compensation payments up to 30 times greater than those paid to the families of the German schoolchildren who died in the crash.
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According to James Healy-Pratt, head of aviation at Stewarts Law, the families of the German victims of last week’s crash are likely to receive the least in compensation, perhaps as low as $100,000 per victim.
Mr Healy-Pratt told CNN that the families of the three British victims will likely receive upwards of $1 million, while the families of the three American victims could receive substantially more still.
However that sum is unlikely to be divided evenly among the families of the 150 people who died in the crash.
By some estimates, the three American victims could receive compensation payments up to 30 times greater than those paid to the families of the German schoolchildren who died in the crash.
...
According to James Healy-Pratt, head of aviation at Stewarts Law, the families of the German victims of last week’s crash are likely to receive the least in compensation, perhaps as low as $100,000 per victim.
Mr Healy-Pratt told CNN that the families of the three British victims will likely receive upwards of $1 million, while the families of the three American victims could receive substantially more still.
RE the liability cap, I think it is still up in the air. (#Too soon?)
The biggest variable in the Germanwings crash may well be the cause of the disaster.
In the case of an unforeseeable air disaster, airlines are liable for payments of up to roughly $160,000 per victim under the 1999 Montreal Convention.
If the airline is judged to be responsible for the deaths of its passengers, however, there is no limit to the carrier’s responsibility. Authorities have concluded that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz crashed the plane intentionally, but the question of what Lufthansa knew, or should have known about his mental health is less certain.
In the case of an unforeseeable air disaster, airlines are liable for payments of up to roughly $160,000 per victim under the 1999 Montreal Convention.
If the airline is judged to be responsible for the deaths of its passengers, however, there is no limit to the carrier’s responsibility. Authorities have concluded that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz crashed the plane intentionally, but the question of what Lufthansa knew, or should have known about his mental health is less certain.
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