Kin of Mangalore air crash victims approach Swedish lawyers
Mangalore Today News Network
Mangalore, May 10: With a fortnight to go for the first anniversary of the tragic air crash, 60 families of the victims have not taken compensation offered by Air India, but have approached lawyers with the hope of getting more compensation.
Eight persons survived and 158 persons were killed when flight IX 812 from Dubai overshot the runway and slid down the hillside in the early hours of May 22, 2010.
Treasurer of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims’ Families Association Abdul Razak told The Hindu that families were not happy with the procedure regarding calling them for discussion of compensation adopted by the law firm representing Air India. Some families had not yet been called for talks, he said. He said families were not happy with the compensation offered to those who did not have dependents.
Association president Mahammad Beary said that 60 families had approached foreign lawyers, including a Swedish law firm called Liman Partners S.E.
Air India, he said, was to pay compensation to victims’ families through its solicitors, governed by the Montreal Convention, to which India was a signatory.
Less compensation
Some of the families said the amount offered by the airline was too less. John D’Silva, uncle of Ullas D’Silva who died in the crash, said the amount offered by the airline was not enough.
“We have lost a young man. They are only giving us Rs. 40 lakh.” He said the airline’s lawyers were offering compensation far short of the international law.
Mr. D’Silva was confident of getting around Rs. 50 lakh through the Swedish law firm. However, he said that even if he got Rs. 41 lakh he would be happy.
He said he was not happy with the way Mulla and Mulla team members behaved with him, he said. “We are already suffering from the loss of our relatives,” he said. “Even if I get only Rs. 41 lakh I will be very happy,” he said.
Mahmood Theruvath from Kasargod district lost his daughter-in-law Fathima Mehzan and her eight-month-old son Rashad Shafqat in the tragedy last year. Citing the Montreal Convention, he said the airline should give the victims’ kin at least Rs. 75 lakh.
His family had been offered Rs. 35 lakh and Rs. 25 lakh respectively for the mother and son.
“When they did not charge less for travel fare, why are they discriminating now?” he asked. He felt that because the lawyers were employed by the airline, they would naturally try to see that the families settle for as less an amount as possible. Narayanan Nair, vice-president of the association, said that his family had been finding it difficult to meet expenses after the death of his younger brother Gangadhar Nair. Since the airline offered a maximum of Rs. 40 lakh, they decided to approach international lawyers.
56 cases settled
A senior official with Air India Express said that a settlement had been reached in 56 cases.
In four cases, where there was more than one claimant, a partial settlement had been reached.
The total compensation paid till now is Rs. 39.5 crore, the official added.
Air India’s response
A senior official with Air India Express said that a settlement had been reached in 56 cases. In four cases, where there was more than one claimant, a partial settlement had been reached. The total compensation paid till now is Rs. 39.5 crore, the official added.
Thehindu