Survivors of the Asiana Flight 214 that crash-landed in San Francisco last month have each been offered $10,000 initial compensation for emotional trauma by the airline.
Three teenage girls died in the crash on July 6th, when a Boeing 777 carrying 291 passengers from South Korea struck a seawall while making its approach into San Francisco International Airport. Crash investigators from the US National Transportation Safety Board have yet to conclude their report into how the accident happened, but legal experts believe that the final compensation settlements will be substantially higher.
The offer of emotional trauma compensation has been made to each of the survivors irrespective of whether they suffered a physical injury in the crash or not, and in accordance with US law and regulation. However, final settlements of injury compensation will depend on the nationality of each victim, from where they were travelling and whether they were flying one-way or on the second leg of a return trip.
Passengers eligible to claim compensation under US law for the injuries they sustained in the air crash are likely to receive a far higher settlement than those who will be able to claim compensation under the Montreal Convention; however neither will lose their right to claim by accepting the airline´s offer of compensation for emotional trauma under the terms of the convention – which the US and South Korea have both signed.
It may take several months more until the investigation into the crash is completed and the full extent of passengers´ injuries is known. A number of passengers sustained spinal injuries in the crash and doctors are yet to determine whether any of them will suffer from permanent paralysis. It may also be the case that further claims for emotional trauma are made as the psychological symptoms of such an injury begin to manifest among the victims.