After two emotional weeks of searching, the prospect looms that the Boeing 777 carrying their loved ones won't soon turn up -- or may never be found.
Not knowing what happened to the 239 people aboard Flight 370 complicates the claims process and presents "some significant hurdles," said Dan Rose, a partner at the firm Kreindler & Kreindler who has represented passenger claims. But it in no way absolves the airline's financial responsibilities to the passengers' families.
"From a legal point of view, it's not an unprecedented situation," he said.
Under an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention, the airline must pay relatives of each deceased passenger an initial sum of around $150,000 to $175,000.
Relatives of victims can also sue for further damages -- unless the airline can prove that it took all necessary measures to prevent a crash or any other incident that prevented passengers from arriving safely.
"It's going to be extremely difficult for Malaysia Airlines to plead absence of negligence" when the plane is missing, said Brian Havel, a law professor and director of the International Aviation Law Institute at DePaul University. "The negligence may have even begun in the process of accepting stolen passports."
Liability could also stretch beyond the airline to the plane's manufacturer, Boeing, if a mechanical flaw is ruled the cause. But that would be a difficult case to prove if the plane is not recovered.
Monica Kelly, an attorney at Ribbeck Law Chartered who plans to file suit against Malaysia Airlines and Boeing, believes that based on her experience, families could receive between $400,000 and $3 million in damages. However, it could take two years before they see the money, she said.
21/03/14 CNN
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Not knowing what happened to the 239 people aboard Flight 370 complicates the claims process and presents "some significant hurdles," said Dan Rose, a partner at the firm Kreindler & Kreindler who has represented passenger claims. But it in no way absolves the airline's financial responsibilities to the passengers' families.
"From a legal point of view, it's not an unprecedented situation," he said.
Under an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention, the airline must pay relatives of each deceased passenger an initial sum of around $150,000 to $175,000.
Relatives of victims can also sue for further damages -- unless the airline can prove that it took all necessary measures to prevent a crash or any other incident that prevented passengers from arriving safely.
"It's going to be extremely difficult for Malaysia Airlines to plead absence of negligence" when the plane is missing, said Brian Havel, a law professor and director of the International Aviation Law Institute at DePaul University. "The negligence may have even begun in the process of accepting stolen passports."
Liability could also stretch beyond the airline to the plane's manufacturer, Boeing, if a mechanical flaw is ruled the cause. But that would be a difficult case to prove if the plane is not recovered.
Monica Kelly, an attorney at Ribbeck Law Chartered who plans to file suit against Malaysia Airlines and Boeing, believes that based on her experience, families could receive between $400,000 and $3 million in damages. However, it could take two years before they see the money, she said.
21/03/14 CNN
