Passengers likely will receive reparations

Experts say many on jet could suffer stress disorder

By Chris Walsh, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 23, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Passengers on the Continental Airlines flight that crashed Saturday night likely will get monetary compensation - even if they weren't physically injured, aviation experts and lawyers said.

"I think it would be fair to say that everyone on the plane will recover something," said Robert Lieff, an attorney in San Francisco who focuses on international aviation cases. "There is clear liability in this case, and now it's an issue of determining fair amounts of compensation."

Lieff and other aviation lawyers were hesitant to offer any estimates, cautioning that each case is different.

But they say every passenger involved in an accident like Saturday's in Denver suffers some type of setback, from obvious physical injuries to severe emotional problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Our feeling is that none of these individual cases (in the Continental crash) is worth under six figures," said Ronald Goldman, an aviation lawyer in Los Angeles. "It's a complicated calculation, but in these cases it's our opinion that the losses to passengers are always substantial because every person on that airplane at one moment or another thought they were going to die. This fear is real and understandable."

The level of compensation depends on numerous factors, including the details of the accident, the parties found liable, the extent of an injury and any current and future loss of earnings. Passengers who walked away without a scratch also might find themselves with emotional problems long after the accident.

"The thing we see over and over in survivors is the delayed onset of post-traumatic stress or emotional issues," said Mike Slack, an Austin, Texas-based lawyer who has been involved in several high-profile airline cases. "Those symptoms usually don't appear for several months, but they can directly affect compensation."

In addition to compensatory damages, passengers involved in an airline crash might get punitive damages if the airline was, for instance, found to have ignored or bypassed maintenance procedures.

The Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996 makes attorneys for airline insurance companies - and lawyers seeking to represent victims - wait 45 days before contacting them after a crash. But passengers often seek out representation immediately.

Aviation lawyers said airlines typically reach settlements with passengers, although in some cases lawsuits make it to the courts.

In the near-term, Goldman said Continental should make it a priority to quickly and efficiently handle passengers' medical bills, claims for destroyed or damaged baggage and other immediate needs.

Continental would not speculate about possible future compensation. But the airline said it assigns a company representative to each passenger "to provide assistance and support."

"What we're doing right now is customizing to individual needs," said Continental spokeswoman Kelly Cripe.

The carrier also offered to fly family members to Denver for those involved in the crash who can't - or no longer want to - take the trip to Houston.

In the past, airlines and the government took few pains to aid the survivors of air crashes. Families tried in vain to reach airlines to find out whether their loved one was on board the plane, and whether they died.

But survivors and those who help them say treatment is much better. Airlines must have a process in place for notifying families and for returning personal items such as luggage and jewelry in the event of a death. And the National Transportation Safety Board has an office called "Transportation Disaster Assistance," with people trained to work with families.

The plans have to incorporate the worst disasters, but they also come into play in nonfatal accidents like the one in Denver.

Continental's "Family Assistance Plan" filed with the federal government promises to have adequate staff to handle phone calls from family members of crash victims. It says that as names on the manifest are verified, trained workers will notify the family - in person, whenever possible.

Still, airline responses to crashes are all over the map, with some offering money right away and some waiting until the victim makes a claim.

After 83 people died when a Singapore Airlines 747 crashed on take-off in Taipei, Taiwan, the airline quickly offered $400,000 to the families of the dead, and $20,000 to each survivor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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