Dozens of families of those killed when a missile shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine two years ago are considering suing the carrier for compensation, their lawyer told AFP Tuesday.
All 298 passengers and crew -- the majority of them Dutch -- died when the Boeing 777 was hit by a Russian-made BUK anti-aircraft missile over war-torn eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014.
"We are still negotiating the case. But the offers that Malaysia Airlines are making are almost offensive for our clients," lawyer Veeru Mewa told AFP.
His office, Beer Advocaten, represents the families of 91 people killed in the disaster. But he is also leading a core group of Dutch lawyers, acting for the families of some 168 people who died on the ill-fated flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Under a 1999 international accord dubbed the Montreal Convention, the families have until the second anniversary of the disaster -- July 17 -- to decide if they want to press a lawsuit.
Mewa said the airlines' insurers were "taking advantage of Dutch law" under which if someone dies in an accident then you can only claim "compensation for the funeral costs."
"According to international standards that would mean a Dutch life is worth less than any other life," he said.
The lawsuit, if it is filed, would seek damages for the loss of earnings as well as compensation for the "psychological" trauma of those who lost loved ones.
The legal team was also thinking of holding Malaysia Airlines "liable for flying over Ukraine" which was in the middle of a conflict with government forces fighting pro-Russian rebels.
Many "families are struggling with real traumatic bereavement, real post-traumatic stress syndrome because of the images, seeing rebels walking on the grave site, and not being able to go there, knowing that the Dutch government was not there to collect the bodies for quite a while," Mewa said.
They just want "a just" settlement, and the offer so far on the table did not give them "satisfaction," he added.
It remains to be decided if the suit would be filed in The Hague or in Malaysia, he said, adding that as well as Dutch clients the group including Swiss, Indonesian and Australian nationals.
"Malaysia Airlines, immediately after the crash said that they will take responsibility and take care of the families. And the offers they are making is not suggesting that."
Officials with the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) concluded last year as part of an international investigation that the Boeing 777 was hit by a BUK missile.
In February, a separate criminal investigation team said they hoped within months to pinpoint the exact spot from which the missile was fired.
AFP
Tue Apr 19 2016
The legal team was also thinking of holding Malaysia Airlines "liable for flying over Ukraine" which was in the middle of a conflict with government forces fighting pro-Russian rebels. - File Photo
AWANI Borneo [25/04/2024] - Istiadat ketenteraan | DUN Sabah | Ringankan beban pelajar B40
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas dari Borneo bersama Nickyson Nyambar;
#AWANIBorneo 25 April 2024
Jasad Joanna Felicia selamat disemadi dengan istiadat ketenteraan
Tiga RUU diluluskan pada hari terakhir sidang DUN Sabah
Simpati nasib pelajar B40, Politeknik Tawau lancarkan inisiatif food bank
#AWANIBorneo 25 April 2024
Jasad Joanna Felicia selamat disemadi dengan istiadat ketenteraan
Tiga RUU diluluskan pada hari terakhir sidang DUN Sabah
Simpati nasib pelajar B40, Politeknik Tawau lancarkan inisiatif food bank
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Pemimpin masyarakat India diminta jangan tabur fitnah - Ramanan
Pemimpin masyarakat India diingatkan supaya tidak menyebarkan fitnah dan maklumat salah sebagai senjata bagi meraih undi menjelang PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu.
PBM mampu penuhi permintaan darah yang semakin meningkat
Timbalan Menteri Kesihatan Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni berkata, kaedah PBM Ini juga satu kaedah alternatif dalam proses transfusi darah kerana ia dapat meningkatkan pengurusan serta penggunaan darah untuk pesakit secara optimum.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Politeknik Tawau lancarkan Food Bank ringankan beban pelajar B40
Pengarah Politeknik Tawau, Md Nor Abdul Halimberkata pihaknya menyahut saranan kerajaan untuk mewujudkan foodbank di kampus bagi membantu meringankan beban pelajar dari golongan B40
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
39, 276 warga asing di Sabah direkodkan ke dalam SWIMS
Warga asing ini didatakan secara digital dengan melibatkan pengambilan maklumat peribadi, pengecaman wajah dan biometrik.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Enakmen Penukaran Tenaga Haba Lautan 2024 dilulus
Ketua Menteri Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Haji Noor ketika membentangkan RUU Penukaran Tenaga Haba Lautan 2024 berkata, RUU berkenaan akan memberi laluan bagi pembangunan OTEC sebagai sumber tenaga boleh baharu yang baharu dan sebagai salah satu inisiatif utama di bawah Ekonomi Biru.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Saya akan saman sekiranya ada yang fitnah! - Shafie Apdal
Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal akan menyaman pihak yang memfitnah beliau sebagai pendatang asing.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Kebajikan anak mendiang Felicia akan dijaga - Richard Riot
Ahli Parlimen Serian Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jem menyifatkan mendiang Felicia sebagai wirawati negara dan beri jaminan akan memastikan kebajikan anak mendiang akan diberi keutamaan.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Terdapat keperluan tambah bilangan wanita isi jawatan KSU, KP - PM Anwar
Anwar berkata jumlah pimpinan wanita sedia ada tidak mencerminkan jumlah keseluruhan 42 peratus golongan itu yang terlibat sebagai pembuat keputusan dalam perkhidmatan awam ketika ini.
Norjuma didakwa atas lima tuduhan cedera, khianat
Bekas personaliti televisyen Norjuma Habib Mohamed didakwa atas tiga pertuduhan menyebabkan kecederaan ke atas tiga individu dan dua pertuduhan melakukan khianat.
MH17: Keluarga mangsa cadang saman Malaysia Airlines
Berpuluh keluarga mangsa insiden MH17 bercadang menyaman syarikat penerbangan itu untuk mendapatkan pampasan.