Latam Airlines is offering some passengers thousands of dollars in compensation after one of its widebody planes dropped midair over the Pacific Ocean in March, according to one law firm.
Carter Capner Law, a firm representing 15 Latam Flight 800 passengers, told the Australian news outlet News.com.au on Monday that the airline has offered between $2,000 and $7,650 in cash to those injured in the eveny.
“Passengers who have contacted us have a range of injuries from moderate to severe, and some of these people may be eligible for far more significant compensation if the airline is found to be at fault,” director of Australian law firm Carter Capner Law, Peter Carter, told News.com.au, noting it has received calls from people in New Zealand, Australia, and as far as Brazil.
One international agreement that governs global airline liability in the case of passenger death or injury is called the Montreal Convention 1999. It says passengers can receive up to $160,000 in compensation from the airline and covers losses for things like medical treatments and the inability to work due to injury.
The convention states, however, that this is the “first threshold,” and more money can be recovered. Carter previously told the news website Stuff Travel that passengers can ask for compensation “in the millions, depending on their situation.”
He said this seven-figure payout is possible if losses, like income, can be proven beyond the governing threshold and if Latam is found at fault for the midair drop. There “is no longer a limit on compensation” in this case, Carter told Stuff Travel.
However, Carter warned affected passengers against taking compensation before consulting with a lawyer, News.com.au reported, telling the outlet that “any acceptance by a passenger of any amount of money from Latam should not prejudice their rights to future claims.”
For example, he said in the case of Flight 800, there may be a claim against “Boeing or the system supplier” that could include compensation for “pure emotional and psychological injuries.”
This would likely be the “only” claim route for individuals affected mentally, given the Montreal Convention 1999 doesn’t cover psychological scars unless it is related to bodily injury, Carter told Stuff Travel.
Latam nor Carter Capner Law responded to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The compensation follows a Latam Boeing 787 aircraft, registered CC-BGG, that was flying from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, in mid-March when it abruptly fell and hurt at least 50 people.
Latam Flight 800 passenger Brian Jokat told CNN that people were “stuck to the roof,” while another told CNN affiliate RNZ that there was “blood on the ceiling.”
Latam said a “technical event” caused the incident, but the ongoing investigation suggests a flight attendant accidentally pressed a button on the pilot seat that pushed it into the flight controls, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed officials familiar with preliminary evidence.
The reported payout is not the only one to make headlines in recent months. In November, Russian carrier Ural Airlines reportedly offered passengers $1,100 in compensation after one of its Airbus A320 aircraft ditched in a Siberian wheat field in September.
