A health care provider whose mum and son were injured within the Air India crash says he desires to return a payout from the airline to get his legal rights back.
Metro has seen documents showing Air India has been offering money settlements to victims’ families if they provide up their rights to file legal cases against the airline, Boeing, the Indian government and others.
Dr VC Geetha Krishna says he regrets signing the waiver 4 months ago in exchange for around £6,500 compensation.
The cancer specialist’s mother and son were within the medical hostel which flight AI171 crashed into on June 12 last 12 months.
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The disaster killed 260 people, including 52 British nationals, with just one passenger on board the plane surviving.
In the times after the crash, Air India pledged to pay out an interim compensation payment value around £20,000 to the relatives of those that died.
The airline’s owner, Tata Group, also committed to a voluntary and separate £85,000 payout to every family, in addition to to covering the medical expenses of those injured.
Air India and Boeing are facing a flood of lawsuits, including some filed within the UK, over the crash.
Now, Air India has been offering a ‘final’ payment to victims’ families in the event that they sign an ‘indemnity’ document giving up their legal rights to all current and future claims against them, in keeping with the legal team representing 130 of the victims’ families.
The confidential document – seen by Metro – asking families to ‘irrevocably and eternally release’ any right to sue or make claims in the longer term against Air India, Boeing, and other corporations and bodies related to the crash.
The agreement sent to Metro appears to indicate one family of a deceased victim being offered around £8,000 in the event that they sign.
That quantity is on top of the £20,000 already paid by Air India and separate to the £85,000 payout from Tata Group.
Dr VC Geetha Krishna, says he was offered around £6,500 by Air India in return for signing the waiver, as his family were only injured within the crash.
His mother, Vemulachedu Sridevi, after which three-month-old son, VC Yathaarth Naidu, received hospital treatment after surviving the disaster.
The child suffered inhalation injuries and his dad says he has developed medical issues since his stint in hospital.
The doctor claimed he didn’t understand the legal implications of the waiver when he signed it 4 months ago.
Dr VC Geetha Krishna told Metro: ‘I’m not from a law background, I don’t find out about these laws… It’s mistaken. They took our rights.’
The dad, who’s working with vernacular journalist Kuldip Israni to know his situation, says he has friends who’ve also signed the agreement and sent it back.
He also feels upset that he the agreement with Air India has also barred him from legal claims against Boeing.
The cancer specialist added: ‘It’s Boeing’s responsibility to also speak about these items. If there may be a process, they need to elucidate it to us.’
Dr Geetha Krishna said he was willing to return his money the best to pursue legal motion back.
Ayush Dubey, the case manager at Chionuma Law, told Metro: ‘We oppose this document. It asks families to present up all their legal rights against every party while the investigation continues to be ongoing. The complete facts are usually not known yet, and it isn’t clear who’s responsible.
‘Some injured families are still under medical treatment, and their treatment isn’t even accomplished, yet they’re being asked to present up all future claims. That is unfair.
‘Families shouldn’t be pressured to sign away their rights before the investigation is complete. Any decision like this could only be made after the reality is understood and families fully understand what they’re giving up.’
Within the waiver, Air India says that families who sign are confirming they’ve ‘read and fully understood’ the document and ‘have received, or had the chance to receive, independent legal advice before signing’.
Metro understands that a canopy letter accompanied the waiver outlining the choices available to families before signing.
A variety of law suits have already been filed in reference to the Air India flight.
Several families of the victims filed a private injury lawsuit on the London High Court in December.
Families of 4 passengers killed within the crash are also suing Boeing within the US.
Investigators within the Air India disaster were reportedly leaning towards deliberate pilot motion moments before the crash, source have said.
Nonetheless a lawyer representing 130 families told Metro in December an electrical failure was the ‘more likely’ reason the Ahmedabad to London flight went down
Speaking during a UK tour to fulfill families of the victims, Mike Andrews said theories across the pilots were ‘just rank speculation and conjecture’ which was harming the wait for the reality from the families of victims.
He told Metro: ‘You’re blaming one man for suicide and mass murder based off of a small piece of data.
‘We just don’t know enough and we don’t know when the complete report might be published.
‘Families are desperate for answers to learn what happened, the way it happened, why it happened. Each person is begging for answers.
‘Lots of them are frustrated with the shortage of answers.’
(Picture: James Manning/PA Wire)
Air India said in an announcement: ‘Following initial interim payments, we now have ensured that the ultimate amount offered to every family is fair and in accordance with the law, and knowledge about this has been shared in a transparent, compassionate way.
‘While we cannot discuss specific cases, the amounts offered to every family have been calculated using the applicable legal framework and differs depending upon individual circumstances.
‘Air India stays committed to doing all the things we will to support every impacted family as they navigate through this difficult process.
‘We wholeheartedly understand that monetary compensation cannot make up for the lack of a loved one.
‘At the identical time, getting more clarity about final compensation is a very important moment for the families affected by this tragic incident.’
Boeing declined to comment and said it was a legal matter referring to Air India.
Metro has approached the Indian government and Tata Group for comment.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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