Total Settlement Of $12.35 Million Announced

Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, has announced a total settlement of about $12.35 million for the families of those fatally injured when Andreas Lubitz intentionally flew his airplane into the side of a mountain in France.

Attorneys have already begin legal proceedings against Lufthansa following the announcement of the settlement, which comes to about $86,000 for each person on board.

Lawyers for the families say that the compensation is "far to low", according to a report from the U.K. newspaper The Express. Attorney  Elmar Giemulla said that the case will shift to U.S. courts, where there is no cap on settlements. He said there are about 85 families pursuing legal action.

Mönchengladbach lawyer Christof Wellens, who is taking the cases of 32 families to U.S. courts, said the amounts paid by Lufthansa are not nearly enough. He said Lufthansa hopes that "cheap money" would satisfy the families, but that "would not be the case."

The airline personnel fatally injured in the crash are compensated by a special insurance fund and are not part of the legal proceedings.

(Image from file)

FMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanwings_Flight_9525