Germanwings’ parent company, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and its insurer will likely face substantial legal liability claims following the crash of Flight 9525. This is despite indications that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, deliberately crashed the plane and had concealed medical issues from his employer. According to aviation lawyer Steven Marks, the airline has unlimited liability unless it can prove it was not at fault, which may be difficult as the carrier could have implemented a two-person cockpit rule that might have prevented the incident. While victims’ families automatically receive around $150,000 under international rules, they can pursue further claims, which could lead to multimillion-dollar awards. The financial liability rests with Lufthansa’s insurer, a unit of Allianz, which also insured Malaysia Airlines for its two jetliner tragedies in the previous year.
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Originally published by Robert Wall | Mar 29, 2015 | The Wall Street Journal
