A doctor whose mum and son were injured in the Air India crash says he wants to return a payout from the airline to get his legal rights back.
Metro has seen documents showing Air India has been offering cash settlements to victims’ families if they give up their rights to file legal cases against the airline, Boeing, the Indian government and others.
The doctor – who goes by Dr VC – says he regrets signing the waiver four months ago in exchange for around £6,500 compensation.
The cancer specialist’s mother and son were in the medical hostel which flight AI171 crashed into on June 12 last year.
The disaster killed 260 people, including 52 British nationals, with only one passenger on board the plane surviving.
In the days after the crash, Air India pledged to pay out an interim compensation payment worth around £20,000 to the relatives of those who died.
The airline’s owner, Tata Group, also committed to a voluntary and separate £85,000 payout to each family, as well as to covering the medical expenses of those injured.
Air India and Boeing are facing a flood of lawsuits, including some filed in the UK, over the crash.
Now, Air India has been offering a ‘final’ payment to victims’ families if they sign an ‘indemnity’ document giving up their legal rights to all current and future claims against them, according to the legal team representing 130 of the victims’ families.
The confidential document – seen by Metro – asking families to ‘irrevocably and forever release’ any right to sue or make claims in the future against Air India, Boeing, and other companies and bodies related to the crash.
The agreement sent to Metro appears to show one family of a deceased victim being offered around £8,000 if they sign.
That amount is on top of the £20,000 already paid by Air India and separate to the £85,000 payout from Tata Group.
Dr VC, says he was offered around £6,500 by Air India in return for signing the waiver, as his family were only injured in the crash.
His mother and then three-month-old son received hospital treatment after surviving the disaster.
The baby suffered inhalation injuries and his dad says he has developed medical issues since his stint in hospital.
The doctor claimed he did not understand the legal implications of the waiver when he signed it four months ago.
Dr VC told Metro: ‘I am not from a law background, I don’t know about these laws… It is wrong. They took our rights.’
The dad, who is working with vernacular journalist Kuldip Israni to understand his situation, says he has friends who have 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 is Boeing’s responsibility to also talk about these things. If there is a process, they need to explain it to us.’
Dr VC said he was willing to return his money the right to pursue legal action back.
Ayush Dubey, the case manager at Chionuma Law, told Metro: ‘We oppose this document. It asks families to give up all their legal rights against every party while the investigation is still ongoing. The full facts are not known yet, and it is not clear who is responsible.
‘Some injured families are still under medical treatment, and their treatment is not even completed, yet they are being asked to give up all future claims. This is unfair.
‘Families should not be pressured to sign away their rights before the investigation is complete. Any decision like this should only be made after the truth is known and families fully understand what they are giving up.’
In the waiver, Air India says that families who sign are confirming they have ‘read and fully understood’ the document and ‘have received, or had the opportunity to receive, independent legal advice before signing’.
Metro understands that a cover letter accompanied the waiver outlining the options available to families before signing.
A number of law suits have already been filed in connection with the Air India flight.
Several families of the victims filed a personal injury lawsuit at the London High Court in December.
Families of four passengers killed in the crash are also suing Boeing in the US.
Investigators in the Air India disaster were reportedly leaning towards deliberate pilot action moments before the crash, source have said.
However 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 meet families of the victims, Mike Andrews said theories around the pilots were ‘just rank speculation and conjecture’ which was harming the wait for the truth 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 information.
‘We just don’t know enough and we don’t know when the full report will be published.
‘Families are desperate for answers to learn what happened, how it happened, why it happened. Every single person is begging for answers.
‘Many of them are frustrated with the lack of answers.’
(Picture: James Manning/PA Wire)
Air India said in a statement: ‘Following initial interim payments, we have ensured that the final amount offered to each family is fair and in accordance with the law, and information about this has been shared in a transparent, compassionate way.
‘While we cannot discuss specific cases, the amounts offered to each family have been calculated using the applicable legal framework and differs depending upon individual circumstances.
‘Air India remains committed to doing everything we can to support every impacted family as they navigate through this difficult process.
‘We wholeheartedly understand that monetary compensation cannot make up for the loss of a loved one.
‘At the same time, getting more clarity about final compensation is an important moment for the families affected by this tragic incident.’
Boeing declined to comment and said it was a legal matter relating to Air India.
Metro has approached the Indian government and Tata Group for comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.