Air India wants liability waiver from Ahmedabad crash victims’ kin, offers cash settlement | Kolkata News

KOLKATA: Air India is asking grieving families and injured victims of the Ahmedabad air crash to sign a document protecting Boeing, General Electric and other companies from future legal action, claimed the US-based law firm representing over 100 victim families. In exchange for giving up all future legal rights, families are being offered monetary settlements.Ayush Dubey, case manager of Kansas-based Chionuma Law Firm, which represents 103 of the 260 people killed in the June 12, 2025 crash — 241 on board and the rest on the ground — and 67 seriously injured, said the airline is offering cash settlements if families forgo their right to file legal cases against Air India, aircraft manufacturer Boeing, engine manufacturer General Electric and several others.

“Within the last seven days, one family was offered Rs 35 lakh, including Rs 25 lakh previously paid by Air India as interim compensation, as the final settlement. We asked them not to sign. We oppose this document. It asks grieving families to give up all their legal rights while the investigation is still ongoing. The full truth is not known yet, and it is still unclear who is responsible,” Dubey said.TOI spoke to a medical student in Ahmedabad who signed the document as guardian of his two-and-a-half-month-old son in exchange for Rs 3 lakh. His mother-in-law was paid Rs 5 lakh to sign. “My mother-in-law and son exited the building impacted by the crash without major injuries, but she suffers from post-trauma anxiety, while our son has breathing issues. My wife and I had our final year exams round the corner and were grateful that our family survived. We did not know we were giving up all our legal rights and that Boeing was also being absolved when we signed the document in Oct-Nov,” he said.Ahmedabad-based journalist Kuldip Ishrani, who facilitated the interaction, said scores of families were contacted by the airline to sign the document.What is most troubling, says Dubey, is that apart from protecting itself, Air India is attempting to block families from filing cases in more favourable jurisdictions against the plane manufacturer.One clause in the indemnity document reads: “We the releasors agree that all the indemnities contained herein shall remain fully binding, effective and enforceable irrespective of the forum, place, country or jurisdiction in which any such claim demand, action or proceeding is brought or pursued.”Chionuma Law Firm is filing a class action suit against Boeing and others, believing the accident was caused by electrical failure and not pilot action. The firm specialises in accident-related cases.In London, several victim families have filed a personal injury lawsuit at the London High Court. Some are also suing Boeing in the US, alleging the accident resulted from faulty fuel switches.While 90% of class action suits are usually settled out of court, in instances where juries have announced verdicts, compensation runs into tens of millions of dollars.Pilots saw this as yet another attempt to shield aircraft and system manufacturers — Boeing, General Electric, GE Aerospace, Safran SA, Safran Electronics & Defense, Avionics USA LLC, Honeywell International Inc and others — and pin the blame on pilots who could not defend themselves.“Some injured families are still receiving medical treatment. Their recovery is not finished, and they do not yet understand how much more money may be needed to fully heal. Even then, 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. A decision this serious should only be made after the full facts are known and families clearly understand what they are giving up,” Dubey said.Earlier this month, Air India grounded a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner following a pilot report about a fuel control switch during a flight from London to Bengaluru. The aircraft that crashed in Ahmedabad was also a Dreamliner. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) later said the issue was not due to mechanical fault but incorrect handling of the switch.TOI on Wednesday emailed Air India asking why it has included Boeing, GE and others in the indemnity being sought from victim families when the investigation is still under way. The airline had not responded at the time of going to press.