A Chinese-American lawyer will set up a 50-man legal team to help the Chinese passengers who were involved in the Asiana plane crash with compensation claims.
Lawyer Daniel H. Deng said his team has come to San Francisco from their offices in Southern California several times since last weekend to investigate and collect data. Their next step is to continue investigations in China.
Asiana flight 214 crash-landed on July 6 at San Francisco International Airport with 307 passengers. Of the Chinese passengers, 141 have been accounted for, including three teenage girls who were killed in the accident and aftermath.
Mary Schiavo, who works at US law firm Motley Rice, told reporters that the foreign victims of the crash could process their compensation claims in the United States.
Schiavo, a former US Transportation Department inspector-general, was one of the litigators that represented families of passengers and crew killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept 11, 2001.
However, Brian J. Alexander, a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, said it's too early to determine where the cases will proceed.
"The facts concerning the causes of the crash and each individual's injuries, as well as any contributing factors, will determine where suits can be filed and who the potential responsible parties will be," he said.
He said case values could be different for foreign claimants.
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