Germanwings Flight 9525 Victims Families

A recent article from the New York Times covers the anguish that the Germanwings Flight 9525 victims’ families are going through. It focuses on the families in Haltern am See, a small town in western Germany. On the fateful flight were 16 students and two teachers from Haltern. The article discusses how in Germany it is common for family and friends to grieve privately and discreetly, as it is part of their culture. However, some families have broken with this tradition and have spoken to reporters about their grief. Many in Haltern had stayed silent, remaining behind closed doors.
However, in June, Lufthansa Airlines, the parent company of Germ11anwings, offered to the victims’ families $28,000 each for their pain and suffering. This was in addition to the $56,000 in immediate financial assistance that was provided to each family after the crash. When this offer occurred, the Haltern families wrote an open letter to Lufthansa calling the offer “insulting,” according to the New York Times. In addition to the $28,000, Lufthansa is offering $11,000 more for emotional damages to each immediate family member (parents and children, but not siblings).
The families are upset because Lufthansa appears to want to make this matter go away quickly without ever addressing how a suicidal pilot was able to take

Lubitz, by German prosecutors. The article notes that under German law, only individuals, not companies, can be prosecuted. In the United States, corporations are viewed as a “legal person,” which opens them up to criminal prosecution in the form of corporate liability. However, since German law does not view corporations in this way, the prosecutors are limited in the scope of their investigation. Additionally, back in 2002, Germany revamped its tort laws, which happened to make compensation for non-pecuniary loss (i.e. pain and suffering) less