A Florida attorney on Tuesday filed a class action lawsuit against Chalk’s Ocean Airways on behalf of the families of some of the 20 people who died in an horrific plane crash off Miami Beach on December 19.
John Ruiz told The Bahama Journal from Miami that the purpose of the lawsuit is to ensure the families get an equal share of Chalk’s $50 million insurance policy.
“We do not feel that that’s enough money to compensate the families of all the victims who died on the plane, therefore we filed a class action lawsuit so that the case can be certified as a limited fund class action, which means that the judge would supervise to make sure that the distribution of the available money is done fairly and equally based on the value of each claim,” Mr. Ruiz said.
He said he was representing families of eight of the victims, although he did not specify which ones.
Eleven Biminites, including three infants, died in the accident.
Felix Ellis, whose wife Genieve died in the crash, told The Bahama Journal that he and his family are not a part of the action filed. Mrs. Ellis and her sister, Salome Rolle, were among the victims.
Mr. Ellis said the family is not thinking compensation at this point.
“We will wait until after the funeral,” said Mr. Ellis, adding that it would be the respectful thing to do before any decisions are made regarding lawsuits.
The two sisters will be buried on Saturday. Their funeral will be the final one for Bimini victims as other funerals took place this past weekend.
During the memorial service for the victims in Bimini last Wednesday, Derek Saunders, who lost his sister-in-law Carolyn Burke in the crash, said he hoped that the victims would not begin pursuing payments at this time.
Mr. Saunders said the important thing was to continue the process of mourning and healing, but he feared that there would eventually be bickering over money.
Immediately following the crash, government officials urged relatives of the victims not to sign any legal documents in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell indicated that the government wanted to ensure the relatives did not become victims of any scam artists seeking to benefit financially from the accident.
Following the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board in the United States said that the 47-year-old plane, which was headed for Bimini when it plummeted into the sea, had fatigue cracks in the right wing which might have lead to the accident.
“What’s very important is to make sure that the insurance company for Chalk’s and Chalk’s airline itself do not take advantage of any of the family members of the people who died in the air disaster,” Mr. Ruiz said.
“Also it’s important because it will bring to light exactly what went wrong that day and the improper maintenance that had taken place before the incident happened and the fact that the accident could have been avoided if proper maintenance would have been given to the airplane.”
Mr. Ruiz said the accident has sent a very important message to travelers.
“People ought to really look carefully when they either fly or drive or take any type of transportation to make sure the company that they’re [traveling] with is reputable, that it doesn’t have money problems because money problems usually mean that there’s improper maintenance coming along with it so that they can save some money,” he said.
Mr. Ruiz said he was representing six of the families and had verbal assurances from another two passengers’ relatives that they would join the action.
“I already have many families in Bimini and I’m seeking to make sure that we protect the rights, especially of a lot of minors who lost their parents in the [crash],” he added.
But psychiatrist Dr. David Allen said on Tuesday that it would be unwise at this time for families to proceed with any lawsuit against the airline.
“Usually what happens is that the American lawyers get very aggressive right now,” he explained.
“It’s so raw, people are in a state of numbness and you’re not thinking right. This is not the time to be involved in a lawsuit. You should let things settle and take care of the dead. The upset is so deep that one’s IQ tends to drop by a few points.”
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
