RELATIVES OF the Helios crash victims will be meeting with officials from two of the world’s leading aviation law firms next Wednesday in what looks to be another class action launched against the major companies involved in the crash.
A class action suit is already heading for civil courts in the US. The US-based legal team was in Cyprus yesterday informing clients about recent developments surrounding the case.
Aviation law specialist Stephan Eriksson of Advokatfirman Stephan Eriksson in Stockholm yesterday told the Cyprus Mail that he would be coming to Cyprus on Monday to speak with the relatives, along with a team of experts made up by a historic joint-venture of two of the world’s leading aviation law firms.
“I am currently working with two of the biggest aviation litigation firms in the world, Miami-based Podhurst Orseck and New York-based Kreindler & Kreindler. These two rival firms have decided to team up for the first time and send a team to Cyprus to meet with the Helios victims’ relatives”, said Eriksson.
He added, “They will be arriving on the island next Monday along with officials of a leading crash reconstruction firm and a Boeing 737 specialist. We will hold a presentation for the relatives next Wednesday, where we will try and give them some technical information that they need before talking some law with them. As far as we know, there is need for information from the relatives and we intend to give them that information.”
Although not confirmed by Eriksson, reports suggest that the teaming up of the two leading firms could only mean one thing – a massive criminal law suit is to be filed against Boeing.
Kreindler & Kreindler, for example, only undertake large law suits and in the past have represented the largest group of families of passengers killed in the July 1996 TWA Flight 800 disaster off Long Island, New York. They went on to file the first suit in October 1996 against the airline and manufacturer.
They were also the leading law firm in the Pan Am Lockerbie disaster. Their seven-year effort resulted in the largest total recovery for a single disaster in the history of aviation. The firm still continues to pursue claims on behalf of the families against the Libyan government.
They were also involved in the Avianca disaster of 1991 and the Korean Airlines disaster of 1983.
A reliable legal source told the Cyprus Mail that it was hardly surprising that other American firms would be interested in joining the race, especially companies that see a chance to take legal action against such a major firm like Boeing.
“It has now got to the stage where it has become a cut-throat business. We now see local law firms, international law firms and local firms working with international law firms and they are all trying to get in on this event.”
Meanwhile the head of Helios Victims’ Relatives Committee Nicolas Yiasoumis confirmed to the Cyprus Mail that “they are aware of their arrival and they will be meeting them.”
Yiasoumis added that the relatives were allowed to join any law firm that they wanted. He was not sure about the legal status of the same parties participating in two separate cases.
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