Eighty-three survivors from fallen Asiana Flight 214 earlier this month, have taken the first step towards suing the plane's manufacturer Boeing.

 

　　A Chinese lawyer says the passengers can file a lawsuit in China, United States or South Korea.

 

　　However, the amount of compensation will differ in each country.

 

　　CRI.'s Xie Zhao has more.

 

　　It is being reported that a number of lawyers are approaching victims of the Asiana Air Crash, in an effort to help them make a legal claim.

 

　　Zhang Qihuai is a lawyer with the Beijing-based Lanpeng Law firm and Secretary General of Beijing Municipal Lawyers Association.

 

　　The lawyer is now working as legal counsellor for the victims, as invited by the local government of Jiangshan in Zhejiang Province, where the 3 dead Chinese girls from.

 

　　According to the Montreal Convention, Zhang Qihuai says the passengers can file a lawsuit in any three mentioned countries.

 

　　"The Montreal Convention has issued regulations and rules regarding international transportation. China, U.S and South Korea are all the contracting parties."

 

　　So far, a Chicago law firm Ribbeck Law Chartered has been reported to be suing aircraft manufacturer Boeing on behalf of 83-passengers.

 

　　Monica Kelly, a lawyer from the firm, says they have filed a lawsuit against Boeing seeking to identify the different component parts of the manufacturers.

 

　　"For example with the seat belts, our passengers told us that they had to use knives in order to remove the seat belt. That will be a component part manufacturer. "

 

　　lawyer Zhang Qihuai says families of the casualties would get compensation of different amount, depending on the country they file the suit.

 

　　"According to the laws in these countries, the amount of personal injury compensation will be determined by the local per capita income and average salaries in the previous year. "

 

　　Zhang says if a lawsuit is filed in China, the amount of compensation for the deceased passenger is around one million yuan.

 

　　But if the lawsuit is filed in South Korea, according to local law, the amount could range from 3 to 5 million yuan.

 

　　Meanwhile, in the US, the amount of compensation might be as high as ten million U.S dollars.

 

　　In financial terms, these kinds of cases always attract a number of lawyers offering their services, since the payout for both client and law firm can be large, especially in the US.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Xie Zhao.