Asiana crash survivors to sue Boeing

After the crash of Asiana Airlines flight 214 in San Francisco in July, which killed three Chinese teenagers, a group of Korean survivors plan to file a lawsuit against Boeing, the first legal action taken since the accident.

Ha Jong-sun, or Jason Ha, an attorney at Barun Law, said yesterday that he will represent at least four survivors and file a lawsuit in a San Francisco federal district court next month, seeking about $1 million for each survivor regarding alleged defects in the plane, a Boeing 777.

Such defects included a lack of three-point restraint belts in economy class seating and malfunctioning inflatable emergency slides.

He pointed out that the economy passengers, where most of the victims were concentrated, may have suffered fewer injuries if they had a three-point harness, or a belt that goes over the lap and shoulders, as opposed to the customary lap belt, or two-point belt available in economy. The three-point harness is only available in first and business class seats, he said.

Ha said his clients suffered from spinal head injuries, including one woman whose facial bones were broken.

“In this accident, the upper body violently moved from front to rear, up and down” because of the impact to the ground during the landing process, Ha told the Korea JoongAng Daily over the phone yesterday. “If a three-point belt was provided, as provided in the first and business class, it would have prevented many spinal, internal organ and head injuries.”

BY SARAH KIM [sarahkim@joongang.co.kr]