Major Collective Accidents

Bertrand COURTOIS and Victoire REVENAZ have been deeply devoted in the handling of major collective accident cases in the field of transportation (mainly sea and air) and in the interest of the victims, their families and close ones.

The actions of the Firm in the collective accident field – which is gaining more and more autonomy as evidenced by the recent creation of specialized legal centers in Paris and Marseille – have the following specific objectives:

• Representing and assisting victims and/or their families and victims’ associations or collectives in civil matters: requests for provisional compensation, expert evaluation monitoring, legal action in France or abroad, negotiations to obtain fair compensation for incurred damages and the losses suffered…;
• Performing comparative analysis of the different legal systems to better allow victims and their families to exercise their rights and obtain compensation for the losses they incurred and suffered;
• Liaising with foreign lawyers;
• Representing and assisting victims and/or their families and victims’ associations or collectives in criminal proceedings: joining proceedings as a civil party, regularly consulting criminal investigation records, following up the criminal investigations…;

Aware of the complexity of these cases and of the diversity of the different areas of the law they imply, LEXLINES never hesitates to rely on the services of specialized lawyers or professors of law in any specific domain, in the interests of the victims and their relatives.

Teaming with other law firms when necessary, the Firm also works with other professionals (experts, doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists) as well as with victims’ associations.

• The defense of the interests of hundreds of victims of the "COSTA CONCORDIA" cruise ship disaster near the island of Giglio in Italy, on the night of January 13, 2012: initiating protective or conservatory measures, negotiating extensively with the Owners and their liability insurers (P&I Club), keeping abreast of the Italian criminal proceedings against the Owners, the captain and some officers… (In cooperation with Paris personal injury Firm BIBAL);
• The defense of the interests of the families of the French victims of the LAO AIRLINES ATR 72-600 crash (Flight QV301) in the Mekong, on October 16, 2013, while on a Vientiane/Pakse flight in Laos: representing civil parties and following up the criminal proceedings and investigations, conducting the legal action for damages / compensation against the airline, its insurers and the aircraft manufacturer...(In cooperation with Firm ACG);
• The defense of the interests of the "AH-5017-Ensemble" Association and of the families and close ones of more than 50 victims of the AIR ALGERIE air crash (aircraft chartered with SWIFT AIR) on July 24, 2014 in Mali, while on a Ouagadougou to Algiers flight: representing civil parties and following up the criminal proceedings and investigations, handling the compensatory process in the interests of the victims' relatives... (In cooperation with Firm ACG).
• The defense of the interests of the families of 4 victims who disappeared with the MALAYSIAN AIRLINES flight MH370, on 8 March 2015, while on a Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight: bringing law suits before the transport court of Beijing, China and handling the compensatory process in the interests of the victims’ relatives.
• The defense of the interests of the families and close ones of more than 30 victims of the EGYPTAIR Airbus A320 air crash – Flight MS804 - on May 19, 2016 in the Mediterranean, while on a Paris to Cairo flight: representing civil parties and following up the criminal proceedings and investigations, handling the compensatory process in the interests of the victims' relatives... (In cooperation with Firm ACG).