Vancouver — The Canadian Press
Published on Wednesday, Jul. 21, 2010 6:11PM EDT
Last updated on Wednesday, Jul. 21, 2010 6:16PM EDT
Dozens of passengers who scrambled from the Queen of the North as the ferry began sinking in waters off B.C.’s coast more than four years ago have settled a class-action lawsuit for $350,000.
But after legal fees are subtracted, more than 40 passengers who will be eligible for the settlement will have only $140,000 to split between them.
The passengers filed the lawsuit against BC Ferries after the ferry ran aground south of Prince Rupert in March 2006, killing two people whose bodies were never found.
A document filed in B.C. Supreme Court by the passengers’ lawyer ahead of a hearing scheduled for Thursday asks the court to approve a settlement of $350,000 for the passengers, with about $210,000 going towards legal costs.
Three passengers have already received settlements ranging from a few hundred dollars to $10,000, and the families of the two dead passengers have also settled.
A lawyer for the passengers wasn’t immediately available for comment, and BC Ferries declined to discuss the lawsuit while it’s before the court.
That’s like getting loose change, of course the Lawyers did fairly well for themselves. I guess that is why so many of them get into the political arena for themselves.
I’m sure their insurance covered all of their possessions so getting ~3k for being on a boat that sank isnt too bad of a deal if you ask me especially since this was a class action case.
Class action cases really only ever benefit the lawyers.
In this article
(ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/s … hub=Canada)
it tells of some of the other cases that were settled before the class action. A commercial fisherman received $14000 because he is now afraid of water.
If a fisherman is now afraid of water, it would put his job at risk so I am not sure how they would decide on that compensation.
Going back to Jesus’s comment. I am not sure if I would want to go through what the passengers did for 3000 but I am sure that some might think it a good deal. At the same time, despite my shallow end only swimming abilities and my discomfort being on smaller boats out on the water, I actually don’t think I would have any long term effects from that experience. Other people, of course, will have different after effects.
So how much compensation do people like me deserve for going through a scary experience compared to say the fisherman who might lose his livelihood and how do the courts tell the difference?
