Victim’s attorney awakens false hopes for high compensation payments for immaterial damage
An experienced lawyer should give his clients good advice. But what lawyer Elmar Giemulla said in the report of 23 September 2017 in the Berlin Morgenpost (among others) does not correspond to the truth and arouses false hopes among the victims’ relatives. For example, in the article Giemulla states, “His (Lubitz’s) training with the flight school in the US state of Arizona could only be completed through special dispensation because of severe depression.” (1)
The fact is that Andreas was treated for depression from November 2008 to April 2009 . After his convalescence, he was invited to return to Lufthansa Flight School in Bremen, Germany, to attend a new course starting on 01 September 2009 to finish his theoretical studies. In July of the same year, his system was clear of medication and Andreas was healthy, both of which were confirmed after careful examination by several specialists.
Only through this process was he able to continue his education at the Lufthansa Flight School in Germany. The BEA final report substantiates this; below see page 16 of the English version: (2)
- On 1 September 2008, he started his basic training at the Lufthansa Flight Training Pilot School in Bremen (Germany)
- On 5 November 2008 he suspended his training for medical reasons
- On 26 August 2009 he restarted his training (note: actual start date was 01 September 2009)
- On 13 October 2010, he passed his ATPL written exam
- From 8 November 2010 to 2 March 2011, he continued his training at the Airline Training Centre in Phoenix (Arizona, USA)
- From 15 June 2011 to 31 December 2013, he was under contract as a flight attendant for Lufthansa while continuing his Air Transport pilot training
- From 27 September to 23 December 2013, he took and passed his A320 type rating at Lufthansa in Munich (Germany)
- On 4 December 2013, he joined Germanwings
- From 27 January 2014 to 21 June 2014, he undertook his operator’s conversion training including his line flying under supervision at Germanwings
- On 26 June 2014, he passed his proficiency check and was appointed as a co-pilot
- On 28 October 2014, he passed his operator proficiency check
Also… “During his training and recurrent checks, his professional level was judged to be above standard by his instructors and examiners.”
Thus the assertion that because of severe depression Andreas could only complete his training with special dispensation is completely absurd and out of thin air. The reality is that Andreas never had any special dispensation, though his former depression was noted in his records. Indeed, both Lufthansa and the flight school in Arizona very thoroughly checked Andreas’s health before he resumed his training.
We will address this whole issue further in a coming article.
It is understandable that Mr. Giemulla is now under pressure because the lawsuit (which was based on misrepresentation) was rejected in the US. It can also be assumed that he has studied the crash investigations as well as the BEA final report. Perhaps he should study both carefully again and not suggest to the victims’ relatives the notion of an undiscovered ongoing depression in order to raise their hopes for substantial immaterial compensation.
One should not distort the facts in order to achieve a desired result.
A final note is in order: After the press conference in March we were told that the relatives could not rest because we were again stirring up the whole topic. But it is Giemulla who had nothing more to do than to inform the DPA about his “latest” version of the lawsuit. And there are other examples we could mention which have stirred further unrest.
As mentioned earlier, in the near future we will discuss in detail the medical history of our son, because there is still a lot to clarify.
L. U.
another article:
Germanwings crash 4U9525: Must the negative image of Andreas Lubitz be regenerated?
(1) https://www.morgenpost.de/vermischtes/article212019415/Germanwings-Absturz-200-Angehoerige-klagen-gegen-Lufthansa.html
(2) https://www.bea.aero/uploads/tx_elydbrapports/BEA2015-0125.en-LR.pdf