In a letter to Lufthansa, Germanwings' parent company, the families' lawyer Elmar Giemulla said that their 25,000-euro compensation offer for each victim covered by German law and payments of 10,000 euros each to victims' immediate relatives "must be significantly raised."
He reportedly asked Lufthansa for a "lower six-figure sum" in each category, saying that the airline should broaden the definition of "immediate relative."
The 25,000-euro compensation payment for pain and suffering is on top of 50,000 euros that have already been paid as immediate financial assistance to the victims' relatives. Unlike in the United States, in Germany, the law does not typically stipulate a separate award for pain and suffering.
According to prosecutors, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed the Germanwings' Airbus A320 plane into a French mountain on March 24, killing all 150 people on board.
