It appears that all 155 passenger of US Airways 1549 will recieve $5000.00 each for the loss of their belongings as well as a full refund for the price paid on the airfare. I am intrigued as to the sentiment of those on this form regarding the quick payment of funds to passengers. Especially considering it was an accident caused by birds and successfully saved by the flightcrew. Is this action an attempt to keep the lawyers at bay?

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Some say that in order to get the money, they will sign away their right to sue.

 

Not sure about this. Also not sure if they will have to give up their right to sue. If your house burns down, the insurance settlement consists of the dwelling as well as the contents. My impression is that there is probably some kind of insurance in place that will quickly reimburse travelers that lose their belongings on a flight whatever the reason for the mishap. If LaGuardia is found to be negligent in some way, then the insurance company that paid the claim can seek the claims they have paid from that source. 155 x $5k is only $775k total, and therefore not much in the scheme of things. Of course, LaGuardia is probably not liable for the birds, and I doubt your can sue Canada (I think they were Canadian geese), so the insurance company will probably eat this money. More likely that the passengers are being asked to sign that the $5,000 will end their claims regarding personal belongings that were lost - just to make sure that nobody claims three laptops, other high end equipment, and $2000 suits.

Of course, I could be wrong too.

 

Just to make this clear, the status/citizenship of the "Canadian" geese has yet to be established. Rumor has it they were from Cheektowaga, NY.

 

There is an outside chance that it is being done because "it's the right thing to do".

That and it does put USAir in a favorable light in the press. Maybe get them off of the compressor stall story.

Hopefully, they don’t' pick up a case of "Qantas Syndrome" in the media.

 

11Fan has it right. This is a good will payment. Read your homeowner's insurance policy. Pretty much every homeowner's insurance policy contains a provision (a "good neighbor" clause) to pay anywhere from $1000 to $5000 to someone injured in your home, regardless of fault.

People who feel that they've been treated fairly and well are far less likely to sue. If this payment by USAir stops even one lawsuit, it will have paid for itself.

$5000 also isn't that much money. Try packing a checked bag, and a carry on for a vacation, and add up how much everything costs. Then throw in a couple nights hotel in NYC, incidental expenses, and some renumeration for the inconvenience of having gone wading in the Hudson, and you've just blown through the $5000.