Losing a family member in an international aviation accident creates devastating grief compounded by legal complexity. When flights cross international borders, the Montreal Convention establishes specific rules for wrongful death claims that differ significantly from domestic aviation law. Understanding these rules helps families pursue the compensation they deserve while navigating a legal framework that spans multiple countries and legal systems.
The Montreal Convention provides certain advantages for wrongful death claimants, including strict liability for carrier fault up to a substantial threshold and no caps on total damages. However, the Convention also imposes procedural requirements that must be followed precisely. Families who understand this framework can maximize their recovery while avoiding pitfalls that might undermine their claims.
How Strict Liability Benefits Wrongful Death Claims
For wrongful death claims up to approximately 128,821 Special Drawing Rights—roughly $170,000 to $180,000 at current exchange rates—airlines bear strict liability under the Montreal Convention. This means the carrier is automatically responsible without any requirement that the family prove negligence or fault. The airline cannot defend by arguing the accident was unavoidable or that they followed all safety protocols. Liability attaches simply because the death occurred during international air carriage.
This strict liability provision significantly benefits wrongful death claimants. In domestic aviation cases, families must typically prove someone acted negligently—the pilot made an error, maintenance was deficient, or design was defective. When aircraft are destroyed in crashes, gathering this evidence can be extremely difficult. The Montreal Convention eliminates this burden for the first tier of damages, ensuring some compensation regardless of proof difficulties.
Above the strict liability threshold, families can still recover full damages, but the burden of proof shifts. The airline can avoid liability only by proving the death was not caused by carrier negligence, or was solely caused by third-party negligence. Airlines rarely succeed with these defenses because accidents almost always involve some failure attributable to the carrier. In practice, full compensation remains available for substantial wrongful death claims—the Convention simply changes who bears the burden of proof above $170,000.
No Damage Caps in Death Cases
Unlike the Warsaw Convention that preceded it, the Montreal Convention imposes no upper limit on wrongful death damages. Families can recover full compensation for all losses—the deceased's lost future earnings, loss of support and services, loss of companionship and consortium, funeral expenses, and any other damages recognized under applicable law. When deaths involve high-earning professionals or young victims with decades of lost earnings ahead, settlements and verdicts routinely reach millions of dollars.
The specific damages available depend on where the lawsuit is filed. The Montreal Convention specifies that carriers are liable for damages, but leaves it to the forum country's law to define what damages are recoverable. United States courts generally provide the broadest damage recovery, recognizing both economic losses like lost income and non-economic damages like loss of companionship. Filing in the United States typically maximizes the family's potential recovery.
Some countries limit wrongful death recovery to economic losses, excluding or restricting compensation for grief, loss of consortium, and similar non-economic damages. Jurisdictional strategy—choosing where to file suit—becomes important when the Convention allows multiple forum options. An experienced aviation attorney can analyze which available forum provides the most favorable substantive law.
The Fifth Jurisdiction Option
The Montreal Convention provides a special jurisdictional option for wrongful death claims that doesn't exist for injury cases. Families can file suit in the country where the deceased passenger had permanent residence at the time of death, provided the airline operates passenger flights to or from that country. This fifth jurisdiction option gives American families the ability to sue in United States courts even when the flight didn't originate or terminate in America.
For example, if an American citizen living in the United States dies in a crash involving a flight between Paris and Rome, the family can still file suit in the United States because the deceased was a permanent U.S. resident and the airline presumably operates U.S. flights. Without this provision, the family might be forced to litigate in France or Italy under potentially less favorable damage rules.
The fifth jurisdiction option reflects international recognition that wrongful death cases warrant special consideration. Families dealing with grief shouldn't be forced to navigate foreign legal systems to obtain compensation. This provision ensures access to familiar courts while still respecting the Convention's overall framework for international aviation liability.
Who Can Bring a Wrongful Death Claim
The Montreal Convention does not specify who may bring wrongful death claims or how damages should be distributed among survivors. These questions are left to the domestic law of the forum country. In the United States, wrongful death claims are typically brought by the personal representative of the deceased's estate on behalf of statutory beneficiaries—usually the spouse, children, and parents.
Different states have different rules about who qualifies as a beneficiary and how damages are calculated. Some states allow recovery only for economic losses like lost support, while others permit non-economic damages for loss of companionship. Some limit who can recover to close family members, while others include more distant relatives if they were financially dependent on the deceased. State law variations can significantly affect total recovery.
When the deceased was a citizen of a different country, conflicts-of-law questions may arise about which country's wrongful death rules apply. Courts generally apply the forum's choice-of-law rules to determine the appropriate substantive law. These questions can become complex in international cases, requiring careful legal analysis to determine what damages are available and who can claim them.
Time Limits for Filing Suit
The Montreal Convention imposes a strict two-year statute of limitations for all claims, including wrongful death. Lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of arrival at the destination, the date the aircraft should have arrived, or the date carriage stopped. Missing this deadline permanently bars the claim regardless of how strong the evidence of liability might be.
Two years may seem like adequate time, but international wrongful death cases require extensive preparation. Investigations by the NTSB and foreign aviation authorities take months. Gathering evidence from multiple countries involves coordination across legal systems. Identifying all potentially liable parties and their insurance coverage requires thorough analysis. Expert witnesses must be retained and must review available evidence. Families should engage attorneys promptly to ensure adequate time for proper case development.
Some families wait too long because they don't realize the Montreal Convention's deadline differs from domestic statutes of limitations, which may be longer. Others assume investigations must conclude before litigation can begin. Neither is correct—the two-year clock runs regardless of investigation status, and waiting until investigations finish may leave insufficient time for litigation preparation.
Coordinating with International Investigations
International aviation accidents typically generate parallel investigations by aviation authorities in multiple countries. The primary investigation is usually conducted by the country where the accident occurred, with participation from countries whose citizens were killed, whose airlines were involved, and whose manufacturers produced the aircraft. These investigations can provide valuable evidence for wrongful death claims.
However, investigation timelines don't align with litigation deadlines. Major accident investigations often take more than two years to complete—longer than the Convention's statute of limitations. Families cannot wait for final investigation reports before filing suit. Instead, attorneys must gather available evidence, preserve additional evidence through litigation discovery, and supplement the case as investigation findings become available.
Investigation materials that eventually become public include factual findings, analysis of causes, and often cockpit voice recorder transcripts and flight data. This evidence can be crucial for proving airline fault above the strict liability threshold or for pursuing claims against manufacturers and other parties outside the Convention's framework.
Claims Against Non-Carrier Defendants
The Montreal Convention governs claims against air carriers, but wrongful death cases may also involve defendants outside the Convention's scope. Aircraft manufacturers, maintenance providers, component suppliers, and air traffic control authorities may bear responsibility for crashes. Claims against these defendants proceed under ordinary product liability and negligence law rather than the Convention.
Pursuing non-carrier defendants can be advantageous for several reasons. Manufacturers and other defendants may have deeper pockets than airlines. Punitive damages may be available against non-carrier defendants where they're uncertain under the Convention. Longer statutes of limitations may apply to non-Convention claims. A comprehensive wrongful death case often includes both Convention claims against the carrier and separate claims against manufacturers and others whose negligence contributed to the crash.
Obtaining Full Compensation
Wrongful death claims arising from international aviation accidents present both opportunities and challenges. The Montreal Convention's strict liability provisions and unlimited damages create a favorable framework for recovery. But the two-year limitations period, jurisdictional requirements, and coordination with international investigations add complexity that requires experienced handling.
Families who have lost loved ones in international crashes should consult aviation attorneys promptly. Early engagement ensures deadlines are met, evidence is preserved, and strategic decisions about jurisdiction and defendants are made thoughtfully. The loss can never be undone, but proper legal action can provide financial security and accountability for the family left behind.