Families of the Germanwings plane crash are filing a class action suit against Lufthansa. The initiative was taken by lawyer Erring Fouler who believes that there is a legal case against the German airline’s management that showed reckless negligence in the case of pilot Andreas Lubitz. Fouler heads a team of legal experts from around the world who all believe that there are grounds for legal action.

“So far we have gathered 89 families that are outraged that a man with mental problems had such a position,” Fouler told Proto Thema, adding that he is currently in the process of gathering more plaintiffs before going to trial. “Lufthansa should have investigated all their pilots’ backgrounds. That on its own is grounds for legal action.” According to Fouler, Lufthansa was fully aware of the problems facing its troubled pilot. “There is internal documentation that proves beyond a doubt that Lufthansa’s management was fully aware of the condition of Lubitz but chose to take the risk of entrusting him with other people’s lives,” he says, pointing to e-mails between Lubitz and the German airline revealed he informed his flight school of mental health problems back in 2009.

Fouler scoffs at the fact that Lufthansa has offered to pay the 50,000 euros to the families of the people killed on the flight. “The amount is laughable. According to my calculations they are up for billions of euros worth of damages,” he says, refering  to his plan to take the airline to the European Court of Justice. “The amount would be so high that Lufthansa would be forced to sell off its assets to make good on its dues.”

Lufthansa was not available to comment and has yet to make a statement concerning the action that economic analysts believe that even with the 300 mln dollars that insurers have estimated as a result of the accident, a legal victory by the victims’ families will cause the airline to go bankrupt.