The Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) on the plane crash involving the Chapecoense football team ended its activities today (11). At its last meeting, the collegiate approved the final report of Senator Izalci Lucas (PSDB-DF). The text brings seven guidelines to be followed, including the access of victims’ families to the Humanitarian Assistance Fund.
This fund was created by the insurance company Tokio Marine to indemnify the relatives of the victims of the accident. During the commission’s work, this fund was increased from US$ 15 million to US$ 25 million.
According to Izalci, the negotiations with Tokio Marine allowed families interested in formalizing an agreement to receive resources from the Humanitarian Assistance Fund to also continue with their lawsuits “to the detriment of other companies eventually liable for the insurance, such as the broker Aon”.
The senator informed that the amounts already received by the 24 families that had decided to sign the agreement with Tokio Marine in the past will have the difference updated, taking into account the new value of the fund, of US$ 25 million.
“The 24 families that have already received US$ 225,000 would also each receive an additional US$ 142,000. The 44 families that have not yet signed the agreement would then have the possibility of receiving US$ 367,000”, said Izalci.
In addition to the compensation for the victims’ families, the final report includes, among the so-called “evident needs” to be met, the improvement of rules and operational protocols for sports competitions, since LaMia, even with financial and safety problems, transported several teams football “without any type of scrutiny from the entities responsible for the championships”.
The text also calls for the improvement of legislation related to the topic investigated by the CPI. The report mentions four bills, one that provides for the amendment of private insurance rules in the Civil Code and three that provide for the amendment of the Brazilian Aeronautical Code to strengthen the liability of insurers and carriers.
The commission was installed in December 2019, but was paralyzed for two years due to the pandemic. In the crash of the Chapecoense flight, in November 2016, in Colombia, 71 people died, including crew, players and the technical commission of the Santa Catarina club and journalists. The entourage was heading to the final match of the Copa Sudamericana, in the Colombian city of Medellín.
The legal dispute over the payment of damages has been going on for six years. Families blame both the club and insurance companies for the failed negotiations. Chapecoense alleges financial difficulties, in part caused by the air disaster. At the end of last year, the club filed for judicial recovery – a regime in which debt payments are suspended to prevent the entity from closing its doors.
* With information from the Senate Agency
