Concordia passengers offered compensation

The Italian company that owns the capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia has offered passengers 14 thousand US dollars each in compensation. 

     The deal comes after negotiations between the company, Costa Cruises, and several Italian consumer groups.

     The company also promised to refund medical and transport expenses, as well as the cost of the cruise.

Reuters News Agency is reporting that one consumer group, Codacons, has urged passengers not to accept the offer.

     Codacons and two US law firms are filing a class-action lawsuit in the US suit against Costa Cruises, demanding at least 160 thousand US dollars for each passenger on the ship.

     Costa Cruises is owned by the US-based Carnival Group.

     Mitchell Proner, a lawyer with one of the firms filing the lawsuit, told the B B C last week that it was being brought on behalf of 110 claimants.

     A crew member from the Costa Concordia has also brought a lawsuit against Costa Cruises in the US state of Illinois. 

     In court documents, Gary Lobaton says he was not aware of the dangerous conditions the ship was in until it was too late to abandon ship.