The Lawyers Council of Thailand (LCT) has pledged to provide legal assistance for the relatives of victims killed in a horrific New Year holiday road crash which left 25 dead in Chon Buri.
The offer was mentioned in a LCT news briefing yesterday led by the president of the council, Thawal Ruyaporn.
A van, which was heading from Chanthaburi to Bangkok, swerved out of its lane and crashed into a pickup truck travelling in the opposite direction in Chon Buri's Ban Bung district on Jan 2.
A fire broke out in the van following the crash, which subsequently killed 14 out of 15 people on board, including the driver. The collision also killed 11 of the 12 people in the pickup.
Relatives of three victims with the same family name of Jeujang, killed in the pickup, contacted the LCT to seek legal assistance, Mr Thawal said.
At this stage, the relatives must submit a formal request to the LCT along with details of the case and the damages, he said, adding the council will set up a panel to find ways to provide legal assistance.
"The responsible parties must work together to pay compensation to the relatives of the dead and the injured," said Mr Thawal.
He said no criminal charges can be pressed in this case as the van's driver, Sumon Eiamsombat, 64, was killed in the crash. But a civil lawsuit can be filed seeking compensation from his children and estate, if any. No trace of alcohol or drugs were found in the driver's body, according to the autopsy.
Compensation can also be sought from the van's operators, Ploy Yok Partnership Limited and the Transport Co, and also their insurance companies, he said, noting the LCT also needs information from police about the investigation.
Thanachart Thammachot, deputy chief of the National Human Rights Commission, who joined the briefing, said a probe found the van driver had made five round trips within 31 hours before the accident, which violates the labour law.
The van operator allegedly persuaded the driver to work such long hours in exchange for high pay, which is considered labour exploitation, Mr Thanachart added. The crash, the single most deadly New Year accident this year, prompted the Transport Ministry to demand that inter-provincial passenger van operators change their vehicles to mini-buses from July 1.