Liliane Derden's daughter, Chelsea Gibson, at the memorial for her mother. Credit:Jamila Toderas And their efforts to find out why they have not been offered the full amount met with what the lawyers said was "nonsense". "[Malaysia Airlines] is being completely disingenuous, they are not giving families all the information they need," said one lawyer with LHD Lawyers, Sydney. LHD are representing 24-year-old Cassandra Gibson from Perth who lost her mother, Liliane Derden, on MH17. Ms Gibson, the mother of a nine-month-old daughter, said the early days after the loss of Liliane were "a blur".

Liliane Derden's friend, Carly Taylor, at the memorial in July. Credit:Jamila Toderas She remembers the airline first contacted her sister, Chelsea, who met a representative from Malaysia Airlines who travelled to her Canberra house. "[But] now MA only contact us by letter to provide information, not to inquire how we are coping," she said. Liliane Derden's daughters Chelsea, left, and Cassandra at their mother's memorial in July. Credit:Jamila Toderas The family were initially given a cheque for $5000, described as a no-strings-attached "compassionate payment" to deal with immediate costs.

They were also handed a letter offering them $US50,000 (AU$55,300) as an "advanced compensation payment" – as long as they signed a release form. Liliane Derden's granddaughter, Ella, with family members at the memorial in July. Credit:Jamila Toderas However, leading aviation lawyers say this is nowhere near the full amount the families are owed. Jerry Skinner, a co-associate with LHD, is an expert in the law around aviation disasters – he has worked on cases such as PanAm flight 103, known as the Lockerbie bombing. "But this [MH17] is on the top of the list," he said.

Mr Skinner said countries including Malaysia and Australia have signed – and passed into law – international treaties to simplify who bears responsibility for compensating the victims of air tragedies. Under that law Malaysia Airlines is liable, regardless of whether or not they are responsible for the death or injury, to pay compensation to the families of the deceased. "If a passenger is killed while on your airline, you are strictly liable, which means you have to pay ... about $US183,000," Mr Skinner said. Malaysia Airlines has not yet paid the money to the families of those lost on MH370 nor MH17, he said. "The passengers on MH17 should be paid, their families and their next of kin, the equivalent of $US183,000.

"What we want to know is, thank you for the $US50,000, but where's the $US183,000 because you agreed to it, you signed it, you implemented it and now it's happened to you unfortunately, why aren't you paying it?" In other similar cases the full amount had been paid by now, he said. "It usually is paid reasonably quickly." He said he could not advise his clients to accept the proffered $US50,000 because he was worried the airline would use their acceptance to deny them the full payment. "If they take the money there may be a surprise later," he said.

However in a response from the airline received two days after Fairfax Media made contact with their legal representative, Malaysia Airlines said LHD's legal analysis was wrong. The airline accused the lawyers of doing the bereaved families "a disservice" and said they should seek further opinions from different lawyers. The airline said the money owed under international treaties still had to be assessed under "ordinary legal principles of damages". With regards to the $US183,000 amount, the airline said "some claims will clearly be valued at considerably in excess of this amount, many will have a much lower value particularly if the passenger had no financial dependents". The advance payment offered by the airline would be offset when final compensation was paid, the letter from Malaysia Airlines said, once the families' claims had been substantiated and assessed.

Mr Skinner said it was an extremely hard time for the families of the victims of MH17. "The money is really very secondary to them – they want answers. Our clients are very angry, they want to know why Malaysia Airlines are not keeping their word. It pours salt in the wound." LHD is also acting for a second MH17 family, who face the same issue, and are in contact with others, all of whom have been made the same offer. The families inquired about the payment and received a letter from Malaysia Airlines telling them Malaysian law has "no legislative requirement" to make an advance compensation payment. "There is no automatic right to payment of damages," the letter said. The payment of $US50,000 would be offset against any final damages payable, which would be determined after the families had filled in a questionnaire from the airline.

However Mr Skinner said international law was clear – that Malaysia Airlines should pay the full amount of $US183,000 without delay. "The $US50,000 is an attempt to appear generous while avoiding the consequences [of that international law]," he said. "The [airline's] answer is nonsense created out of thin air." Ms Gibson said the family were considering accepting the offer from Malaysia Airlines. "We are worried about the financial status of Malaysia Airlines and their ability to pay any compensation in the future," she said. But she is worried that accepting the offer may damage their legal rights.

She wants the airline to "be transparent" and let them know when they will be paid the full amount, she told Fairfax Media in an email. Mr Skinner called on the Australian government to stand up for the bereaved families' rights. "The political champion here if we're going to have one is going to be Tony Abbott," he said. "We're hoping as time goes on we can work with him and the Australian government to put pressure on Malaysia. The solution will be a joint political and legal solution."