50K is more like it...

Other than actual medical expenses, I'd think it'd be pretty hard to win a lawsuit without proving the airline was in some way negligent.

I agree, I don't think that they would have a case. But no doubt, some lawyers will be willing to take the case and it will cost the airline millions just to defend themselves. So the cash is a good idea.

And the birds are at fault. But since most bird strikes occur during take-off or landing (when the plane is closer to the ground), clever lawyers will argue that the airline is to blame because the pilot flew into the birds, or that he didn't predict that there would be birds, or that he didn't see them on a special radar that only the air force has, or that he flew in a direction where it was likely that there were birds. And they will blame the airport for not getting rid of nearby birds because that is their job.

When you get onto an airplane you know that there is going to be some sort of risk to you. Airplanes are safer than cars, but it's not like airplanes have never crashed before.

These people should be happy that they are still alive. If the circumstances had been slightly different, they could all be dead, and then all the money in the world won't bring them back. Although, for the record, none of them have commenced litigation as of yet.