An American woman who is to receive $500,000 after her husband of five days died in a plane crash might seek further compensation, her lawyer said today.

Laura Le Gallo’s husband, Christopher, 33, died when a six-seat Piper Cherokee crashed on Queensland’s Hamilton Island on September 26, 2002.

Five other passengers also died and an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) report found the accident may have been partly caused by the alcohol and marijuana that the pilot, 27-year-old Andrew Morris, had consumed before take-off.

A consent order was lodged in the Brisbane Supreme Court today for $500,000 in compensation to Mrs Le Gallo for the loss of her husband but her lawyer Peter Carter has not ruled out a further civil claim.

He said the findings from the inquest into the crash, which is to be held later this year, may be used to launch a second claim.

“There may be some room to claim against another party, maybe the component manufacturer of the plane if there is some finding against them,” Mr Carter said.

“The inquest will see a lot of material coming out that may lead to a second claim.”

Mr Carter said Mrs Le Gallo was upset at the $500,000 payout – which is the maximum under the Civil Aviation Act in Australia – and had wanted $4 million in damages.

In Europe and the United States there is no cap on payouts for damages of this kind.

In a statement issued through Mr Carter, Mrs Le Gallo, from Virginia, said she was disappointed with the constraints of the Australian legal system.

“(Australia) should warn all foreign tourists that its legal system protects wrongdoers from accountability and does not allow full compensation if an air accident is caused by airline or pilot recklessness,” she said.

“It was a shock to me to find that unlike many other countries, full compensation is denied to victims in Australia, even in cases of reckless behaviour.

“For the safety of passengers, I urge Australian aviation authorities to impose stricter and perhaps, random, monitoring of pilots to ensure they are not impeded by illicit substances.”

Mr Le Gallo was a highly talented analyst at a US defence technology firm.

He was supposed to travel on another plane with his wife on the day of the accident, but gave up his seat so a New Zealand family could travel together.

He followed on the second, ill-fated flight with other holidaymakers.