BHOPAL , India - An American lawyer representing thousands of victims of the 1984 Union Carbide gas leak advised them to accept the company's offer of $350 million in compensation or face a seven-year wait for a judgment.

The tentative settlement was reached last week between Union Carbide Corp. and U.S. lawyers representing the victims.

The Indian government has dismissed the offer as "totally unacceptable." A final decision will be made by U.S. District Judge John Keenan in New York, who is handling lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages.

John Coale, whose firm and those of four other lawyers that represent the cases of about 1,200 people killed and 40,000 injured by the methyl isocyanate gas, said his clients support the $350 million offer.