On Wednesday, a jury in Chicago awarded $49.5 million in damages to the family of a 24-year-old American who died in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash. The lawsuit involved the relatives of Samya Stumo, who perished in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines disaster which resulted in 157 fatalities.
The jury reached their decision after approximately two hours of deliberation, stating the damages totaled $49.5 million according to court documents. Most civil lawsuits related to the crash have been resolved outside of court. However, Stumo’s family did not reach an agreement with Boeing before the trial, which commenced on Monday.
Boeing released a statement expressing condolences: “We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. While we have resolved nearly all of these claims through settlements, families are entitled to pursue their claims through the court process, and we respect their right to do so.”
Stumo was heading to Kenya for her initial task with ThinkWell, a public health NGO focused on improving healthcare access in Africa and Asia. Unfortunately, the plane crashed shortly after departing from Addis Ababa, resulting in the loss of all lives onboard.
In another incident, a Lion Air crash occurred about four and a half months earlier in Indonesia, claiming 189 lives. Both disasters involved the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Following these tragedies, Boeing grounded all 737 Max planes for nearly two years to implement required system upgrades.
Boeing faced a criminal fraud charge related to the crashes. However, federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss the case after Boeing agreed to pay over $1.1 billion in fines and an additional $445 million in compensation for the victims’ families. The settlement also required Boeing to enhance internal safety and quality protocols. This agreement enabled Boeing to avoid criminal charges for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators regarding the 737 MAX jetliner before the crashes.