Boeing to pay $35M to Ethiopian crash victim's family
What's the story
A Chicago federal court has ordered Boeing to pay over $35 million to the family of a United Nations consultant who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash. The verdict was given on Wednesday on behalf of the relatives of Shikha Garg, making it the first such civil trial related to the disaster that killed all 157 people on board. The jury took two hours to reach their decision after a week-long trial.
Settlement details
Total payout will be $35.85 million
Along with the jury-awarded sum, Boeing has also agreed to pay an extra $3.45 million to the victim's husband, Soumya Bhattacharya. This was part of an out-of-court settlement between him and the company. The total payout from Boeing will thus be $35.85 million: $28 million from the jury verdict, including interest, and an additional $3.45 million to Bhattacharya.
Company statement
'Deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones'
In response to the jury's verdict, a Boeing spokesperson said, "We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on the two flights." The company has settled most of these claims but respects families' rights to pursue their claims in damages trials. The family lawyers Shanin Specter and Elizabeth Crawford said this verdict "provides public accountability for Boeing's wrongful conduct."
Design flaws
Lawsuit accused Boeing of designing the 737 MAX plane defectively
The lawsuit accused Boeing of designing the 737 MAX plane defectively and not warning passengers and the public about its dangers. The Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed five months after Lion Air Flight 610 went down in Indonesia's Java Sea, both due to an automated flight control system. Specter described Garg as a young, accomplished PhD candidate who was married just months before taking that fateful Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Trial focus
Jurors weren't asked to determine Boeing's liability in crash
The jurors weren't asked to determine Boeing's liability in the crash as the company had already accepted responsibility. Instead, they were tasked with awarding damages for loss of income and grief suffered by Garg's family. Specter said Garg was a UN Development Programme consultant on her way to a UN environmental assembly in Nairobi, Kenya when she died in the crash.
Compensation debate
Major point of contention was whether passengers suffered before death
Boeing's lawyer Dan Webb urged jurors to focus on "fair and reasonable" compensation for Garg's family. A major point of contention was whether Garg suffered pain before her death, with Boeing arguing that passengers didn't experience physical injury before impact. The jury's award to Garg's family includes $10 million for the "pain and suffering and emotional distress" she experienced before the crash, according to their lawyers.