Boeing Loses $49.5 Million 737 MAX Death Verdict, Setting New Benchmark for 15 Cases
Updated
Updated · View from the Wing · May 14
Boeing Loses $49.5 Million 737 MAX Death Verdict, Setting New Benchmark for 15 Cases
16 articles · Updated · View from the Wing · May 14
$49.5 million was awarded by a Chicago jury to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash, in a trial focused only on damages because Boeing had already admitted liability.
$21 million of the verdict covered Stumo's pre-death terror, with another $16.5 million for loss of companionship and $12 million for the family's grief and mental suffering under Illinois wrongful-death law.
The award is the largest known verdict for a single death from Flight 302 and tops the previous $28 million Chicago verdict, giving plaintiffs in roughly 15 unresolved cases a higher benchmark after most families settled confidentially.
Boeing may try to cut the award, especially the pre-death suffering portion, but overturning damages in the Seventh Circuit is difficult unless they are irrational or excessively punitive in effect.
With billions paid in damages, why has no Boeing executive faced criminal charges for the 737 MAX crashes?
Boeing fixed the software, but is the 737 MAX's fundamental design with its oversized engines still a safety risk?
Is a $49.5 million verdict justice, or just the calculated cost of doing business for a corporate giant?