A jury in Chicago has awarded $49.5 million in damages to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old who died in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash. The plane was an Ethiopian Airlines flight that crashed in March 2019, resulting in the death of 157 people.
The decision came after the jury deliberated for about two hours, stating the total damages for Stumo’s family. While most civil lawsuits concerning the crash were settled outside of court, Stumo’s family could not reach a settlement with Boeing before the trial began.
“We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302,” Boeing stated. The company emphasized the right of families to seek claims through the court process.
Stumo was traveling to Kenya for her first assignment with ThinkWell, an organization focused on expanding health care access in Africa and Asia, when the plane crashed shortly after departing from Addis Ababa.
This crash took place around four and a half months after another involving a Lion Air flight in Indonesia, killing 189 people. Both incidents involved the Boeing 737 MAX 8 model. Subsequently, Boeing grounded all 737 MAX planes for nearly two years to implement system upgrades.
Boeing faced a criminal fraud charge after the crashes, with federal prosecutors agreeing to drop the case as Boeing paid over $1.1 billion in fines and $445 million in compensation to victims’ families. This settlement included requirements for Boeing to enhance its internal safety and quality measures, allowing the company to avoid criminal prosecution related to accusations of misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 MAX before the crashes.