A Chicago jury awarded $49.5 million in damages to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old American who died in the 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash. This decision came after the jury deliberated for about two hours. Stumo’s family had filed the lawsuit following her death in the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash that claimed 157 lives.
The court documents indicated that the jury found “the total amount of damages suffered by Plaintiff is $49.5 million.” Most civil lawsuits related to the crash were settled out of court. However, Stumo’s family could not reach an agreement with Boeing before the trial, which started on Monday.
Boeing issued a statement expressing sorrow for those 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,” the statement read.
Stumo was on her way to Kenya for her first assignment with ThinkWell, a public health non-governmental organization. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, resulting in the loss of all passengers and crew.
“Rescuers work at the wreckage of an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 10, 2019.”
The crash occurred following a Lion Air crash in Indonesia approximately four and a half months earlier, which killed 189 people. Both crashes involved the same Boeing model, the 737 Max 8. As a result, Boeing grounded its 737 Max planes for nearly two years to implement necessary system upgrades.
Boeing faced a criminal fraud charge related to the crashes. Federal prosecutors agreed to drop the case after Boeing paid over $1.1 billion in fines and $445 million in compensation to crash victims’ families. Additionally, Boeing committed to strengthening internal safety and quality measures, which helped it avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner.