Jury Awards $49.5 Million to Family of Boeing 737 MAX Crash Victim

A jury in Chicago awarded $49.5 million in damages Wednesday to the family of a 24-year-old American who died in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash. The suit was brought by relatives of the victim, who perished in the March 2019 crash that claimed 157 lives.

The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before determining the total amount of damages at $49.5 million, according to court documents. Nearly all civil lawsuits related to the crash have been settled out of court. In this instance the family had been unable to reach an agreement with the company ahead of the trial, which began on Monday.

The company said in a statement that it was deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones in the two 737 MAX crashes. It added that while it has resolved nearly all claims through settlements, families are entitled to pursue their claims through the court process and it respects their right to do so.

The victim was traveling to Kenya for her first assignment with a public health organization focused on increasing access to health care in Africa and Asia. The plane went down shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa, killing everyone on board. That crash occurred about four and a half months after another incident involving the same Boeing model that killed 189 people.

Following the two crashes, the company was required to ground all of its 737 MAX planes for nearly two years to install system upgrades.

The company had faced a criminal fraud charge connected to the crashes. Federal prosecutors agreed to drop the case after the company paid more than $1.1 billion in fines and an additional $445 million in compensation for the victims' families. The agreement also required the company to strengthen its internal safety and quality measures.

It allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 MAX jetliner before the crashes.