By Peter.
A Chicago federal jury has ordered Boeing to pay over $28 million to the family of Shikha Garg, a United Nations environmental worker killed in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash—the first case from the disaster to reach trial.
After just two hours of deliberation, jurors awarded $10 million for grief, $10 million for Garg’s pain and suffering, and additional compensation. The verdict follows lawsuits stemming from the March 10, 2019, crash that killed all 157 aboard Flight 302 minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, en route to Nairobi.
Garg, a consultant with the UN Development Program, was attending a UN Environment Assembly. Newly married three months earlier, she was 28. Her husband, Soumya Bhattacharya, had canceled his flight due to a work conflict.
“We happily accept the verdict,” Bhattacharya told reporters. “We came for a jury trial, and it’s absolutely acceptable.”
Boeing expressed remorse: “We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302,” a spokesperson said, noting most claims have been settled but families retain the right to trial.
Plaintiff attorneys sought $80–$230 million; Boeing proposed $11.95 million. The company had already accepted liability for the crash.
During closings, Boeing attorney Dan Webb apologized directly to Bhattacharya, stressing the trial was about “fair and reasonable compensation,” not punishment. He pushed back against high demands as punitive.
Plaintiff counsel Shanin Specter highlighted Garg’s potential, quoting Bhattacharya’s description of his wife as a “brilliant” renewable energy expert. “Part of Soumya’s grief is knowing he doesn’t get to see her do that,” Specter said.
The case is the first to go before a jury among dozens filed after the 2018 Lion Air and 2019 Ethiopian crashes, which together killed 346 people and exposed critical flaws in the 737 MAX.
#BoeingVerdict #737MAXCrash #EthiopianAirlines #ShikhaGarg #JusticeForVictims #AviationSafety #ChicagoTrial
