Boeing ordered to pay more than $28 million to 737 MAX crash victim's family

A jury in federal court in Chicago ordered Boeing on Wednesday to pay more than $28 million to the family of a United Nations environmental worker who was killed in the 2019 crash of a 737 MAX jet in Ethiopia.

CHICAGO — A jury in federal court in Chicago ordered Boeing on Wednesday to pay more than $28 million to the family of a United Nations environmental worker who was killed in the 2019 crash of a 737 MAX jet in Ethiopia.

The verdict awarded to the family of Shikha Garg is the first in the dozens of lawsuits filed in the wake of that crash and another in Indonesia in 2018, which combined killed 346 people.

Under a deal between the parties struck on Wednesday morning, Garg’s family will receive $35.85 million — the full verdict amount plus 26% interest — and Boeing will not appeal, according to attorneys for the family.

In a statement, a Boeing spokeswoman said the company is deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on the two flights.

“While we have resolved the vast majority of these claims through settlements, families are also entitled to pursue their claims through damages trials in court and we respect their right to do so,” she said.