In the first civil trial in a deadly 2019 Boeing 737 Max crash, a US jury ruled on Wednesday that the aircraft manufacturer must pay $28.45 million to the family of a newlywed Indian victim who was killed along with 156 others.
Shikha Garg, from New Delhi, was among the 157 killed on March 10, 2019, when an Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed just six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa for Nairobi.
The hearing, which went on for 10 hours before a jury in the Chicago court, ruled a total award of $28 million for the victim’s family, including $10 million for grief and another $10 million for Garg’s pain and suffering.
Her widower, Soumya Bhattacharya, said the family was satisfied with the court’s decision.
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“We happily accept the verdict. We came here for a jury trial and it’s absolutely acceptable,” Soumya Bhattacharya said.
Aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, expressed regret over the loss of lives in the deadly accidents on trial, with a spokesperson saying: “We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302”.
Lion Air Flight 610 crashed on October 29, 2018, killing 189 people.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, the attorneys representing Bhattacharya had argued that the estate should receive between $80 and $230 million, while Boeing’s lawyer had proposed $11.95 million.
Garg’s was the first case to go to trial after Boeing reached dozens of other civil settlements in cases brought by family members from the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes.
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