Trending 
A Chicago jury has awarded $49.5 million in damages to the family of Samya Stumo, the 24-year-old American who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crash.
The March 2019 disaster claimed 157 lives, including Stumo’s, en route to Kenya for her first assignment with ThinkWell, a public health NGO promoting healthcare access across Africa and Asia.
The civil trial began on Monday after the Stumo family failed to reach a settlement with Boeing, a rare occurrence as most lawsuits linked to the MAX crashes had been resolved out of court.
Following around two hours of deliberation, the jury determined that Stumo’s family was owed $21 million for her suffering, $16.5 million for the loss of companionship, and $12 million for grief, according to Kline & Specter, who represented the estate.
Shanin Specter and Elizabeth Crawford of Kline & Specter said, “We are gratified for the opportunity to try the compensatory damages case. Next, we will seek appellate reinstatement of the punitive damages claims against the Boeing executives and component manufacturers.”
During the trial, Stumo’s father, Michael, testified on the lasting emotional impact of her death, explaining, “It feels like since she’s been gone, we don’t have permission to be happy. Sometimes you catch yourself being happy, and you correct yourself, like you shouldn’t be.”
Boeing acknowledged the role of anti-stall software in the accidents and expressed condolences. The company maintained that the disagreement with the Stumo family concerned only the amount of compensation.
“We are deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Families are entitled to pursue their claims through the court process, and we respect their right to do so,” Boeing said.
The 737 MAX crashes, including the earlier Lion Air disaster in Indonesia, claimed a total of 346 lives and continue to result in civil litigation.
Boeing recently faced related cases, including a $28.45 million award in Chicago and a separate $250 million lawsuit filed by Polish airline LOT over lost revenue during the MAX grounding.
