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4h ago

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

The verdict shows the remaining MAX lawsuits now center on damages, not liability.

FILE - Michael Stumo, holding a photo of his daughter Samya Stumo, and his wife Nadia Milleron, sit behind FAA Administrator Steve Dickson during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on the implementation of aviation safety reform at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Nov. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades, File)
The Boeing logo on the doors to the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, U.S., April 15, 2026. REUTERS/Genna Martin
Image
Samya Stumo, who was killed in a 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash, is pictured in this undated handout photo provided by the Stumo family

Overview

  • The Chicago panel, ruling Wednesday, awarded $49.5 million to the family of 24-year-old Samya Stumo, who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash.
  • Jurors assigned $21 million for Stumo’s experience on the flight, $16.5 million for loss of companionship, and $12 million for her family’s grief, categories Illinois law allows in wrongful-death cases.
  • Boeing did not dispute fault in court, and the judge dismissed punitive-damages claims, though the family’s lawyers plan to ask an appeals court to revive them.
  • Investigators tied both the Ethiopian and earlier Lion Air crashes to the 737 MAX’s MCAS software, which pushed the nose down based on a single faulty sensor and led to a global grounding and required fixes.
  • More than 90% of MAX death cases have settled, and this second Chicago verdict follows a $28.45 million award last November, with another trial set for August 3.