Family Wins $49.5M After Ethiopia 737 Max Tragedy

A federal jury in Chicago has awarded $49.5 million to the family of Samya Stumo, a 24-year-old nonprofit worker killed in the 2019 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. This verdict resolves one of the last remaining wrongful death lawsuits stemming from the disaster, which claimed all 157 lives aboard.

Stumo, a recent university graduate, was en route to Uganda for her first significant project with an organization focused on health systems in developing nations. The crash occurred minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019. Jurors allocated $21 million for her suffering, $16.5 million for loss of companionship, and $12 million for her family's grief.

This is the second such verdict related to the 737 Max crashes, which led to a worldwide grounding of the aircraft. Boeing has settled most of the dozens of other lawsuits, while investigators identified a faulty flight-control system as the cause. In a separate case last November, a jury awarded $28.45 million to the family of another victim. Boeing has expressed sorrow and respect for families pursuing legal claims.