NEED TO KNOW
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A jury has awarded more than $35 million to the family of Shikha Garg, a United Nations worker who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash
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Lawyers reportedly argued that the Boeing 737 Max jet involved in the crash was defectively designed and alleged the company did not warn passengers
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The lawyers said the verdict “provides public accountability for Boeing’s wrongful conduct”
A federal jury in Chicago has awarded more than $35 million to the family of a United Nations worker who died in the Boeing 737 Max jet crash in Ethiopia.
The verdict was reached on Wednesday, Nov. 12, more than six years after the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed 157 people, according to Reuters and CBS News.
Relatives of Shikha Garg will receive a total of $35.85 million following a court-approved deal. That number includes the full verdict amount, plus 26% interest, according to the reports.
Garg was on her way to attend a U.N. environmental assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, when the Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed six minutes after takeoff, according to CBS News. She was one of 22 U.N. staff members who died in the crash.
The Ethiopian Airlines crash occurred just five months after the Lion Air crash in Jakarta, Indonesia, which killed 189 people. Families of victims from both crashes have filed lawsuits against Boeing.
Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty
Teams continue the debris removal operation at the crash site of Ethiopia Airlines near Debre Zeit, a town some 50 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 15, 2019.
Lawyers Shanin Specter and Elizabeth Crawford said in a statement that the verdict “provides public accountability for Boeing’s wrongful conduct,” according to Reuters.
A Boeing spokesperson said in a statement that the company is “deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones” in both the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the Lion Air crash, the outlet reported. The company will not appeal the decision.
“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 said.
PEOPLE reached out to Boeing on Thursday, Nov. 13.
Lawyers for Garg’s family argued that the Boeing plane involved in the crash was defectively designed and alleged the company did not warn passengers about the safety concerns, according to Reuters.
The jury reportedly was not asked to determine whether Boeing should be held liable for the crash, but rather how Garg’s family should be compensated.
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A verdict was reached after two hours of deliberation, according to the Associated Press.
Boeing reportedly negotiated pre-trial settlements for dozens of other families whose relatives died in the two crashes. Less than 12 other lawsuits have yet to be resolved.
Read the original article on People
