A Chicago federal jury has ordered Boeing to pay more than $28 million to the family of Shikha Garg, a United Nations consultant who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash.
The verdict, announced Wednesday, marks the first lawsuit verdict following two deadly crashes involving Boeing's 737 MAX jets, which together killed 346 people.
Under a court-approved deal, Garg's family will receive a total of $35.85 million, which includes interest and an additional payment to her husband, Soumya Bhattacharya. Boeing agreed not to appeal the decision.
According to Reuters, in a statement, a Boeing spokesperson expressed sympathy, saying the company is "deeply sorry to all who lost loved ones on the two flights."
The spokesperson added, "While we have resolved most of these claims through settlements, families are also entitled to pursue their claims in court, and we respect their right to do so."
Garg, 32 years old at the time, was traveling from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend a United Nations environmental conference when the plane went down just minutes after takeoff.
The crash killed all 157 people aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Lawyers for Garg's family argued that the aircraft was defectively designed and that Boeing failed to warn passengers about known safety issues.
A Chicago court has ordered Boeing to pay over $28 million to the families of victims who died in an air disaster.
— Aviation (@Onyeabuo) November 13, 2025
You might remember that in 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crashed, killing everyone on board. 149 including crew members perished. pic.twitter.com/pJuEwQKnR3
Lawyers Hail Boeing Verdict as Step Toward Accountability
Family attorneys Shanin Specter and Elizabeth Crawford said in a statement that the jury's verdict "provides public accountability for Boeing's wrongful conduct."
They described Garg as an accomplished and dedicated young professional who had recently married and was passionate about environmental work.
Jurors were not asked to decide whether Boeing was responsible for the crash — the company has already accepted liability.
Instead, they determined the amount of compensation owed to Garg's family for her suffering and their emotional loss.
The payout includes $10 million for Garg's pain and suffering before the crash, AP News reported.
Boeing's legal team argued that passengers likely did not feel physical pain due to the high-speed impact, but the jury sided with the family's account of the tragedy.
The Ethiopian Airlines crash occurred just five months after Lion Air Flight 610 crashed in Indonesia. Investigations revealed that a malfunctioning flight-control system contributed to both accidents.
Following the disasters, Boeing faced intense global scrutiny, leading to the grounding of all 737 MAX aircraft for nearly two years.
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