The family of a Nairobi-based United Nations environmental worker is set to receive at least Ksh3.6 billion (USD36.85 million) following a federal court ruling over the 2019 Boeing 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia.
32-year-old Shikha Garg was among the 157 people who lost their lives when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed just minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.
According to reports from the U.S., a deal was struck between the two parties, with Garg's family, after a jury in Chicago initially awarded more than Ksh3.6 billion (USD28 million) to Garg's family, and under a settlement. The verdict awarded to Gard's family by a U.S. federal court is one of several lawsuits filed in the wake of the crash.
The total payout, however, will include interest, bringing the sum to Ksh4.6 billion (USD35.85 million). Boeing has agreed not to appeal the verdict.
A Boeing spokesperson has since expressed deep apologies to the families of those affected in the crash.
“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,” she said.
The 2019 Ethiopia crash incidentally came five months after a similar disaster in Indonesia, where a Lion Air 737 MAX crashed, claiming 189 lives. Collectively, the two crashes killed 346 people.
Speaking on the latest verdict, Garg's lawyers said it was a decent show of accountability from Boeing for what the lawyers described as "wrongful conduct".
The lawyers argued that the ill-fated aircraft was defectively designed and Boeing failed to adequately warn passengers of potential risks.
Incidentally, both crashes were linked to an automated flight control system, raising global scrutiny over Boeing's safety practices.
Boeing has previously settled more than 90 per cent of the civil lawsuits related to the two crashes, amounting to billions.
In July, Paul Njoroge, who lost his wife, three children and mother-in-law in the Ethiopian Airlines' Boeing 737 crash, was also compensated by the aviation giant.
The settlement, however, was not revealed publicly, although his lawyers confirmed to AFP that a settlement had been reached for a confidential amount.
Njoroge's family was among 32 Kenyans who were aboard the ill-fated flight.
