Civil trial against Boeing for fatal crash starts in Chicago on Monday

The civil trial against Boeing is scheduled to commence in Chicago on Monday. Back in 2024, Boeing accepted a plea deal and confessed to defrauding the federal government following the tragic crashes in 2018 and 2019 that resulted in the loss of 346 lives. However, the upcoming trial will specifically address the 2019 Ethiopian crash where three generations of Manat Vaidya's family tragically perished. Vaidya's lawyer emphasizes the importance of holding Boeing accountable. The law firm Clifford Law in Chicago is representing Manat Vaidya, who has filed a lawsuit against Boeing for the deaths of his mother, father, and sister, passengers on the ill-fated Boeing 737 Max plane that crashed in Ethiopia on March 10, 2019. The family, who were residing in Canada, were on their way to visit relatives and friends during spring break. Despite the tragedy involving 157 individuals on board, including three nieces and a nephew of Vaidya, one of whom was only nine months old, the children are not included in this particular case. With Boeing already admitting guilt to defrauding the FAA and paying substantial fines, the family's lawyer, Robert Clifford, has stated that the focus is now on determining the amount of compensation the jury will award to the grieving family, whose lives have been irreversibly changed forever. Clifford expressed that the objective of the trial is to emphasize that the crash was preventable, avoidable, and unnecessary, highlighting that Boeing has expressed regret without acknowledging their specific faults. This trial represents the family's sole opportunity for accountability according to Clifford, as some families remain stuck in anger, unable to come to terms with the preventable nature of the tragedy. Fox Chicago has attempted to obtain a comment from Boeing but has not received a response yet. Clifford anticipates that jury selection will occur on Monday at 8:30 a.m., with the opening statements possibly commencing as early as Tuesday.