The crash of the Boeing 737 Max in October 2018 and March 2019 resulted in the deaths of a total of 346 people, leaving a global impact on air travel safety. Investigations into the crashes have raised questions about the role of the aircraft’s software and the actions of pilots. However, a new controversy has emerged, with Boeing lawyers arguing that the victims did not suffer before they died. This claim has drawn criticism from victims’ families and safety experts, who argue that the assertion is insensitive and devoid of empathy for the human tragedy that occurred. In this article, we delve deeper into this issue and explore the perspectives surrounding it.
Boeing attorneys argued in court last month that the families of victims who lost their lives in an early 737 Max crash are not entitled to pain and suffering damages as there is insufficient evidence of “pre-impact pain.” This claim arises from the fact that when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed into the ground at the speed of sound on March 10, 2019, all 157 passengers onboard presumably died instantly or almost instantly, leaving no time for pain to register. Therefore, the company believes that additional compensation for the victims’ families for pain and suffering would be excessive.
However, the plaintiffs argue that passengers aboard the plane “undeniably suffered horrific emotional distress, pain and suffering, and physical impact/injury while they endured extreme G-forces, braced for impact, knew the airplane was malfunctioning, and ultimately plummeted nose-down to the ground at terrifying speed.” Despite this, the legal system in Illinois, where the case is being heard, may give some credence to Boeing’s argument. While states such as New York and Texas allow for a plaintiff to seek damages for a decedent’s “pre-impact fear,” Illinois courts have yet to fully address this issue.
Furthermore, precedent set by a fatal 1979 American Airlines DC-10 passenger jet crash outside Chicago limited the damages that could be sought for such mental distress. This gives Boeing a legal basis to argue against paying pain and suffering damages to the victims’ families.
Boeing has settled approximately 75% of the civil claims from the crash so far, and it is presumed that they would prefer to settle the rest instead of going to trial in June. However, Boeing attorneys are concerned that if pain and suffering damages are on the table, “jurors would inevitably sympathize with testimony about the passengers’ alleged fear of impending death and imagine themselves in the passengers’ shoes.”
In a statement to HuffPost, a Boeing spokesperson apologized for the families’ loss and pledged to “constructively resolve” the remaining cases. “We have acknowledged the terrible impact of these tragic accidents and made an upfront commitment to fully and fairly compensate every family who suffered a loss. Over the past several years, we have kept our commitment as we settled a significant majority of claims, and we look forward to constructively resolving the remaining cases to ensure that the families are fully and fairly compensated.”
The families and friends who lost loved ones in the crash protested in front of the Boeing headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, on March 10, 2023, marking the fourth anniversary of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash. They had previously been left outraged by a report that revealed that Boeing had hidden major design flaws in its 737 Max planes from regulators and pilots. These flaws are believed to be a factor that contributed to the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash as well as a Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October 2018.
Boeing’s argument against paying pain and suffering damages to the victims’ families seems preposterous. While it is true that the passengers may have died very quickly, the fact that they endured harrowing emotional distress and extreme physical trauma in the moments leading up to their deaths cannot be ignored. It is only fair that the families of the victims receive compensation for the pain and suffering that their loved ones went through.
