A Chicago federal court hears a Canadian man’s case over the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, the second such trial after a $28.45 million verdict last year.
CHICAGO: A federal court in Chicago began hearing a complaint on Monday from a Canadian man who lost multiple relatives in a 737 MAX crash.
This marks the second trial stemming from the fatal 2019 Ethiopian Airlines disaster.
The case is brought by Manant Vaidya, whose sister Kosha and parents Pannagesh and Hansini Vaidya perished in the March 2019 crash that killed 157 people.
Vaidya also lost his brother-in-law and two young nieces in the incident.
Relatives of those victims sued Boeing separately in a case settled out of court in July 2025.
Jury selection is expected to commence Monday, with opening statements possible by Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday.
“It is hard to believe that my entire family was wiped out in an instant incident in such a horrific way,” Vaidya said in a statement on his attorneys’ website.
“I still cry and my wife, Hiral, still cries when we think of the horror of the last moments of our loved ones’ lives.”
The family, who lived in Canada, was on a trip to Kenya, the homeland of Kosha.
Boeing has apologised for the disaster and for a fatal Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October 2018.
The MCAS flight stabilising software was implicated in both crashes, which together claimed 346 lives.
Boeing is “deeply sorry” to the victims and committed to “fully and fairly compensate” families, a spokesperson said.
The company stated it has “accepted legal responsibility for the accidents.”
“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.”
In November, a US jury in the same Chicago courthouse determined that Boeing must pay $28.45 million to the family of an Indian victim.
