On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, the law firm of Kline & Specter filed a lawsuit against Boeing on behalf of the family of a young woman who was among
the 157 passengers killed in the March 10th crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302.

The 28-year-old woman was a second-year resident physician at East Tennessee State University, and had been traveling to Nairobi, Kenya to visit her sister, who had recently given birth to three boys.

Joseph Power and the Power Rogers legal team are serving as local counsel in the case. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Chicago, where Boeing is based.

About the Lawsuit

The wrongful death lawsuit looks to hold Boeing accountable for a number of alleged failures involving its Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which is used widely by major airlines in the U.S. and abroad. It focuses on alleged defects with the aircraft’s automated flight control system: the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS). Rather than ensuring the plane is stable and preventing it from stalling, the suit claims, the MCAS improperly forced 737 Max 8 planes into unwarranted dives at low altitude.

The civil complaint makes several claims regarding Boeing’s conduct and liability, including:

Product liability – Defective and unreasonably dangerous aircraft design, and inadequate warnings of defects.
Negligence – Boeing failed to uphold its duty to exercise reasonable care during multiple phases of the aircraft’s design, manufacturing, testing, certification, and marketing.
Breach of Warranty – Boeing’s express / implied warranties of the 737 Max 8’s airworthiness were relied upon by the victim, who believed the plane would be safe.
Failure to Warn – Boeing failed to warn passengers, pilots, and airlines about unreasonable design defects, including erroneous sensors that would cause an uncontrollable dive.
Civil Conspiracy – Boeing conspired with other individuals and entities, including the FAA and personnel, to fast-track certification of its 737 MAX series aircrafts in violation of U.S. laws and regulations, as a means to gain a competitive advantage.

You can find more information about the case on this press release.

Fighting for Families. Fighting for Justice.

Though the circumstances surrounding this case are nothing short of tragic, our team is proud to be involved with other top national trial lawyers in helping families in their fight for justice at a time when it’s needed most. We believe the litigation is important not only to this young woman’s family and the many others affected, but to all airline consumers who deserve safe transportation.

While we intend to help in the fight for justice, we understand the complexity of the case, particularly when it comes to issues of jurisdiction and federal law. Our team would like to remind any family who lost a loved one in this tragedy about the importance of working with experienced attorneys – and to avoid filing claims against Ethiopian Airlines. Doing so would make for questionable jurisdiction, and would offer victims little evidence to support claims that the airline committed any wrongdoing.

Because this matter demands the attention of proven trial lawyers, we encourage families to learn more about their rights, options, and the most appropriate path toward justice by speaking with our team. Call 312-210-8411 or contact us online to speak with an attorney.