Boeing Reaches First Settlements With Lion Air Crash Victims

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. has reached the first settlements of lawsuits filed by families of Lion Air passengers who died when the 737 Max aircraft crashed in Indonesia late last year.

Eleven of 17 clients represented by the Wisner Law Firm in Chicago have settled claims, partner Alexandra M. Wisner said in an interview. She declined to say how much Boeing agreed to pay, citing a confidentiality provision. Reuters earlier reported each family will get at least $1.2 million.

A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on the settlements. In July, the company said it was offering $100 million to support the families of victims and others affected by two crashes of its 737 Max jetliner.

The Lion Air flight plunged into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff on Oct. 29, killing all 189 people on board. In March, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed in Africa, killing 157. Wisner said her firm is pursuing claims with six other Lion Air families and represents 12 suing over the Ethiopia crash.

Boeing has since grounded its 737 Max indefinitely and is working to fix a software issue it says may have led to the crashes.

The company faces more than 100 lawsuits from families of Lion Air and Ethiopian Air victims who claim the software glitches caused pilots to lose control of the aircraft. The families allege Boeing executives knew of the flaws and negligently prioritized earnings over safety.

Some pilots of 737 Max planes have also sued, saying Boeing put them in danger by allowing the aircraft to remain in use without fixing the software.

--With assistance from Julie Johnsson.

To contact the reporters on this story: Gerald Porter Jr. in New York at gporter30@bloomberg.net;Heather Smith in New York at hsmith26@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Steve Stroth

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