Families of Pius Adesanmi and other victims of the Boeing 737 Max air crashes, are to receive $ 213,242 from the plane manufacturer, if they choose to submit claims before 2020.
The fund, overseen by Washington lawyers Ken Feinberg and Camille S Biros, will begin accepting claims from family members immediately and family members will not be required to waive or release the right to litigate as a condition of participation.
The 737 MAX has been grounded since March after fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia. Claims must be postmarked no later than December 31, the fund said.
A statement by Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the company continued to extend its “deepest sympathies” to the families and loved ones of victims of the twin crashes. “The opening of this fund is an important step in our efforts to help affected families,” he said.
Boeing also announced in July it planned to spend an additional $US50 million to support education and economic empowerment in impacted communities. Nearly 100 lawsuits have been filed against Boeing by at least a dozen law firms representing families of the Ethiopian Airlines crash victims, who came from 35 different countries, including nine US citizens and 19 Canadians while families of about 60 victims have yet to file lawsuits but plaintiffs’ lawyers said they anticipated more to come.
According to the BBC, Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of the compensation, said families who apply for the cash will not have to waive their right to sue.
Pius Adesanmi had met his death on March 10 2019, on a trip from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Nairobi in Kenya. This was the second crash in five months of the 737 max model. Another had happened on October 10 2019 in Indonesia. Both disasters led to the grounding of all models of the aircraft.
An investigation into a software that was automated to force the plane down to prevent it from stalling, was instituted by the USA’s aviation regulator. The craft remains grounded, with uncertainties as to whether it would be allowed to fly again this year. This will lead to it paying compensation to airlines who have been unable to fly the craft. About 393 makes of the model were built as at March 2019.