Law firm says it settled some cases involving Boeing crashes

A Chicago law firm says it has settled lawsuits against Boeing on behalf of the families of 11 passengers killed in the crash of a Lion Air jet off the coast of Indonesia.

It’s believed to be the first settlement in the nearly 100 lawsuits filed against Boeing after the October 2018 accident and another crash involving a Boeing 737 Max jet in March in Ethiopia.

Attorney Alexandra Wisner said Wednesday that the settlements were reached last month. She declined to discuss financial terms.

Wisner, who said her firm has six other lawsuits still pending, said Boeing did not admit liability.

Boeing, based in Chicago, declined to comment.

Plaintiffs in the Lion Air cases agreed to enter mediation with Boeing. Families of passengers who died in the second crash, involving an Ethiopian Airlines Max, did not. In all, 346 people died in the crashes.

Separately, Boeing said Wednesday it has created a new organization to investigate safety-related concerns by employees and established a safety committee on its board of directors.

Those and other changes follow a five-month review by Boeing’s board after the two accidents. Boeing faces criminal and civil investigations by the Justice Department, Congress and the Transportation Department.

The Max has been grounded since March while Boeing makes changes to flight-control systems implicated in the crashes. Boeing hopes regulators allow airlines to resume flying the plane later this year.