Nearly a year after the Lion Air crash killed 189 people, four victim families reached a settlement with Boeing, a families' attorney tells CNN Business.
"We represent 46 victim families. We reached an agreement on four of those cases," said Mark Lindquist of Herrmann Law Group. "Negotiations are ongoing. Our goals are justice for the victims, accountability from Boeing and safer skies for everyone-- whether we get there by settlement or by trial."
Read MoreWhen former Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist moved on from his post after the 2018 election, he pretty much hit the ground running. After interviewing with several law firms and considering offers, he chose the renowned Herrmann Law Group, which handles aviation disasters, automobile accidents, and other personal injury cases.
“I planned to take a break for writing, reading, and life maintenance, but this opportunity was too good to refuse,” he told The Tacoma Weekly. “So I went straight from one job to the next. No break.”
Now, Lindquist is using his experience and savvy to help the families of those who perished in the two deadliest Boeing airline crashes in history.
Last week, the Herrmann Law Group filed a federal lawsuit against The Boeing Company on behalf of the families of two victims who died in the March 10 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Prior to this, the firm filed suit against The Boeing Company on behalf of the families of 17 victims who died in the crash of Lion Air Flight JT 610 on Oct. 29, 2018.
“When I joined Herrmann Law, I knew Lion Air would be the first case I would work on,” Lindquist said. “I didn’t know how big of a job it would become. It’s the most engaging case of my career so far and I’ve been blessed to work on many engaging cases.”
Lindquist said he chose Herrmann Law because the firm embodies his professional and personal values.
“When we met to discuss the job, Chuck (Herrmann Law Chairman Charles Herrmann] told me, ‘The purpose of law is to do good and avoid evil.’ Simple and true. That resonated with me.”
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Read MoreThis week the Herrmann Law Group filed a federal lawsuit against The Boeing Company on behalf of the families of two victims who died in the crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 operated by Ethiopian Airlines.
Herrmann Law Group also represents more than 30 victim families from the crash of Lion Air Flight JT 610 on Oct. 29, 2018. Both the Lion Air and Ethiopian air crashes involved new Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.
The new complaint alleges three main charges: 1) Boeing’s 737 Max 8 was defective, 2) Boeing concealed the dangers of a new computer system on the aircraft from pilots, airlines, and the FAA, and 3) even after the Lion Air crash in 2018, Boeing failed to fully inform pilots of the dangers.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 departed Addis Abba, Ethiopia, on March 10, 2019. On board were eight crewmembers and 149 passengers from more than 30 countries. They were bound for Nairobi, Kenya. Many of the passengers were traveling to United Nations or African Union conferences. The plane crashed only minutes after takeoff. All on board died.
The 157 victims include Canadian Professor Adebola Pius Adesanmi, a world-renowned essayist, satirist, and human rights activist. Herrmann Law Group represents his estate.
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Read MoreSEATTLE -- A Seattle law firm has filed a federal lawsuit against Boeing for the second of two deadly crashes involving the company's 737 Max 8 planes. The Herrmann Law Group said Wednesday that it is representing the families of two victims of the March 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 156 people.
Read More“Liability will not truly be in dispute here. Boeing is at fault. Their equipment failed. Their planes crashed twice,” Mark Lindquist, an attorney with the Herrmann Law Group who is representing the families of 26 victims of the Lion Air crash, told Yahoo Finance.
Read MoreThere are reports that Boeing is rushing to install new safety devices in its 737 MAX airliners, following two fatal crashes in six months: the Ethiopian Airlines crash less than a fortnight ago, and a Lion Air flight last October, which crashed into the waters off Indonesia shortly after take-off, killing everyone on board.
Read MoreA law firm in Washington State is suing the American aircraft manufacturer for its role in the crash of a Lion Air aircraft off Indonesia in October 2018 and is preparing a second appeal in connection with the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines plane, which occurred about ten days ago.
Read MoreRenowned International lawyer Charles Herrmann came to Indonesia to compensate the families of Indonesian victims who took a tour bus in the US when they were hit by an Amphibious Tour vehicle operated by Ride the Ducks of Seattle, Washington.
Read MoreOn March 12, the Herrmann Law Group filed a lawsuit against the Boeing Company on behalf of the families of 17 victims who died in the crash of a Boeing 737 operated by Lion Air. The complaint alleges that Boeing equipment failed, and that Boeing failed to properly inform pilots about the presence and dangers of a new automated system installed in the aircraft.
Read MoreFederal Aviation Administration managers pushed its engineers to delegate wide responsibility for assessing the safety of the 737 MAX to Boeing itself. But safety engineers familiar with the documents shared details that show the analysis included crucial flaws.
Read More“Years of experience representing hundreds of victims has revealed a common thread through most air disaster cases,” said Charles Herrmann, the principle of Herrmann Law, which has an office in the International District.
“Generating profit in a fiercely competitive market too often involves cutting safety measures. In this case, Boeing cut training and completely eliminated instructions and warnings on a new system. Pilots didn’t even know it existed. I can’t blame so many pilots for being mad as hell.”
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Read MoreHerrmann law is known internationally as the best company for aviation litigation.
Read MoreA Seattle-based law firm filed a lawsuit against Boeing Thursday, alleging that the company failed to properly inform pilots of the “presence and dangers” of a new automated system, which led to a Lion Air crash in October killing all 189 people on board.
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Read MoreBoeing is being sued in Seattle on behalf of the families of some of the 189 people who died in the October crash of a Lion Air jet. The suit blames a new automated flight-control system on the 737 Max and says Boeing failed to disclose information to pilots.
READ MORE AT THE SEATTLE TIMES
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