The trial on behalf of a Canadian man who lost his parents and sister killed in the crash of a Boeing 737 jet begins Monday (Jan. 12, 2026) in federal district court in Chicago, with Robert Clifford leading the plaintiff’s trial team.
U.S. District Court Judge Jorge Alonso will be presiding over the trial to determine damages. It is expected to last one week.
Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices in Chicago and lead counsel in the litigation, will be trying the case against Boeing’s lead counsel, Dan Webb of Winston & Strawn.
The case is on behalf of Manant Vaidya, who lost his parents, Pannagesh and Hansini Vaidya, and his sister, Kosha Vaidya, who were passengers in a Boeing 737 MAX8 aircraft that crashed shortly after takeoff in Ethiopia in 2019. At the time of the crash, the Vaidya family lived in Canada and was traveling during the young girls’ spring break to visit where their mother was born. The parents were also traveling to visit friends who still lived there. All were killed in the crash.
All 157 people on board from 35 countries perished. Also among the decedents were Kosha’s husband, Preritkumar Dixit, and their two children, Ashka and Anushka Dixit.
“We are fully prepared to begin selecting a jury January 12 on behalf of the Vaidya family,” Clifford said. “We are determined to seek justice for his family that has been completely devastated.”
Jury selection will begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday before U.S. District Court Judge Alonso in the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago.
“Boeing accepted full responsibility for the senseless and preventable loss of these lives,” Clifford said. “It is now up to a jury to determine just how devastating these losses are through the only way the civil justice system is able — monetary damages to hold the giant corporation accountable.”
The crash of the Boeing 737 MAX8 jet, Flight ET-302, occurred March 10, 2019, shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia, heading to Kenya, killing all 157 on board.
For further information, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell) or Pammenaker@cliffordlaw.com.