American Airlines and McDonnell Douglas Corp. agreed Thursday to pay a $235,000 settlement to the family of a young Joliet woman who was killed in the May 25, 1979, crash of an American Airlines DC-10 jumbo jet near O`Hare International Airport.
The payment to the family of Doreen Malek, 22, who was killed with 272 others in the worst aviation disaster in U.S. history, all but concludes the 67 lawsuits that were filed in Illinois since the crash.
The $235,000 settlement was approved by U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur less than a month before the case was scheduled to go to trial before a jury. American and McDonnell Douglas, manufacturer of the DC-10, will pay the money to the victim`s parents, Martin and Donna Malek, and to her brother and sister, Michael and Donna Malek.
Only one of the 67 lawsuits filed in Illinois still remains unresolved in federal court. On Feb. 28, 1984, a jury awarded $4.1 million in damages to Lora Lux, widow of Walter Lux, the American Airlines flight captain. But the airline and McDonnell Douglas have appealed the verdict to the U.S. Court of Appeals, contending the amount of damages was excessive.
Fewer than 10 other lawsuits of the more than 200 suits filed are still pending in various jurisdictions around the country.
Of the 67 lawsuits filed in Illinois, 64 were settled out of court and three went to trial. Awards have averaged about $150,000, with three exceeding $1.5 million, said Thomas A. Demetrio, a partner in the law firm of Corboy & Demetrio, who represented Malek`s family.
Malek, a secretary employed by Commonwealth Edison Co. in Joliet, and a friend, Debra Moruzi, 21, boarded the Los Angeles-bound Flight 191 on their way to Hawaii for a vacation. Moruzi`s family also sued American and McDonnell Douglas and was awarded $250,000 in damages by a jury last year.
Demetrio, who represented the families of the two women and those of 24 others, said the Malek settlement was another vindication of personal injury law.
”How else could the little person obtain a fair settlement against a large corporation? Only the threat of an imminent jury trial caused these cases to be settled for amounts of money that fairly compensate the families,” Demetrio said.
Demetrio said that the defendants first offered to settle the Malek case for $40,000 and that their last offer before Thursday was about $150,000.
The cause of the crash was determined to be a crack in a pylon bulkhead supporting an underwing engine.
