Family of Boeing Whistleblower Sues Company Over His Death
The family of John Barnett, a former Boeing quality control manager, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aircraft manufacturer, accusing the company of harassment and intimidation that led to his suicide.
Barnett, 62, was found dead on March 9, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina, after undergoing several days of questioning by lawyers regarding his whistleblower claims about safety issues in Boeing’s jumbo jets.
The lawsuit, filed in a South Carolina federal court, alleges that Boeing subjected Barnett to a campaign of harassment, abuse, and intimidation, ultimately leading to his mental deterioration.
“Boeing had threatened to break John, and break him it did,” the family’s attorneys wrote in the court filing.
A longtime employee, Barnett worked as a quality control manager before retiring in 2017. He later went public with concerns about Boeing’s aircraft, including metal shavings near flight control wiring that could lead to failures, as well as defects affecting up to a quarter of the oxygen systems on the 787 Dreamliner.
The lawsuit claims that Boeing ignored Barnett’s concerns, then retaliated by giving him poor job reviews, undesirable shifts, and publicly blaming him for delays, which led to hostility from colleagues and blocked his transfer to another plant.
As a result of this treatment, Barnett was diagnosed with PTSD and suffered from severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, the lawsuit states.
“Boeing may not have pulled the trigger, but Boeing’s conduct was the clear cause, and the clear foreseeable cause, of John’s death,” the lawsuit asserts.
The lawsuit seeks damages for emotional distress, lost wages, future earnings, health expenses, and life insurance benefits. Boeing has yet to respond in court but issued a statement saying, “We are saddened by John Barnett’s death and extend our condolences to his family.”
