Restaurant Manager's Widow and Children Win $15 Million Settlement After Tragic Plane Crash

David Mittleman

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Michael Waugh was the general manager of Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab Restaurant in Chicago. Sadly, he died in a plane crash on January 30, 2006 while traveling in a Cessna 421B, piloted by a Morgan Stanley financial advisor, Mark Turek. Turek and two other passengers also died in the crash.

According to the wrongful-death lawsuit, Michael Waugh was allegedly flying in the private aircraft because Turek and another Morgan Stanley employee had arranged a financial consult with Mr. Waugh and his father, Jack Waugh. Turek flew the plane from Olathe, Kansas and was cleared to land at the Chicago-area airport. However, he drove the airplane too slowly while attempting to land and caused the engine to stall. The airplane then crashed nose-first into the ground and exploded upon impact.

Waugh’s widow and three children, ages 14, 12, and 8, will receive compensation for his death after a Cook County judge approved a $15 million settlement for the wrongful death lawsuit against Turek’s estate. Specifically, the family’s lawsuit alleged that Morgan Stanley allowed a non-professional pilot to fly company planes on business trips, which they argued ultimately caused Waugh’s death.