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The amount of money Boeing Co. and its insurers will pay to the families of those who perished aboard two doomed jets will be dictated in part by one particularly grim calculation: How long did the victims know they were plunging to their deaths.

That measure is just one part of an expanding legal fight to determine financial liability after Boeing 737 Max crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed 346 people in the span of five months. The passengers’ families also could win damages for grief, sorrow, loss of companionship — and paychecks that will never be earned.

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While settling all those claims could cost $1 billion, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence estimate based on prior cases, legal experts agree the payouts could be even higher if evidence shows Boeing knew about flaws in the planes before the tragedies. That’s already prompted investor lawsuits claiming the company hid safety risks.