HONOLULU– A lawyer representing U.S. military families who are suing over a 2021 jet fuel leak into a Navy drinking water system in Hawaii asked a judge on Monday to award the plaintiffs a range of about $225,000. to about $1.25 million each in compensation.
In a closing argument at the end of a two-week trial in federal court in Honolulu, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Kristina Baehr, said she is not asking for millions of dollars per person. She outlined several amounts they are asking a judge to award to each of them, including $400,000 for the past pain and suffering of Nastasia Freeman, the wife of a Navy sailor and mother of three, who described how the family thought that his vomiting and diarrhea were Thanksgiving food. poisoning. Baehr said Freeman should receive another $400,000 for future pain and suffering and $250,000 for mental anguish.
Freeman is among 17 “nominator” plaintiffs: a cross-selection of military relatives representing more than 7,500 others, including military personnel, in three federal lawsuits.
The result may help determine future damages to be awarded or settlements for others.
Baehr thanked the lawyers representing the United States for admitting liability in the case. The government said in court documents that the Nov. 20, 2021, spill at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility caused a nuisance to the plaintiffs, that the United States “breached its duty of care” and that the plaintiffs suffered injuries. compensable.
But they dispute whether residents were exposed to jet fuel at levels high enough to cause the alleged health effects, which range from vomiting to rashes.
The plaintiffs described how the water crisis sickened them and left them with ongoing health problems, including seizures, asthma, eczema and vestibular dysfunction.
Eric Rey, attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, said in his closing statement that one of the families did not stop drinking the water until Dec. 9, even though the Navy first received complaints about the water on Nov. 27. they didn’t smell anything in the water before that, an indication that the doses of jet fuel in the water were too low to cause health effects, he said.
“There is no acceptable level of jet fuel in drinking water,” Baehr said. “We don’t expect to have jet fuel in our drinking water.”
A 2022 Navy investigation report listed a series of cascading errors since May 6, 2021, when operator error caused a pipe to rupture that resulted in 21,000 gallons (80,000 liters) of fuel spilling while being transferred between tanks. Most of this fuel spilled into a fire suppression line and sat there for six months, causing the line to sink. When a cart crashed into this sagging line on November 20, it released 20,000 gallons (75,700 liters) of fuel.
The military eventually agreed to drain the tanks, amid state orders and protests from Native Hawaiians and other Hawaii residents concerned about the threat posed to Honolulu’s water supply. The tanks sit above an aquifer that supplies water to 400,000 people in urban Honolulu.
It is unclear when U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi will issue a ruling. Lawyers on both sides have until July to file additional final briefs and respond.
“I appreciate what you went through,” Kobayashi told the plaintiffs in court Monday. “I hope that at some point, wherever the decision comes, it will give you the feeling that you had the opportunity to speak your mind and represent your family.”
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