1,002 New Red Hill Injury Claims Filed Over Navy Water Contamination: Just Well Law, PLLC, The Hosoda Law Group, and Motley Rice LLC

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Jun 20, 2023, 07:00 ET

HONOLULU, June 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,000 additional military family members and civilians alleging exposure to jet fuel-contaminated water in 2021 near the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawai`i filed new legal claims against the Government today, joining hundreds already in or headed for federal-court litigation, according to their attorneys at Just Well Law, PLLC, the Hosoda Law Group, and Motley Rice LLC.

Today, the military family members and civilians filed 1,002 required pre-litigation SF-95 administrative claim forms under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). If their administrative claims are denied, they will join the pending federal-court lawsuit in Honolulu as soon as possible, the law firms said. The case is Patrick Feindt, Jr., et al., v. The United States of America, Case No. 1:22-cv-0039, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai`i.

Court filings in the Feindt case detail how the affected military and civilian families suffer from a widening range of frightening, debilitating health effects because of the U.S. Navy's allegedly reluctant, inconsistent delivery of medical care and its seeming secrecy. The families have been critical of the Navy for its alleged refusal to fully disclose the scope of the Red Hill contamination which has left many of them fearing for their families and futures and distrustful of the Navy command on which they depend.

In other developments in the Feindt case:

A fourth amended complaint was filed on June 13, adding 187 plaintiffs. The filing doubled the size of the pending federal-court claims. The families allegedly affected by contamination of the Navy water line have reported seizures, gastrointestinal disorders, neurological issues, burns, rashes, lesions, thyroid abnormalities, migraines, neurobehavioral challenges, and other maladies, according to the complaint.
The Government filed a stipulation admitting negligence, nuisance and injury as to the plaintiffs in the Feindt lawsuit. The Feindt legal team is aware of no case where the Government has admitted to negligence of this scale — and certainly none where it admitted injuries. The injured military families and civilians in the case will now litigate the scope of harm and damages.

Kristina S. Baehr, a lawyer for the injured military and civilian families in the case, said, "Our team is working hard to hold accountable a Government that allegedly exposed its people to dangerous contaminants, failed to treat them, and told them they were not sick. We are working hard to vindicate our clients' rights. These families are still sick, and 67 percent of our clients report that they still have adverse health symptoms. This is consistent with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reporting. We are monitoring the five federal investigations of the contamination. Our clients are rightly concerned for their near- and long-term health prospects."

All Red Hill cases are being jointly handled by Kristina S. Baehr (TX) of Just Well Law, 2606 W 8th St Unit 1, Austin, TX; Lyle Hosoda (HI) of the Hosoda Law Group, 500 Ala Moana Blvd #3-499, Honolulu, HI; and Frederick C. Baker (NY, SC) of Motley Rice LLC, 28 Bridgeside Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Contact: Erin Powers, Powers MediaWorks LLC, for Just Well Law, PLLC, the Hosoda Law Group, and Motley Rice LLC, [email protected], 281.703.6000.

SOURCE Just Well Law, PLLC