Feds pay out $17M to families sickened by Navy’s fuel-contaminated water in Hawaii
Military Times reports:
By Karen Jowers
The Department of Justice has issued about $17 million in payments to 629 people, mostly military family members, in connection with the toxic fuel spills that poisoned their water in Hawaii in 2021.
These are the first payments for settlements resolving about 3,600 claims resulting from the poisoned water, which caused numerous health problems for military families living in military housing, and for other civilian families in Hawaii whose water was provided by the Navy.
Another 3,000 people haven’t accepted the government’s offer, which their attorney describes as “paltry.”
And service members affected have received no payments, said Kristina Baehr, attorney for the plaintiffs in two federal court cases filed against the government. That issue is on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
‘A step in the right direction’:
Service members and family members reported numerous health problems, including diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems, rashes, neurological issues, burns, lesions, thyroid abnormalities, migraines and neurobehavioral challenges.
“The United States’ settlement payments to hundreds of Red Hill families are a step in the right direction,” Baehr said. “Every dollar paid represents some measure of accountability for families who were exposed to fuel-contaminated water in their homes, suffered injuries, and then were forced to fight their own government for recognition and relief.”
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Hawaii, alleged negligence in at least two separate events — in May and November 2021 — at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, which contaminated the Navy’s water distribution system.
Some 9,715 households in Navy, Army and Air Force neighborhoods were affected by the November spill. Those storage tanks have since been drained.
My comments:
Bolded emphasis mine.
By Karen Jowers
The Department of Justice has issued about $17 million in payments to 629 people, mostly military family members, in connection with the toxic fuel spills that poisoned their water in Hawaii in 2021.
These are the first payments for settlements resolving about 3,600 claims resulting from the poisoned water, which caused numerous health problems for military families living in military housing, and for other civilian families in Hawaii whose water was provided by the Navy.
Another 3,000 people haven’t accepted the government’s offer, which their attorney describes as “paltry.”
And service members affected have received no payments, said Kristina Baehr, attorney for the plaintiffs in two federal court cases filed against the government. That issue is on appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
‘A step in the right direction’:
Service members and family members reported numerous health problems, including diarrhea and other gastrointestinal problems, rashes, neurological issues, burns, lesions, thyroid abnormalities, migraines and neurobehavioral challenges.
“The United States’ settlement payments to hundreds of Red Hill families are a step in the right direction,” Baehr said. “Every dollar paid represents some measure of accountability for families who were exposed to fuel-contaminated water in their homes, suffered injuries, and then were forced to fight their own government for recognition and relief.”
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Hawaii, alleged negligence in at least two separate events — in May and November 2021 — at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, which contaminated the Navy’s water distribution system.
Some 9,715 households in Navy, Army and Air Force neighborhoods were affected by the November spill. Those storage tanks have since been drained.
My comments:
Bolded emphasis mine.
