Hawaii Red Hill Water Contamination Lawsuit Expands
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Federal court filings in Honolulu showed that attorneys representing people who said they were sickened by the November 2021 Red Hill jet fuel spill had added more than 6,000 additional plaintiffs to a consolidated lawsuit against the United States, the amended complaint stated.
The expansion came after years of litigation and research into health effects tied to the U.S. Navy fuel release that contaminated drinking water systems serving homes on and near Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam. The amended complaint cited recent studies and sought to press the government toward settlement for thousands of additional claimants.
Why It Matters
The Red Hill facility sits above an aquifer that supplies water to large parts of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The November 20, 2021, release of jet fuel into the Navy water system affected residents in military housing and raised broader concerns about the island's drinking water security.
Stock image of a scientist testing water for contamination.
Stock image of a scientist testing water for contamination.
Getty Images
What To Know
The amended complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu added more than 6,000 plaintiffs and said the two lead law firms now represent roughly 7,000 claimants who alleged injury from fuel-tainted tap water.
Separately, previously filed consolidated litigation listed 17 "bellwether" plaintiffs who went to trial and were viewed as representatives for thousands of pending claims; the Associated Press reported in April 2024 that those plaintiffs represented "a cross-selection of relatives of military members representing more than 7,500 others, including service members."
The U.S. government filed court documents that admitted the November 20, 2021, spill at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility "caused a nuisance," the AP reported, and breached a duty of care, though it disputed that exposure levels were high enough to cause the specific long-term health effects alleged by plaintiffs.
The awards in Feindt v. United States list each bellwether plaintiff's damages. The court awarded general damages (pain/suffering), plus $1,000 hedonic damages to each plaintiff, and limited special damages (future medical expenses for four plaintiffs; a small economic loss for one):
General damages (each): Aubart $37,500; Dietz $37,500; B.D. $37,500; V.D. $25,000; Feindt $37,500; P.G.F. $10,000; T.F. $5,000; Freeman $75,000; D.F. $10,000; K.F. $50,000; N.F. $50,000; Jessup $37,500; B.B.J. $75,000; B.J.J. $75,000; D.J. $5,000; N.J. $10,000; Witt $37,500. (Plus $1,000 hedonic damages to each plaintiff.)
Special damages (future medical): Dietz $7,322.71; P.G.F. $4,953.36; Freeman $28,876.01; Jessup $6,962.41.
Special damages (economic): Feindt $2,144.
The amended complaint also cited recent health studies that plaintiffs said strengthened their claims, including a Defense Department study that reported a higher incidence of new migraines and esophageal inflammation among those exposed and a University of Hawaii survey that found roughly 80 percent of affected residents reported new or worsened symptoms after the spill.
What People Are Saying
Kristina Baehr, an attorney with Just Well Law, in a news release: "These families prevailed against all odds against the Government in court, and they helped prove to the world what truly happened when the Navy poisoned the water supply near Pearl Harbor and sickened so many."
Richelle Dietz, a mother of two and wife of a Naval officer, told the Associated Press: "I hope that one day I can not think about water all the time. But right now it's a constant."
What Happens Next
The plaintiffs' legal teams said they were negotiating with government attorneys about a potential settlement for the larger pool of claimants using the bellwether awards as a baseline.
If lawyers for the plaintiffs and the government did not reach a settlement, additional phases of litigation and further bellwether trials would likely determine the scope of recoverable damages for the remaining claimants, legal experts said in prior coverage of the consolidated cases.
The Red Hill site remained in the process of defueling, and a long-term closure plan was underway; local officials and water authorities have continued efforts to protect Oahu's aquifer and municipal supplies from further contamination, HawaiiNewsNow reported.
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