Wrongful-death lawsuit in Shaler soldier’s electrocution dismissed

The mother of a Shaler soldier electrocuted in Iraq said Monday she was “completely disappointed” and will appeal a federal judge’s decision to dismiss the wrongful death lawsuit against the company she claims is responsible.

Cheryl Harris of Cranberry said the case involving her son, Ryan Maseth, didn’t end when U.S. District Judge Nora Barry Fischer on Friday dismissed the lawsuit against KBR Inc., a Houston-based engineering and construction company that contracted to maintain Army barracks in Iraq.

“We won’t quit until there is nothing left to appeal,” Harris said. “I was told that if I wanted justice, it would have to be in a courtroom. We expected that justice would prevail, but (the judge’s dismissal) left me surprised and disappointed.”

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KBR Dodges Lawsuit From Shocked Marine

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) - A Marine who was shocked while trying to install a wiring box at the military base near Fallujah, Iraq, cannot pursue negligence claims against defense contractor Kellogg Brown & Root, the 4th Circuit ruled.

     Peter Taylor had sought relief from the appellate court after a federal judge dismissed the claim in April 2010. Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar had agreed with KBR that Taylor lacked subject-matter jurisdiction since the political question doctrine bars negligence claims. Doumar also found that the "combat activities" exemption of the Federal Tort Claims Act pre-empts the suit.
The 4th Circuit declined to revive Taylor's claim, but it did vacate the trial court's finding about the pre-emption issue since the lack of jurisdiction removes the judges need to consider this aspect of the case.

     Taylor, a hospital corpsman for the Marines, had been stationed at a camp about 15 miles outside Fallujah at the time of the July 2007 accident. A generator malfunction had incapacitated the tank ramp that troops used to maintain Marine tanks, Humvees and other vehicles.

     Power outages were a recurring problem for the Marines, so Taylor and others tried to find another source of electricity for the ramp, ultimately deciding to install a wiring box and hook it up to their generator. KBR technicians who had arrived at the base to work on another repair job allegedly knew that the Marines are working with the wiring on the generator. Nevertheless, one of KBR's technicians turned on the generator power while Taylor was working on it, causing him to get electrocuted, according to the complaint.
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KBR wants Iraqi law used in electrocution case

PITTSBURGH — Attorneys for Houston-based military contractor KBR Inc. have asked a federal judge in Pittsburgh to apply Iraqi law to a lawsuit filed by the mother of a Pittsburgh-area soldier who was electrocuted while showering at a U.S. military base in Iraq.

U.S. District Judge Nora Berry Fischer asked attorneys for both sides to file written arguments before she’ll decide the issue.

At a hearing Tuesday, she frankly acknowledged what she believed was the reason for the motion. “The big nut is whether or not you can apply for punitive damages,” the judge said. “You can’t get punitives in Iraq.”

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Cheryl Harris at Press Conference re KBR Bonus

You can see videos of Cheryl Harris, the mother of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, who was electrocuted while serving in Iraq. Senators Casey and Dorgan were also at the press conference.

Videos of the three statements can be found by clicking here. Look under the listing to the right of the current video.

Department of Defense Inspector General Report on the Electrocution Death of Ryan Maseth

The Department of Defense has released its conclusions on the electrocution death of Ryan Maseth. You can download the .pdf file by going here.

Among the conclusions: "multiple systems and organizations failed..."

Part Two covers seventeen additional incidents of electrocution.

Download it here.

US Troops Still Dodging Deadly Showers

Military races to inspect more than 90,000 facilities to reduce deadly threat

WASHINGTON - The military is racing to inspect more than 90,000 U.S.-run facilities across Iraq to reduce a deadly threat troops face far off the battlefield: electrocution or shock while showering or using appliances.

Pfc. Justin Shults shows some of the burn wounds he received after being electrocuted in a shower facility in Iraq, in this photo taken in January in San Antonio, Texas. Shults suffered third-degree burns on 13-percent of his body. He is suing contractor KBR Inc. for faulty wiring of the facility. (Kin Man Hui / San Antonio Express-News via AP) About one-third of the inspections so far have turned up major electrical problems, according to interviews and an internal military document obtained by The Associated Press. Half of the problems they found have since been fixed but about 65,000 facilities still need to be inspected, which could take the rest of this year. Senior Pentagon officials were on Capitol Hill this week for briefings on the findings

Read the whole story by clicking here.

US troops in Iraq victims of faulty wiring from The Guardian (UK)

Shoddy wiring 'everywhere' on Iraq bases, Army inspector says CNN

Editor's note: If it were not for the lawsuit against KBR by the Maseth family, I doubt that these serious, deadly problems would ever be addressed. Unfortunately in the US, it takes a civil lawsuit to make the government meet their responsibilities to keep military personnel safe.

The civil lawsuit has gotten the attention of the media, and sometimes that is the only way that justice is addressed in America.

Braveheart

Stephen Madison Story

Click here to go to Ms. Sparky's blog to read about a soldier scalded by hot water in Iraq, who eventually died of complications.