[CPEO-MEF] GLOBAL: "Supreme Court allows lawsuits over burn pits, electrocutions" in Iraq and Afghanistan

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Supreme Court allows lawsuits over burn pits, electrocutions

By Heath Druzin
Stars and Stripes
January 20, 2015

The Supreme Court is allowing lawsuits involving open-air burn pits  
in Iraq and Afghanistan and a soldier’s electrocution in a base  
shower to move forward against two of the largest American military  
contractors, according to wire reports.

The lawsuits were filed against KBR Inc. and Halliburton Co., which  
had filed appeals saying the lawsuits should be thrown out because  
the company was operating as an arm of the military in Iraq and  
Afghanistan. Two of the lawsuits include claims that troops suffered  
health problems related to their exposure to burn pits and toxic  
chemicals on American bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another claims  
that shoddy electrical work led to the electrocution death of Staff  
Sgt. Ryan Maseth, who was killed in a base shower in Iraq.

In general, the government cannot be sued in such cases, but private  
contractors working on behalf of the government have presented a  
legal gray area. Supreme Court justices offered no comment for their  
decision, according to the Associated Press. The Obama administration  
has sided with the contractors.



...

For the entire article, see
http://www.stripes.com/news/us/supreme-court-allows-lawsuits-over- 
burn-pits-electrocutions-1.324782

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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