Posted on 10/30/2014 5:49:32 PM PDT by logi_cal869
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that a class-action lawsuit filed by about 200 Navy sailors and Marines can proceed against Japanese utility TEPCO and other defendants who they blame for a variety of ailments from radiation exposure following a nuclear reactor meltdown 3½ years ago.
In a decision released Tuesday, Southern District of California Judge Janis Sammartino ruled that the suit can be amended to add the builders of the Fukushima-Daichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors — General Electric, EBASCO, Toshiba and Hitachi — as defendants.
Sammartino also denied a change of venue to Japan and dismissed several minor aspects of the suit. The plaintiffs’ lawyers have until Nov. 18 to make changes to their filings.
“It is not over, but we have won the major battle,” lawyer Charles Bonner wrote in an email to his clients that was provided to Stars and Stripes.
“THANK GOD!!!!!” responded Lindsay Cooper, the first USS Ronald Reagan sailor to come forward and report an illness.
Sammartino’s ruling was a bit of a surprise. The Defense Department, including Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Dr. Jonathan Woodson, have concluded that the illnesses are not a result of the servicemembers’ work in Operation Tomodachi, in which a massive earthquake on March 11, 2011, spawned a tsunami that swamped the nuclear plant.
The suit was first filed in 2012 by a small group of sailors off the USS Ronald Reagan, who alleged that TEPCO’s misinformation coaxed U.S. forces closer to the affected areas and made them sick. More ailing servicemembers came forward citing exposure-related ailments such as unexplained cancers, excessive bleeding and thyroid issues.
The suit has been refiled a number of times, adding plaintiffs and, more recently, additional defendants.
TEPCO tried to have the case dismissed. Oral arguments were presented Aug. 25.
Bonner and fellow attorney for the sailors, Paul Garner, said additional plaintiffs are continuing to come forward with “serious ailments from radiation,” according to a statement released by the legal team.
I have no problem at all with any Sailor/Marine who was,in fact,harmed by that radiation getting medical care and,if called for,disability pay from the Pentagon.But just as they can’t sue General Electric if they’re injured by an engine failure,they shouldn’t be able to sue here.
Going after the power company for its misinformation seems reasonable. I’m still a bit upset that the US Navy wasn’t more diligent and forthcoming about exposure risks to the sailors and marines. Helping with disaster relief is one thing, but doing so without being honest about the risks is unconsciousable.
Seriously, it is not as if the Navy doesn’t have the means to measure radiation and exposure...
(A former Navy Nuke ET)
It’s the direct 2nd-hand stories I’ve been privy to of the sailors’ experience on the Reagan that moved me.
How the Navy could be so reckless could only be because they underestimated the threat due to damaging lack of information from Tepco. They have the right to sue and anyone on this side of the Pacific trying to stop them is complicit. I want it all to come out in Court.
Why the Navy would try to stop this is a deep subject and not one for this thread.
The Navy certainly does have the means. They have radiation monitors, dosimetry and training aplenty.
Whether they used any of it is my question. Ordinarily I would reject out of hand any suggestion that they did not, but under Obama our military has atrophied so quickly that I am no longer sure.
It seems we are so concerned with turning the services into a drag show Peace Corps parody that we’ve lost the ability to operate on the NBC battlefield.
What fool would sail thru a radiation plume?
The fool that trusted the info coming from Tepco. Imho, the jury’s still out on what ‘type’ of explosion occurred at Unit 3. The video is telling. Chilling, in fact.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.