Judge Awards $3 Billion In Toxic Bottled Water Case

(PatriotPostNews.com) — A former manufacturer of bottled water has been ordered to pay $3 billion to eight plaintiffs who were physically and mentally impaired after consuming the product.

Real Water, a brand that has since been discontinued, has been subjected to multiple lawsuits over the past few years, following serious liver damage suffered by consumers who drank their product. The recent verdict from a Las Vegas jury found the company liable for punitive damages on Friday, June 14, at the end of a two-week trial.

This specific case was brought on by three adults and five children, accusing the former manufacturer of having hydrazine—a toxic chemical found in rocket fuel—in their alkaline water. The plaintiffs argued that the substance in the drinking water directly caused liver problems for all eight plaintiffs, who included kids between the ages of seven months and five years old.

In addition to punitive compensation, the plaintiffs were also awarded compensatory damages of about $98 million. Attorney Will Kemp explained after the verdict that he is hopeful other bottled water manufacturers “test all their products” for harmful substances, as they “should” be doing.

Kemp was the lawyer for Christopher Brian and Emely Wren, the lead plaintiffs in the case, who were hospitalized and suffered intense fatigue and nausea, respectively, after drinking Real Water. Their son, age 2, was also hospitalized after consuming the product. According to Kemp, the family’s lawsuit “probably motivated the recall,” which was issued in 2021.

The five children in the case have sustained permanent injuries to their liver, and a 22-month-old has been diagnosed with cirrhosis. The long-term health impacts of the adult plaintiffs are not yet clear, save the fact they will be seeking mental and emotional health counseling to cope with the injury felt by their kids.

The $3 billion awards come eight months after Real Water was ordered to pay almost $229 million in damages to multiple plaintiffs in a separate case, which also included liver problems and one death.