Jurors have awarded more than $3 billion to eight Las Vegas residents who suffered liver failure after drinking “healthy” bottled water that contained a toxin found in rocket fuel.
The lawsuit alleged that Real Water, a now bankrupt alkaline water company, sold bottles containing the deadly chemical hydrazine. The drinks, marketed as a healthy alternative to tap water, led to the hospitalization of five children and three adults for life-threatening liver problems.
Emely Wren, one of the plaintiffs, said during her testimony that she started buying the brand after seeing fellow health-conscious peers drinking it.
She had no idea that years later she would be holding her two-year-old son in his arms as he was transported to a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City for emergency treatment.
“It was probably the scariest moment of my life to see your child screaming like that and you don’t know what’s going on,” she said. Both she, her husband Christopher and her two-year-old son had extreme nausea, blurred vision and lethargy after drinking the water in 2020.
Emely and Christopher Brian Wren, and their two-year-old son, all experienced nausea, blurred vision and lethargy in 2020.
The FDA launched an investigation into Real Water and warned that people should not drink, cook with, sell or serve the product
In addition to the $3 billion the company was ordered to pay in punitive damages, the jury asked Real Water to pay $98 million to cover the costs the families incurred in treating their physical and psychological wounds.
The children in the lawsuit were between seven months and five years old. All were flown to a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City in 2020 for acute liver damage.
Some children had cirrhosis, a scarring of the liver often associated with alcoholics that is irreversible.
Real Water is manufactured alkaline, meaning it has a slightly higher pH than water.
We are popularly seen as a healthy option, even though we have no significant advantage over normal water. Dr. Howard E. LeWine said the chief medical editor of Harvard Health Publishing.
Manufacturers make alkaline water in a factory by passing water through giant magnets called an ionizer.
Real Water used a new seven-part process to alkalize their product, electrifying the water twice for 12 hours. The device used to electrify the water likely produced the hydrazine.
Hydrazine is used and produced in the making of rocket fuels and spacecraft fuels. It is clear, highly flammable and smells like ammonia.
Ingesting it can cause stomach upset, vomiting, uncontrolled shaking, lethargy, nerve inflammation and coma. According to the CDC.
No studies have been done to directly determine how the toxin affects your liver. But because the liver is responsible for filtering your blood, when it breaks down toxins it can cause serious, irreversible damage to tissue. according to Mayo Clinic.
The fact that hydrazine was allowed into the water supply highlights the lack of quality control at Real Water facilities, Will Kemp, the families’ lead attorney, told Newsweek.
“We just hope it encourages the bottled water industry to test all their products as they should,” Mr Kemp said.
One of the most high-profile cases against Real Water involved Myles Hunwardsen, who had to be taken to hospital for a liver transplant after drinking the company’s water.
Jazmin Schaffer lost the function of her hands and started shaking uncontrollably while driving. She was part of the group that was awarded $130 million in damages in February 2024.
Miriam Brody, another plaintiff in the February 2024 case against Real Water, was 78 when she was taken to Henderson Hospital and treated for liver failure.
Tina Hartshorn purchased gallons of Real Water to drink at home and was part of the February 2024 proceedings against the company.
Federal complaints against Real Water date back to March 2021. The FDA and Southern Nevada Health District initially investigated the company for being linked to non-viral hepatitis.
At this point, Real Water pulled their products from the shelves.
This joint investigation resulted in an FDA complaint alleging that Real Water had violated state laws by distributing “adulterated and unbranded bottled water.”
The FDA complaint stated: ‘While the companies marketed their products as a healthy alternative to tap water, the government alleged that the products actually consisted of municipal tap water that the defendants processed with various chemicals, contrary to current good manufacturing practices , relevant foods. safety standards and measures to prevent hazards’.
Less than two months later, the company filed for bankruptcy. Their president, former Nevada lawmaker Brent Jones, apologized.
They were ordered to pay $228 million in damages in one trial in October 2023 and $130 million in damages in February 2024.
The February 2024 lawsuit also included 29-year-old Myles Hunwardsen, who had to undergo a liver transplant Jazmin Schaffer, Tina Hartshorn, Miriam Brody and Christina Sosa, who all suffered liver failure after drinking Real Water.
Before they even realized what caused it, the plaintiffs were struck by severe vomiting, nausea, confusion, fatigue and brain fog after drinking Real Water sometime in 2020, just like the plaintiffs in the June 2024 case.
Mr Kemp, who also represented victims in the February case, said: ‘We want to send a message to food and drink manufacturers that they must commit to quality assurance.’