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Iraq War contractor ordered to pay National Guardsmen $85M over toxic chemical exposure
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/03/14898987-iraq-war-contractor-ordered-to-pay-national-guardsmen-85m-over-toxic-chemical-exposure?lite
Iraq War contractor ordered to pay National Guardsmen $85M over toxic chemical exposure
By NBC News wire services
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A jury on Friday ordered an American military contractor to pay $85 million after finding it guilty of negligence for illnesses suffered by a dozen Oregon soldiers who guarded an oilfield water plant during the Iraq War.
After a three-week trial, the jury deliberated for just two days before reaching a decision against the contractor, Kellogg Brown and Root.
Each Army National Guardsman was awarded $850,000 in non-economic damages and another $6.25 million in punitive damages for "reckless and outrageous indifference" to their health in the trial in U.S. District Court in Portland.
Guardsman Rocky Bixby, the soldier whose name appeared on the suit, said the verdict should reflect a punishment for the company's neglect of U.S. soldiers.
