A new class-action lawsuit was brought about by seven families in Flint alleging Governor Rick Snyder and other Michigan officials violated the Safe Drinking Water Act. The lawsuit also alleges that 17 children have high levels of lead in their blood.
The seven families alleged Snyder government's negligence over the lead-poisoned water. In the filing, the families argued that 17 children have high lead levels leading to irreversible brain damage. They argued that there are approximately 8,000 young people who may have been exposed to lead-contaminated water in Flint. The class-action lawsuit filed in Detroit Federal Court includes seven residents and 17 children with high lead levels as the plaintiffs, Reuters reported. The class-action lawsuit cites that the officials broke the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Environmental Protection Agency's Lead and Copper Rule.
"Lead poisoning is an insidious disease process. You don't look at a child and say, that child is lead poisoned. The situation is "a catastrophe," said Hunter Shkolnik, one of the lawyers representing the families said. "These children are brain damaged. It's just a matter of time before you see how it manifests itself for that child. A lot of people are quick to say the children look fine. Looks are deceiving."
The class-action lawsuit includes Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, other present and former government officials, and corporations for their participation in Flint's water crisis. The plaintiffs are accusing the officials of gross negligence. The lawsuit is also seeking for compensation and jury trial for the affected children and families, RT reports. They want payments for all their health cost expenses. The families are also seeking compensation for replacement of pipes, lost property value and renovation of contaminated property.
"The tragedy is still unfolding," Shkolnik said. "We don't know how many children and families are involved."
In a report by Street Insider, it claims that the attorneys for the plaintiffs, including Shkolnik and Adam Slater assert in the class-action lawsuit that the defendants failed to act immediately on Flint's water crisis as required by the federal law. The lawsuit claims that the Department of Environmental Quality didn't use an anti-corrosive treatment agent to treat the water problem. It has been found that Flint River water is 19 times more corrosive than Detroit.
The government of Snyder hasn't commented yet over the class-action lawsuit. However, Snyder's representative said that they are acting fast to solve the crisis.
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