Attorney Mica Nguyen Worthy is suing NASA on behalf of Florida homeowner Alejandro Otero and his family to recover damages after their family home was hit by space debris in early March, according to the Cranfill Sumner Law Firm, where Worthy is a partner.
On March 8, a piece of space debris fell through the roof of Oter’s house while his son Daniel was in the room. The debris left a large hole in the roof through the sub-floor.
NASA later confirmed that the space debris came from its flight support equipment, which was used to secure batteries to a cargo pallet.
In March 2021, NASA ground forces used the International Space Station’s robotic arm to release a cargo pallet containing batteries from the space station following the installation of new batteries as part of an orbital base upgrade.
NASA said that although the hardware was expected to burn up during its re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere on March 8, a piece of hardware survived re-entry and hit a home in Florida.
Discussing the cause of the debris, NASA added, “Based on an investigation, the agency has determined that the debris is a prop from a NASA flight support device used to secure batteries to a cargo pallet. The object is made of Inconel metal alloy, weighs 1.6 pounds, is 4 inches tall and 1.6 inches in diameter.
The space agency said it will continue to investigate why the hardware did not burn up during entry and update their systems to prevent this from happening again.
The Otero family is looking for damages
Members of the Otero family are seeking claims for uninsured property damage, business interruption damages, emotional/mental distress damages and the costs of third-party assistance required in this process.
In addition, the homeowner’s insurance company Oteros simultaneously filed a claim for damages to the property he left behind.
“Space debris is a real and serious problem due to the increase in space traffic in recent years,” Worthy emphasized.
“My clients are looking for adequate compensation to account for the stress and impact of this event on their lives. They are thankful that no one was physically injured in this incident, but a near miss like this could have been catastrophic. Had the debris fallen a few feet in another direction, serious injury or death could have occurred,” Worthy added.
Worthy is a partner in Cranfill Sumner LLP’s Charlotte, North Carolina office and chair of the firm’s aerospace group.
Worthy also stressed to NASA that it should consider that US citizens should not be required to pursue a claim based on a legal theory of negligence when the US government has pledged to be “absolutely liable” under international treaty law for damage to persons or property on Earth surface. with your space objects.
“If the incident happened overseas and someone in another country was harmed by the same space debris as in the case of Oteros, the US would be absolutely liable for that damage under the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space. Objects also known as the ‘Space Responsibility Convention,’” Worthy noted.
“We asked NASA not to apply a different standard to US citizens or residents, but instead to take care of the Oteros and make them whole,” she said.
“The US government has an opportunity here, through NASA, to set the standard or ‘set the precedent’ for what responsible, safe and sustainable space operations should look like. If NASA were to take the position that the Oteros’ claims should be paid in full, it would send a signal to other governments and private industries that such victims should be compensated regardless of fault,” Worthy concluded.
NASA will have six months to respond to the allegations.