Ben Thompson
Nevada residents have been rewarded $130 million in compensation after drinking water that was laced with a rocket fuel chemical.
The eye-watering amount comes after a long trial against a trendy bottled water brand called Real Water.
Marketed as having 'healthy detoxifying properties', one customer died after drinking it and another was left needing an emergency transplant.
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Five people suffered excruciating pain and loss of limb control after drinking the $2.99 drink, which contained hydrazine.
Hydrazine is an extremely flammable and cancerous chemical used to make rocket fuel.
As a result of drinking it, Myles Hunwardsen underwent a liver transplant at the age of 29.
Jazmin Schaffer, Tina Hartshorn, Miriam Brody and Christina Sosa all suffered liver failure.
In October, a Nevada state court awarded more than $228 million in damages to several plaintiffs.
Included among them was the family of a 69-year-old woman who died and a seven-month-old boy who was hospitalised.
Both were suffering with severe liver failure.
The company has admitted negligence, claiming that the chemical made its way into the water during the manufacturing process.
According to them, the water underwent a seven-stage purification process to remove certain bacterias.
It's believed that hydrazine may have been added to the water during treatment before bottling.
On the website for Real Water, which was discontinued in 2021, the water is said to have passed through a resin bed, charcoal filter and UV light sanitizing unit.
It would then be treated with E² Technology, which stands for Electron Energized, where electrons are added to the water.
The bottled water is said to contain only two ingredients - purified water and potassium bicarbonate, an alkaline mineral.
Testimonies from claimants revealed the extent to which their health had declined after drinking Real Water.
Jazmin Schaffer began drinking the product in October 2020, when her boyfriend would get them delivered to their home.
Schaffer was drinking about a gallon a day, but also made use of the water in cooking and making teas and coffees.
After a few weeks, she began feeling ill with a pain in her abdomen.
She would sleep for 12 hours a night and vomit multiple times a day.
There was often blood in her vomit.
Upon going to urgent care, she was told that she was dehydrated and needed to drink more water.
When she lost function of her hands, she went to another hospital where doctors told her she had liver failure.
Because of the state of her liver, she had to undergo a biopsy without medication.
It left her in pain for a month.
Schaffer, along with three other plaintiffs, will be awarded more than $1 million.
Myles Hunwardsen received $30 million in compensatory damages, including $14 million for his reduced life expectancy, while the company was ordered to pay $100 million in punitive damages.