HONOLULU — A man who suffered a heart attack shortly after Hawaii mistakenly issued an alert about a ballistic missile filed a lawsuit against the state on Tuesday.
The false missile alert and the state’s failure to cancel it in a timely manner was a substantial factor in causing James Sean Shields’ heart attack on Jan. 13, the lawsuit said.
His girlfriend Brenda Reichel joined the lawsuit, having suffered “emotional upset” from watching him almost die on several occasions.
Their lawsuit names the state of Hawaii and the then-administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Vern Miyagi. It names unidentified state employees, individuals and entities responsible for the missile alert. The suit seeks unspecified damages.
“We’re going to reserve any comment until we have had a chance to review the claims,” said Richard Rapoza, a spokesman for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency
State attorney general spokesman Krishna F. Jayaram said his office will review the complaint carefully and respond in due course. Miyagi declined to comment.
A Hawaii Emergency Management Agency employee mistakenly sent the missile alert to cellphones and broadcasters on Jan. 13, triggering widespread panic until the agency sent another message 38 minutes later notifying people it was a false alarm.
The lawsuit recounts how the couple was heading from their townhome in Hawaii Kai to Sandy Beach on Saturday morning when they received the alert on their cellphones.
“Both plaintiffs believe this message to be true and were extremely frightened and thought they were shortly going to die,” the lawsuit said. They decided if they were going to die, they might as well die together on the beach, the lawsuit said.
Reichel’s son, who is in the Hawaii Army National Guard, called her saying the threat was real and asked what they planned to do to seek shelter. The couple called their loved ones as they drove to the beach. Shields began to feel a severe and painful burning in his chest after he called his son and daughter.
Shortly after, he went to a community clinic, where he suffered cardiac arrest. A doctor resuscitated him, while arriving paramedics assisted him further. He was diagnosed with a myocardial infarction or heart attack after he arrived at Straub Hospital, the lawsuit said.
This is ridiculous, he had four stents put in after his heart attack. Guy was a ticking time bomb with his heart condition, should be thankful he survived and move on. This is the new American way to get rich, disgusting!
I think this one would be pretty easy to defend. How could any reasonable person actually believe the missile alert was real, having ample knowledge of the incompetence of the government running it? I mean, I saw the “alert” and totally ignored it. No one I know took it seriously, not one person.
“having ample knowledge of the incompetence of the government running it?”
I hear you, but that is a lot for someone possibly far more trusting of “der state” to process under some stress and surprise.
The typical democrat has full confidence in the massive state and central control.
Oh I believed it. I did my stretching exercises to get my head between my leg and kiss my a$$ goodbye.
How do I get some of that action??
Sue! Claim the stress isn’t allowing you to self-pleasure to completion, or that you’re burning things on the stove from staring out the window all day watching for missiles or . . . anything. In this state, any insane claim should get a hearing, and a possible settlement. Of course, the more PC the better.