Veterans Sue 11 U.S. Firms, Blame Them for Desert Storm Disabilities
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HOUSTON — Desert Storm veterans are suing 11 American firms they say are responsible for illnesses they contracted during the Gulf War.
The 26 veterans are seeking more than $1 billion in a class-action lawsuit for the disabilities they say they suffered as a result of biological and chemical weapons used by the Iraqis.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Angleton, just south of Houston, where one of the defendants, Rhone-Poulenc Inc., has a plant. A call to the Rhone-Poulenc headquarters in Shelton, Conn., was not returned Tuesday.
The defendants are accused of manufacturing biological compounds that they knew were “unreasonably dangerous,” said David Bickham, who is a lawyer for the plaintiffs.
The firms are also accused of conducting business in such a way that “an outlaw country like Iraq” could acquire the compounds and use them to make chemical and biological weapons, he said.
Another attorney for the plaintiffs said his clients suffered from several disorders including memory loss and speech impairment.
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