Judge in KBR case rejects challenges to three expert witnesses

Three expert witnesses called by Oregon National Guard soldiers and by defense contractor KBR Inc. will be allowed to testify when the soldiers’ case against KBR comes to trial, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Papak said Friday that testimony from dueling experts on wind-dispersion patterns and KBR’s expert microbiologist will be permitted. Both sides had sought to exclude the testimony of the opposing experts. The judge still has not ruled on challenges brought by both sides to other expert testimony.

The Oregon soldiers accuse KBR of knowingly put them at risk of contracting cancer and assorted other ailments by exposing them to a potent carcinogen, hexavalent chromium. The substance is found in sodium dichromate, an anti-corrosion agent used at the Qarmat Ali water treatment plant in southern Iraq. Soldiers were ordered to provide security at the plant in 2003 while KBR contractors sought to restore the plant under a Defense Department contract to restore the flow of Iraqi oil.

The company denies intentionally exposing the soldiers to environmental danger and maintains the health problems afflicting some of the soldiers could have been caused by the harsh conditions of the desert.

The trial in Portland, one of two brought by National Guard soldiers against KBR, is scheduled to begin in October, a month after the parallel case in Texas.

Short URL: https://kbrlitigation.com/?p=2595

Posted by admin on Aug 20 2012. Filed under KBR Lawsuits, News Coverage, Oregon Court Filings, Oregon Court Filings, Oregon Lawsuits, Oregon Live, Oregon Rulings, Qarmat Ali Blog, Qarmat Ali Case Update, Sodium Dichromate & Hexavalent Chromium. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.