Florida Family to File Lawsuit Against NASA for Space Debris Damage

TapTechNews June 24th, according to CBSNews, a family's house in Florida was hit by space debris earlier this year, punching a hole through the roof. The family announced last week that they will file a damage compensation lawsuit against NASA.

On March 8th this year, the house of Alejandro Otero in Naples was pierced by a cylindrical object. It is known that when the incident occurred, Otero was on vacation and learned of the event from his son's call. 'I was shaking all over and couldn't believe it. The chance of such a big thing hitting my house and causing so much damage is extremely low. But thank goodness, no one was hurt.'

The object was then sent to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral for analysis. In April, NASA confirmed that the object is a metal support bracket used to secure old batteries, which was originally installed on a cargo pallet and was to be discarded. The pallet was thrown out from the space station in 2021 and was expected to burn up completely after entering the Earth's atmosphere, but one of the fragments'survived'.

Now, the Otero family is claiming compensation from NASA. The law firm Cranfill Sumner said in a press release this week that they have submitted a claim request on behalf of the Otero family.

According to TapTechNews, the claim items include uninsured property damage, business interruption, mental distress, and third-party agency assistance costs. Lawyer Mica Nguyen Worthy said in a statement that this incident is a real portrayal of the space debris problem. Due to the increase of space objects in recent years, space debris has become a'very serious problem'.

'My client is seeking appropriate compensation to compensate for the stress and impact that this incident has brought to their lives,' Worthy said. 'They are lucky that no one suffered physical harm in this incident, but this kind of 'near miss' situation can have disastrous consequences. If the debris fell a few feet in another direction, it could lead to serious injury or even death.'

Worthy said that this case aims to set a precedent for space debris claim lawsuits in the private and public sectors. NASA has six months to respond to this claim.