Texas family plagued with ailments gets $3M in 1st-of-its-kind fracking judgment
By Jason Morris, CNN
updated 4:26 PM EDT, Fri April 25, 2014
Dallas (CNN) -- When the Parr family started having serious health problems late in 2008, they had no idea it was associated with what they call "a multitude" of drilling operations that popped up near their 40-acre ranch in Decatur, 60 miles northwest of Dallas.
At first, Lisa Parr dismissed her migraine headaches, nausea and dizziness as the flu, but when her symptoms persistently got worse, she knew something more serious was involved.
"By 2009, I was having a multitude of problems," Lisa Parr told CNN. "My central nervous system was messed up. I couldn't hear, and my vision was messed up. My entire body would shake inside. I was vomiting white foam in the mornings."
In 2009, Lisa's husband, Robert, and their 11-year-old daughter, Emma, also became ill, suffering a laundry-list of symptoms.
"They had nosebleeds, vision problems, nausea, rashes, blood pressure issues. Being that the wells were not on our property, we had no idea that what they were doing on the property around us was affecting us," she said.
After a two-week trial that ended Tuesday -- Earth Day, coincidentally -- a Dallas jury awarded the Parr family $2.9 million for personal injury and property damages in the family's lawsuit against Plano-based Aruba Petroleum Inc.
According to the lawsuit, Aruba Petroleum had 22 natural gas wells within a 2-mile radius of the Parrs' property, with three wells in close proximity to their Texas home. The closest was 791 feet away.
As a result of poor management and lack of emission controls, Aruba Petroleum created a "private nuisance" to the Parr family by producing harmful air pollution and exposing them to harmful emissions of volatile organic compounds, toxic air pollutants and diesel exhaust, the lawsuit said.
more:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/25/justice/texas-family-wins-fracking-lawsuit/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
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