Daniel Otero was calmly at his home in the town of Naples, in the state of Florida, on May 22 when a piece of space debris weighing 700 grams hit the roof of his house and entered the basement … of the home. Now, the family has sued NASA for damages and is demanding 80,000 dollars, 74,740 euros at the exchange rate.
This case, as reported by the Mica Nguyen Worthy law firm in a statement, “set a precedent” which could set the tone for the future of space debris claims in both the public and private sectors, as it is the first time that NASA has faced a lawsuit for this reason.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration itself already recognized at the time that space debris came from of your flight support team Used to mount the batteries on the charging pad. For this reason, the Otero family is seeking compensation for property damage, business interruption, emotional and mental anguish, as well as the costs of third-party assistance necessary in the process.
“My clients are seeking appropriate compensation to take into account the stress and impact this event had on their lives. They are thankful that no one was physically injured in this incident, but a ‘near miss’ situation like this could have been catastrophic. If the debris had fallen a few meters in another direction, could have caused serious injury or death», details the statement.
The firm also asks NASA in its statement to consider the possibility that citizens in the United States do not have to file a claim under a legal theory of negligencewhen the Government has agreed to be “absolutely responsible” under international treaty law for damage to people or property on the Earth’s surface caused by its space objects.
“If the incident had occurred abroad and someone in another country had been harmed by the same space debris as in the Otero case, the United States would have been absolutely responsible to pay those damages according to the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space,” they emphasize.
