Lawyer Mica Nguyen Worthy is suing NASA on behalf of Florida homeowner Alejandro Otero and his family to recover damages after space debris hit their family home in early March, according to the Cranfill Sumner Law Firm where Worthy is a partner.
On March 8, a piece of space debris crashed through the roof of Otero’s home while his son Daniel was in the room. The debris left a large hole in the roof through the sub-flooring.
NASA confirmed later that the space debris was from its flight support equipment, which was used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet.
In March 2021, NASA’s ground force used the International Space Station’s robotic arm to release a cargo pallet containing batteries from the space station after installing new batteries as part of an upgrade on the orbital outpost.
NASA stated that although the hardware was expected to burn up during its entry into Earth’s atmosphere on March 8, a piece of hardware survived re-entry and struck the Florida home.
In discussing the cause of the debris, NASA added, “Based on the examination, the agency determined the debris to be a stanchion from the NASA flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet. The object is made of the metal alloy Inconel, weighs 1.6 pounds, is 4 inches in height and 1.6 inches in diameter.”
The space agency said they will continue to investigate why the hardware did not burn up during entry and update their systems so it does not occur again.
Damages Otero family is seeking
The Otero family members are seeking claims for non-insured Property Damage loss, Business Interruption damages, Emotional/Mental anguish damages, and the costs of assistance from third parties required in the process.
Furthermore, the Oteros’ homeowner’s insurance carrier submitted a simultaneous claim for the damages to the property it had subrogated.
“Space debris is a real and serious issue because of the increase in space traffic in recent years,” Worthy emphasized.
“My clients are seeking adequate compensation to account for this event's stress and impact on their lives. They are grateful that no one sustained physical injuries from this incident, but a ‘near miss’ situation such as this could have been catastrophic. If the debris had hit a few feet in another direction, there could have been serious injury or a fatality,” Worthy added.
Worthy is a partner in the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Cranfill Sumner LLP and Chair of the firm’s Aviation and Aerospace Practice Group.
Worthy also emphasized to NASA that it should consider that US citizens should not have to make a claim under a negligence legal theory when the US government has committed to being “absolutely liable” under international treaty law for damage to persons or property on Earth's surface caused by its space objects.
“If the incident had happened overseas, and someone in another country was damaged by the same space debris as in the Oteros’ case, the US would have been absolutely liable to pay for those damages under the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects also known as the ‘Space Liability Convention,’” Worthy noted.
“We have asked NASA not to apply a different standard towards US citizens or residents, but instead to take care of the Oteros and make them whole,” she said.
“Here, the US government, through NASA, has an opportunity to set the standard or ‘set a precedent’ for what responsible, safe, and sustainable space operations should look like. If NASA were to take the position that the Oteros’ claims should be paid in full, it would signal to other governments and private industries that such victims should be compensated regardless of fault,” Worthy concluded.
NASA will have six months to respond to the allegations.