The Navy should pay millions in damages after a congressional report rejected the service's finding that a sailor's sabatoge caused last year's fatal USS Iowa explosion, an attorney for the sailor's family said Friday.
"I am more convinced than ever that we have a legitimate claim for intentional and negligent infliction of emotion distress against the Navy," Kreig Brusnahan said from his Cleveland office.Brusnahan represents the family of Gunner's Mate Clayton Hartwig, one of 47 sailors killed when an explosion and fireball ripped through the battleship's No. 2 turret April 19, 1989.
A four-month, $4 million investigation by the Navy concluded Hartwig most likely caused the explosion by inserting a detonating device between bags of powder in the 16-inch guns.
But Thursday, the Navy announced it was reopening its investigation and was suspending the use of the 16-inch guns after an explosion at a test site.
And on Friday, a General Accounting Office report to the Senate Armed Services committee said it could not support the Navy's original findings. The GAO report suggested that gunpowder bags may have been unintentionally rammed too hard and too far into the barrel.
"It is my belief that the Navy spent in excess of $4 million to frame Clayton Hartwig," Brusnahan said. "They ought to give the family at least that much to compensate for the hell they have put them through."
The Navy's original report triggered protests from some of the families of the 47 sailors. Other families said they were satisfied with the report.
The GAO report said the Navy's battleships were troubled by lack of qualified sailors in the turrets.
"That's what my husband always complained about," said Sharon Ziegler. Her husband, Reginald, was the senior enlisted man in the turret.
"He had to spend a lot of extra overtime in training the kids. They pushed a lot of people into the turret, but most of them didn't know what to do," she said.
Kathy Kubicina, Hartwig's sister, raised questions about the powder used in the 16-inch guns. The GAO report pointed to the arrangement of gunpowder pellets in the bags as a possible cause of excess friction that may have caused detonation.
"What we're driving for is for them to get rid of all that powder," Nancy Lewis said.
Brusnahan expects to submit a claim to the Navy within 90 days. The Navy will have six months to respond. If the claim is rejected, Brusnahan said he will file with the federal courts.
Several of the families said the best result of the reopening of the investigation was the clearing of Hartwig's name.
"I'm glad that that family has finally gotten some relief out of this," Mrs. Ziegler said.
"Not only have they lost their son, they have had to suffer with the accusation that their son killed 46 other people. I can't conceive the pain and heartache they must feel," said Darleen Schelin of El Toro, Calif. Schelin's son, Geoffrey, was among the 47 killed.
"At a minimum, the Navy should be ashamed of itself for allowing the other families to believe that Clayton Hartwig killed their sons," Brusnahan said.