KBR appeals ruling in electrocution lawsuit - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

KBR appeals ruling in electrocution lawsuit

PITTSBURGH — A contractor wants an appeals court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the parents of a Pittsburgh-area soldier electrocuted in an Army barracks shower in Iraq.

The notice of appeal filed Thursday by KBR Inc., doesn’t include the contractor’s arguments to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It simply indicates the company will ask the court to overturn a March ruling by a federal judge who refused to dismiss the suit after KBR argued she had no jurisdiction over military matters.

KBR claims it was not responsible for Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth’s death in January 2008.

Army investigators determined a water pump shorted out and electrified water flowing into his shower. Maseth is one of 18 people electrocuted in the Iraqi theater whose deaths are being investigated by the military.

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