Law Firm Suggest W. Pennsylvania Families Sue Missile Maker Over Casualties (The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 15, 1991) By Henry Goldman
The Western Pennsylvania families of reservists killed and injured in February when a Scud missile slammed into their barracks in Saudi Arabia have been invited to meet with a law firm to discuss the possibility of seeking damages through a class-action lawsuit.
The invitation, in the form of a June 6 letter to the families from the Pittsburgh firm of Evans, Ivory, Moses, Hollander & MacVay, suggested that such a lawsuit might be filed against Raytheon, the military contractor that manufactures the Patriot missile system.
"Published reports indicate that a technical flaw in the Patriot's missile system allowed the Iraqi Scud missile to penetrate U.S. air defenses and reach and destroy the barracks," the letter states. "If this information is correct, a civil action against the contractor who manufactured the Patriot system to obtain damages for the losses suffered may be possible."
Of the 28 soldiers who died in the Feb. 25 Scud missile attack on the barracks at Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, 19 were from reserve units located in the coal mining and steel towns of Western Pennsylvania; 99 soldiers from the area were injured in the attack.
"In addition to the personal tragedies that occurred, this disaster has caused severe financial harm to many of the involved families," the letter continues.
Lawyer Dennis Morgenstern, a 1973 West Point graduate, said one family had asked his firm to represent it. He declined to identify the family, and he declined to answer questions about the possible lawsuit.
Officials at Raytheon's headquarters in Lexington, Mass., declined to comment on news of the law firm's invitation.
"We were deeply saddened by the loss of life and the injuries as a result of the computer problems we experienced, but we can't lose sight of the fact that many lives were saved through the use of the Patriot missile in Saudi Arabia and Israel," said Pat Coulter, director of the company's media relations. He cited U.S. Army reports finding that of the 158 Patriot missiles launched, 90 percent intercepted their targets in Saudi Arabia and 50 percent in Israel.
Families of the killed and wounded, however, welcomed the law firm's invitation as a way to gain information about the circumstances of the disaster.
"I'm going to go and listen to what they have to say," said Elaine Boxler of Johnstown. Her husband, John, was 44 when he died, a sergeant in the reserves.
"I don't even know how John was killed," she said.
