U.S. Guilty of “Gross Negligence” in Hurricane Katrina Flooding

On August 28^th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the United States with devastating effect. More than 1,800 people lost their lives, and more than $81 billion in property damages resulted. However, on Wednesday, November 18, 2009, a federal judge ruled that the United States Army Corps of Engineers had shown “gross negligence” in failing to maintain a navigation channel, resulting in levee breaches that flooded large areas of greater New Orleans.

The judge ruled that the Corps of Engineers had known for more than 40 years that a crucial levee protecting suburban St. Bernard Parish and the Lower 9^th ward neighborhood would be compromised by the deterioration of the channel known as the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet. The shipping channel was dug in the 1960s as a shortcut between the gulf of Mexico and New Orleans. The judge awarded the victims/plaintiffs—six residents and one business owner—a total of $719,000 in a suit that was originally filed in April 2006.

The victims argued that the channel had become a “hurricane highway” that funneled storm surges into the city. Without the channel, they argued, the flooding would have been minimal.

According to Pierce O’Donnell, the lead lawyer for the victims, as a result of the ruling, nearly 100,000 New Orleans-area residents and business owners who have filed flood-damage claims with the Army Corps of Engineers are now potentially eligible for payment. O’Donnell was quoted as saying that the judge agreed that Katrina was not a natural disaster, but rather a man-made disaster caused by the Army Corps of Engineers. O’Donnell also stated that his firm had filed a separate class action suit against the United States on behalf of thousands of victims of the flood.

At the trial, attorneys for the government argued that the Army Corps of Engineers was not liable for the post-hurricane flooding because it was immune from civil lawsuits questioning federal flood policy. But the judge hearing the case found that the Corps of Engineers was guilty of “gross negligence” and that superseded any immunity claim.

It is disturbing to know that the federal authorities knew of the inadequacies of the channel for so many years, yet did nothing to shore it up to prevent the loss of lives and tremendous property damage resulting from the levee’s failure. So many lives could have been saved and so much property damage could have been avoided had the Army Corps of Engineers acted responsibly in designing, digging, and maintaining the channel.

The United States government knew of the inadequacy of the channel for four decades, but chose to do nothing significant about it. Even now, some four and a half years after the tragic flooding, New Orleans is far from recovering from the extensive damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. And for those who lost spouses, children, parents, grandparents, and friends as a result of the Army Corps of Engineers “monumental negligence,” no amount of money can take the place of their loved ones.

The United States government has the duty to act responsibly and when it fails to do so, it should be required to adequately compensate the victims of its wrongful conduct in a reasonably timely manner. Unfortunately, for the successful victims in this case, they will probably not see a dime from the United States, as it is anticipated that the United States will appeal the case, which could take years. These people have suffered enough already. The United States should do right by them and promptly pay them the monetary compensation the judge awarded them. Hurricane Katrina was the worst disaster in American history and we should not compound the injury to the innocent victims by requiring them to spend years in court to recover for their losses.

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