[EAS] False Alert Lawsuit

[Adrienne Abbott]

This was bound to happen...
HONOLULU, OAHU (Ben Caxton) -- An Oahu man who suffered a heart attack when the State of Hawai`i sent him a text message saying enemy missiles were about to strike the island is suing the state. James Sean Shields was heading to the beach with his girlfriend on the morning of January_13 with (when) emergency workers sent the warning by mistake. According to Shields' suit they decided if they were both going to die, they might as well "die together on the beach" and started calling family members to say their goodbyes. Shortly after Shields began to feel a "severe and painful burning in his chest". The couple headed for a clinic where he suffered a heart attack despite having no previous history of heart issues. The lawsuit claims the state was negligent because emergency workers knew immediately the alert was sent by mistake but did not correct the error and issue an all-clear for nearly 30 minutes, instead, waiting on approval, which was not needed, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If the retraction had been sent immediately according to Shields he likely would never have suffered the heart attack.
 

Adrienne