Recently, a sad story about a couple of people who have experienced liver damage of varying levels broke out.
One of the most touching stories was that of a five-year-old child whose liver experienced a lot of damage thanks to repeatedly consuming poisonous synthetic substances that were present in Real Water, a filtered water brand.
Real Water Damage
The mother of a child whose liver was severely damaged by constant drinking of Real Water has described the entire experience as a traumatic nightmare. Along with three other adults and four kids, the affected parties took Real Water to court and charged the brand for putting them and their loved ones in harm’s way.
They charged Real Water for physical and mental injuries, and on Friday, they were granted $3 billion and about $98 million in punitive and compensatory damages, respectively.
The Toxin
According to the lawsuit against Real Water, the brand’s alkaline water contained a very toxic chemical called hydrazine. This hydrazine can cause a lot of harm to livers and also lead to permanent damage in children. This was the case with Hera, the five-year-old child of Arika Carrier.
The little girl was a victim of the high levels of toxin in Real Water and had to be hospitalized with a diagnosis of intense liver failure.
A Mother’s Point of View
Therefore, Carrier was one of the parents present at the trial. There, legal counsel asked her for her point of view and how she felt knowing that Real Water caused her child’s liver to fail. On the stand, the mother noted that this case was a “parent’s worst nightmare.”
She also said that she has felt very helpless as her first instinct is to protect her child, but that was hard to do considering the fact that she also didn’t know about the toxicity of the water.
The Investigation by Federal Authorities
Back in 2021, Carrier spoke to CBS News and explained how her daughter got sick. While Hera was showing signs of sickness, her two-year-old son, Finn, did not appear to be affected. It was during this time that news of the Real Water investigation by federal agencies also got out.
Sadly, Hera’s sickness got much worse. She was constantly having issues with her stomach, unable to keep any food down, and very sick.
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Multiple Liver Transplants Required
In the fall of 2020, Hers and the four other children plaintiffs who had suffered extensive liver damage were flown to a children’s hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah, in order to receive potential liver transplants. This was narrated by Will Kemp, the attorney for the lead plaintiffs, Emely and Christopher Wren.
Carrier also told CBS News that she got the shock of her life knowing that her little five-year-old’s life was in serious danger.
A Crying Mother
When Carrier took the witness stand, she burst into tears. This is because her experience was “horrible,” and she was never sure if her child was going to make it or not. She continued, saying that her little girl suffered blood draws that were excruciating and painful.
Hera had her blood drawn over sixty times because the doctors came in to pull blood once every two or three hours in order to monitor her blood efficiently.
Hera Is Traumatized
She also noted that her child was increasingly anxious and scared about the blood draws and the hospital in general. Her veins were also collapsing, and this made matters worse for Hera, leaving her traumatized.
Thankfully, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Justice (DOJ), and other local and federal agencies intervened and pushed Real Water out of business in 2021.
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Real Water’s Numerous Accusations
There were multiple complaints of statewide cases of acute non-viral hepatitis, which was associated with Real Water in 2020 and early 2021 that caused the Southern Nevada Health District and the FDA to launch an investigation in March 2021 against the water company.
In response to the investigation, the company issued a public temporary recall that stopped people from consuming it.
The FDA’s Investigations
During the investigation, Real Water and AffinityLifestyles.com Inc., the parent company of the water brand, were investigated by the FDA. Even the company’s top officer, Brent A. Jones and his son, Blain K. Jones, were also investigated thoroughly.
On May 19th, 2021, the FDA eventually accused them of violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which showed that they were distributing misbranded and adulterated bottled water to the public.
Deviations from Safety Procedures
The complaint filed by the FDA revealed several violations. These included notable deviations from the regular preventive control procedures and requirements that are supposed to effectively control the risk of the presence of food hazards.
Therefore, this showed that the company was guilty of many regulatory infarctions during the manufacturing process of Real Water, making it toxic for consumers.
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The Wrens’ Claims
Drinking the water constantly had a very negative impact on Christoper and Emely Wren. However, they were not the only victims, as their two-year-old son was also highly affected. Emely had many episodes of extreme fatigue and nausea but was not hospitalized.
However, Christopher and their little child had to be hospitalized and treated before they felt better.
Doing Better in the Future
It wasn’t long after the Wrens went public with their claims that the recall happened, and Kemp also noted that it was possible that their claims motivated Real Water to take the cases seriously and recall their toxic water.
Now, Kemp hopes that this case against Real Water will motivate other bottled water companies to do better, test their products more, and prevent occurrences like these from ever happening again.
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