A federal appeals court has revived a lawsuit against a military contractor in the death of a Pittsburgh-area soldier who was electrocuted in his barracks shower at an Army based in Iraq.
A federal judge in Pittsburgh last year dismissed the lawsuit against Houston-based Kellogg Brown & Root Services Inc., otherwise known as KBR, because she found military commanders - not the contractor - decided where to house soldiers and whether existing buildings with substandard electrical systems were suitable for troops.
But in Thursday's opinion, a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel found that the claims made by the parents of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth shouldn't be barred because the contractor had “significant discretion” over how to implement the military's orders.
The case will now go back to federal court in Pittsburgh.
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