Rocketdyne Scientist’s Survivors Sue
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A second wrongful-death lawsuit was filed this week in the wake of last year’s explosion that killed two Rocketdyne scientists at the company’s Santa Susana field laboratory near Simi Valley.
In their Orange County Superior Court lawsuit, the widow and two children of Larry Pugh seek unspecified damages from Rocketdyne, its parent company, Rockwell International Corp. in Seal Beach, and four other defendants. The complaint is nearly identical to one filed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles by the family of Otto K. Heiney, the other scientist killed.
Rocketdyne officials have said the July 26, 1994, blast occurred during a research experiment, but the lawsuits contend that the men perished as a result of an illegal hazardous-waste disposal operation.
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