ion_avenger
05-15-2009, 05:32 PM
Wrongful-death lawsuit over Crestwood water
Original Story (http://www.southtownstar.com/neighborhoodstar/oakforest/1575491,051509newwatersuit.article)
May 15, 2009
Sun-Times News Group
The widow of a Crestwood man has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the village and former mayor Chester Stranczek, claiming her husband developed lymphoma after drinking the village's contaminated water for years.
John Maan De Kok lived in Crestwood intermittently between 1969 and 1990, was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2000 and died in October 2003, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.
Four class-action negligence lawsuits have been filed against Crestwood and its current and former officials regarding the water controversy, but Michelle Maan De Kok's suit is the first to alleged wrongful death due to the contaminated water, her attorney said.
Crestwood knowingly supplied drinking water that contained carcinogens from a village well for about 20 years - after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency advised village officials of the well's contamination in about 1986, the suit says.
It says that to save money, the village deceived the IEPA and its residents by saying that it would supply only treated drinking water from Lake Michigan and would place its well on "emergency backup status."
The 10-count lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages plus the costs of the suit.
RELATED STORIES
• EPA: Private Crestwood wells not polluted (http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1575241,051509water.article)
Original Story (http://www.southtownstar.com/neighborhoodstar/oakforest/1575491,051509newwatersuit.article)
May 15, 2009
Sun-Times News Group
The widow of a Crestwood man has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the village and former mayor Chester Stranczek, claiming her husband developed lymphoma after drinking the village's contaminated water for years.
John Maan De Kok lived in Crestwood intermittently between 1969 and 1990, was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2000 and died in October 2003, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.
Four class-action negligence lawsuits have been filed against Crestwood and its current and former officials regarding the water controversy, but Michelle Maan De Kok's suit is the first to alleged wrongful death due to the contaminated water, her attorney said.
Crestwood knowingly supplied drinking water that contained carcinogens from a village well for about 20 years - after the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency advised village officials of the well's contamination in about 1986, the suit says.
It says that to save money, the village deceived the IEPA and its residents by saying that it would supply only treated drinking water from Lake Michigan and would place its well on "emergency backup status."
The 10-count lawsuit seeks more than $50,000 in damages plus the costs of the suit.
RELATED STORIES
• EPA: Private Crestwood wells not polluted (http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1575241,051509water.article)