Lawyer for Collier County family submits claim, wants NASA to pay for damages from falling debris

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NASA
An object falls from the sky and crashes through a home in Naples. CREDIT: WINK News

Attorney Mica Nguyen Worthy filed a claim with NASA to recover damages for her clients, the Otero family, in Collier County.

Alejandro Otero first contacted WINK News in March after an object crashed through his roof on Aspen Chase Drive. His son Daniel was home at the time.

“It was a tremendous sound. It almost hit my son. He was two rooms over and heard it all,” said Otero.

Alejandro, who was on vacation at the time of the incident, came home early and found a cylindrical-shaped object weighing nearly two pounds. It ripped through the ceiling and tore through the floor.

NASA later confirmed that it was space debris. In a release, Worthy stated it was from “flight support equipment used to mount the batteries on the cargo pallet” of the International Space Station.

NASA
CREDIT: NASA

The Oteros retained Worthy, out of Charlotte, North Carolina, to navigate the insurance and legal process and to make a formal claim against NASA, according to a June 21 release.

“The damages for the Otero family members include non-insured Property Damage loss, Business Interruption damages, Emotional/Mental anguish damages, and the costs for assistance from third parties required in the process,” stated Worthy.

Worthy submitted the claim to NASA on May 22, 2024. The Space Agency has 6 months to respond.

WINK News reached out to NASA to comment on this article, and we will provide an update once we receive a response.

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