Inset: Addie Coggs (Dignity Memorial). Background: Real Water products, which were found by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allegedly contain samples of hydrazine, a toxin that can trigger conditions like ALS (FDA).
A Nevada woman contracted ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig”s disease, from drinking bottled water she bought from Costco, which secretly contained a chemical used in rocket fuel that is a known liver toxin, her family says in a lawsuit.
“As a direct and proximate result of the defective nature of the defendants’ lack of warning instructions on their bottled water products, Addie suffered substantial, adverse health consequences, including ALS and subsequent death,” a legal complaint filed by Addie Coggs’ family says. “Addie was exposed to defendants’ bottled water products through retail purchases and consumption.”
The complaint, which was obtained by Law&Crime, accuses Real Water — promoted as the “healthiest drinking water available” — and its majority shareholder, Affinitylifestyles.com Inc., of making water products that contained hydrazine, “a toxin that is known to trigger ALS,” per the document.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a report in 2021 saying it investigated the water company and found that it was “operating facilities that fail to meet preventive controls requirements to control food hazards.” Real Water agreed to cease operations in June 2021.
Coggs, a 49-year-old Las Vegas native, died on Sept. 10, 2019, from complications caused by ALS. She had six children.
“As a direct and proximate result of the hydrazine in defendants’ bottled water products, Addie suffered ALS and died,” their complaint alleges. “Upon information and belief, Addie purchased and consumed Real Water from Costco and WinCo Foods.”
ALS is described in the complaint as a “fatal disease of the brain and spinal cord that causes motor neurons to die.” The disease causes a breakdown of nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain, leading to the progressive loss of muscle control.
“It results in the inability to move, speak, swallow and eventually breathe,” the complaint says. “It is 100% fatal.”
Coggs’ family says she had no other significant chemical or physical exposure associated with ALS before her diagnosis. The hydrazine that was found in Real Water products was the result of “massive electrical charges” being applied to Real Water concentrate “two different times for eight hours,” according to the complaint.
“Water was passed through titanium tubes that were attached to negative and positive charges,” the document alleges. “The titanium tubes had a diaphragm that separated positively and negatively charged water. Experts believe that the electrification of the titanium tubes while the water containing potassium and magnesium passed through the titanium tubes is how the hydrazine was formed.”
The chemical is found in rocket fuel, with F-16 fighter jets using a “70% aqueous solution (h-70) of hydrazine that powers the F-16 emergency power unit,” per the complaint.
“Because of the inherent flaws in the manufacturing process described above and the failure to conduct standard ingredient testing, Real Water made unsafe water that contained hydrazine and caused numerous persons to have liver failure in Las Vegas,” the complaint charges. “Including the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, plaintiffs are informed and believe that at least 90 other persons that suffered injury from consuming Real Water have already filed suit; including four death cases … two liver transplant cases … one brain surgery case, multiple miscarriages, over one dozen cases of planned liver transplants being aborted at the last minute at out-of-state transplant medical centers and scores of cases of hospitalization in ICUs for four to twelve days.”
Photos included in the complaint allegedly show Real Water products inside Coggs’ home before her diagnosis and death. Attorney Will Kemp, who is representing the family and has handled other lawsuits against Real Water, spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the Coggs lawsuit.
“Addie drank Real Water, it triggered ALS, and she died of Lou Gehrig’s disease,” Kemp told the local newspaper, describing ALS as a “horrible way to go.”
“Hydrazine is the same rocket fuel that was used to launch the Apollo rocket to the moon in 1969,” he said. “It’s well-known to be a liver toxic, which is why, in many of these Real Water lawsuits, you’ve seen liver cases, people who died because their livers were attacked. Hydrazine is also an environmental toxin that triggers ALS.”
Costco Wholesale Corp. has settled lawsuits related to Real Water in the past, according to the Review-Journal. A retired Nevada Supreme Court justice sued Real Water last year claiming the water caused the ALS that reportedly killed her husband.
Affinitylifestyles.com and Costco did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment.
