Whistleblowers bring matters out into the open that would otherwise remain hidden. Sometimes, the things that are exposed by whistleblowers have consequences that are literally a matter of life or death. A recent disclosure by a whistleblower who filed a suit in federal court claims that the largest military shipbuilder in America put American lives at risk when it falsified certifications and test results pertaining to the stealth coatings that it puts on its submarines. The stealth coating is a material that resembles foam rubber, and it is designed to applied to submarine hulls with a two-part adhesive that requires special certification for its use. The reason that certification must be obtained by the companies and workers who apply the adhesive is that the adhesive doesn’t work correctly if it is not mixed properly. When the adhesive is not prepared properly prior to application, the coating can peel off of the hull. It was reported by personnel who operated the affected submarines that large sections of coating had torn off of their vessels while the vessels were on the move.
The complaint accuses Hunter Ingalls Industries of claiming that it had coated the hulls of certain submarines properly when the reality is that the company took shortcuts during the coating application process that compromised the coating’s performance. The coating is designed to enable submarines to elude detection by enemy sonar. When the coating was not applied properly, it created a danger to all of the people on board each of the affected submarines, who were operating as if they could not be detected when in fact their submarines were detectable.
Applying the stealth coating incorrectly was dangerous enough, but the company is alleged to have gone even further in their wrongdoing by certifying to the government that they had applied the coating correctly. That certification was made under a contract that the company had with the government to manufacture the submarines to meet specific criteria in exchange for payment for the submarines. This is an example of a whistleblower case where the wrongdoing is several layers thick, simultaneously exposing American troops to a heightened risk of harm and violating the federal False Claims Act.
While not all whistleblower cases offer a reward for the person who stepped forward to expose the wrong, this case is a type of whistleblower lawsuit where the party who filed it on behalf of the government could receive compensation if the government collects damages resulting from the fraud committed against it. Whistleblower lawsuits that contain this type of reward for the whistleblower are called “qui tam” lawsuits.
The whistleblower in this case witnessed the faulty coating application and subsequent false certification during the course of their employment at the shipbuilding company. Many individuals work in jobs where their work and the work of others in their workplace can have an impact on the safety of others and the integrity of contracts. The Mississippi Whistleblower Protection Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC support whistleblowers in their efforts to protect the health and safety of Americans and to expose fraud. To learn more about whistleblower protection, call 1 (601) 790-1505 to arrange an initial consultation with the Mississippi Whistleblower Attorneys of Barrett Law PLLC.
