Third legal claim filed over contaminated water

ROSELAWN, Ind. -- A third law firm has filed a tort claim notice against the Indiana Department of Environmental Management concerning contaminated water at Lincoln Elementary School.\nThe law firm of Nancy Moore Tiller & Associates in Merrillville sent a tort claim to state officials Friday seeking a minimum of $1 million in damages.\nThe claim names IDEM, the North Newton school district and Simulabs International in Merrillville as responsible parties, alleging they failed to notify parents of the contamination, resulting in physical health problems for two children attending the school.\nThat brings to 22 the number of families who have notified officials that they plan to sue over the presence of a gasoline additive in the drinking water at the school about 30 miles south of Gary.\nMore than 450 Lincoln Elementary School students drank and used MtBE-contaminated water for at least two years. MtBE is a possible carcinogen that has side effects, including respiratory, neurological and intestinal problems.\nIt is not known whether the water was contaminated before 2000, because the school did not test for MtBE until March 2000.\nHowever, a tort claim notice filed by Safrin & Associates, of Indianapolis, alleges that school superintendent Louis Lindinger and a school maintenance employee knew as early as March 2000 of the contaminated water but then did not notify parents.\nA tort claim must be filed with government agencies before a lawsuit can be filed.\nStaci Schneider, press secretary for the state attorney general's office, said she could not comment on the individual notices. After a 90-day investigation period, an investigator will either recommend a settlement or a denial of the claim, Schneider said.\nBoezeman Oil Co., located one-third of a mile south of the school, was named by IDEM as the principal source of the contamination. Attorney Ron Safrin said it would be named in a separate suit.