Man Sues Hawaii For Giving Him a Heart Attack with False Missile Alert

Remember when 2018 started off with a bang – more figuratively than literally – after the state of Hawaii “accidentally” sent out a false incoming ballistic missile alert?

HAWAII – THIS IS A FALSE ALARM. THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE TO HAWAII. I HAVE CONFIRMED WITH OFFICIALS THERE IS NO INCOMING MISSILE. pic.twitter.com/DxfTXIDOQs

— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) January 13, 2018

It was a rather funny story that really highlighted how ineffective the government truly is.

But for James Sean Shields, a Hawaii resident, this whole ordeal was apparently anything but funny.

AP – A man who suffered a heart attack shortly after Hawaii mistakenly issued an alert about a ballistic missile filed a lawsuit against the state on Tuesday.

The false missile alert and the state’s failure to cancel it in a timely manner was a substantial factor in causing James Sean Shields’ heart attack on Jan. 13, the lawsuit said.

His girlfriend Brenda Reichel joined the lawsuit, having suffered “emotional upset” from watching him almost die on several occasions.

A man who suffered a heart attack shortly after Hawaii mistakenly issued an alert about a ballistic missile is suing the state. https://t.co/Lhrlezw0TN

— AP West Region (@APWestRegion) November 28, 2018

Now, this may sound like just some convenient scheme to rake in a few easy bucks by hitting the state of Hawaii with a ridiculous sounding lawsuit.

But, according to the suit, this whole missile ordeal really effected Shields and his girlfriend.

So much so that they apparently decided in that moment to jump into a suicide pact.

The lawsuit recounts how the couple was heading from their townhome in Hawaii Kai to Sandy Beach on Saturday morning when they received the alert on their cellphones.

“Both plaintiffs believe this message to be true and were extremely frightened and thought they were shortly going to die,” the lawsuit said. They decided if they were going to die, they might as well die together on the beach, the lawsuit said.

It was while the couple were on their way to that beach where they thought they were going to die together in a ballistic missile hellfire, that they contacted their children and loved ones.

And apparently, that’s when things went south for Shields.

Reichel’s son, who is in the Hawaii Army National Guard, called her saying the threat was real and asked what they planned to do to seek shelter. The couple called their loved ones as they drove to the beach. Shields began to feel a severe and painful burning in his chest after he called his son and daughter.

Shortly after, he went to a community clinic, where he suffered cardiac arrest. A doctor resuscitated him, while arriving paramedics assisted him further. He was diagnosed with a myocardial infarction or heart attack after he arrived at Straub Hospital, the lawsuit said.

While this whole episode may sound crazy to most people, it pales in comparison to the fact that the Governor of Hawaii apparently knew the entire time this guy was having a heart attack that the missile warning was a fake, but couldn’t tell anyone because he forgot his Twitter password.

Never forget.