A federal court has ordered a Kuwait-based contractor to pay nearly $5 million in damages to the family of a U.S. military officer killed in Iraq — a rare court decision holding a contracting company accountable for its actions in the war. Lt. Col. Dominic Baragona was the highest-ranking soldier to die in Iraq when he was killed May 19, 2003.
Army Lt. Col. Dominic “Rocky” Baragona was just an hour away from a U.S. base in Kuwait — ultimately headed home to the United States — when a tractor-trailer operated by Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company slammed into his Humvee on May 19, 2003, killing him instantly. Baragona, a West Point graduate, was 42 years old and the highest-ranking soldier to have died in the war at the time.
His family filed a wrongful death suit against KGL. Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia sided with the family, holding the Kuwait company negligent in Baragona’s death for failing to provide safe passage on the three-lane road where the accident occurred.
A key issue in the judge’s decision was whether a U.S. court had jurisdiction over a foreign contractor and whether there was a legal basis to find it negligent. Ultimately, Judge William Duffey found that there was.
“The court enters judgment in the amount of $4,907,048 to be paid by KGL in a single lump payment,” the judge wrote in his 12-page decision issued on November 5.
Baragona’s father, Dominic Baragona, a former U.S. Marine, told CNN he is embarrassed his family was forced into a lawsuit to learn details surrounding his son’s death. He also said the court decision is bittersweet: No amount of money will ever bring his son back, but it feels good that a court of law sided with his family. “You feel good for the Rock,” he said of his boy. “We’re going to make KGL sweat it a little bit. I mean they’re going to remember Rocky’s name.”
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