Real Water Lawsuit: Liver Failure, Verdicts, and Bankruptcy

The Real Water lawsuit is a wave of Nevada product liability cases against the Las Vegas alkaline water brand Real Water and its parent, AffinityLifestyles.com Inc., after the product was linked to an outbreak of acute non-viral hepatitis that hospitalized children and adults and killed at least one customer. Clark County juries have so far returned verdicts totaling more than $8.5 billion in compensatory and punitive damages, though the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2021 and whether plaintiffs will collect meaningful sums remains an open question.

The Illnesses That Started the Cases

Between August and November 2020, people in Nevada and California who had been drinking Real Water began developing acute non-viral hepatitis, a severe liver inflammation with no viral cause. Five children in Clark County between seven months and five years old were hospitalized with acute liver failure between November 10 and December 3, 2020.¹ Adults suffered hepatitis and organ damage, and at least one person needed a liver transplant.²

Kathleen “Kathy” Ryerson, a 69-year-old retired nurse and midwife, had been drinking 64 ounces of Real Water each day since the summer of 2019. Her doctor flagged dangerously elevated liver enzymes in late September 2020. She was hospitalized on October 16 and died of severe liver failure on November 11, 2020, the first confirmed fatality connected to the product.³

Investigators identified 21 probable and 4 suspect cases, with 21 hospitalizations among the probable cases alone. Drinking Real Water was the only common factor across the affected patients.⁴ Later court filings put the injured count at roughly 90 people, including babies and children who required intensive care or transplants, with additional deaths attributed to the water beyond Ryerson’s.⁵

What Plaintiffs Say Was in the Water

Real Water was made by drawing Las Vegas municipal water and treating it with potassium hydroxide (lye), potassium bicarbonate, and magnesium chloride. The company said a proprietary “ionizer” produced a negatively charged concentrate that was then diluted and bottled.²

Testing done during the litigation found hydrazine, a highly toxic industrial chemical used in rocket fuel, in Real Water products.⁶ Plaintiffs alleged the hydrazine formed as a byproduct of the alkalization process, specifically when water ran through titanium tubes during an “electrification” step.⁵ A defense lawyer told jurors that “no one involved with making Real Water expected, anticipated or understood hydrazine would be present in the product.”⁷

One caveat matters here. The public health investigation never confirmed a causative agent, which is why the Southern Nevada Health District labeled cases “probable” or “suspect” rather than “confirmed.”⁴ The hydrazine finding came out of the civil litigation, not the regulatory inquiry.

The FDA Shutdown

The Southern Nevada Health District, Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, and FDA opened a formal investigation on March 13, 2021. FDA inspectors arrived at Real Water’s facilities in Henderson, Nevada, and Mesa, Arizona, on March 19, and had to issue formal document demands under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act after the company did not cooperate.⁸

Real Water issued a voluntary recall on March 17, 2021, covering ready-to-drink bottles, five-gallon delivery containers, and the four-ounce concentrate.⁹ The FDA followed in April with a warning telling consumers not to drink, cook with, sell, or serve the product.²

On May 19, 2021, a federal district court entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against AffinityLifestyles.com Inc., Real Water Inc., owner Brent A. Jones, and his son Blain K. Jones. The Justice Department alleged the defendants had made and distributed adulterated and misbranded bottled water under insanitary conditions. The decree required them to destroy remaining product, stop operations, and submit to unannounced FDA inspections before any restart.¹⁰ No criminal charges were filed against Brent Jones or other executives.¹¹

The Jury Verdicts

With the company shut down and in bankruptcy, plaintiffs took their cases to Clark County District Court. Four trials have produced eye-catching results.

The first jury returned its verdict on October 4, 2023, awarding more than $228 million: $28.5 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages against Real Water. Kathleen Ryerson’s family received $7.5 million in compensatory damages, and the family of a seven-month-old boy who suffered severe liver failure received $7 million.¹² Testing equipment manufacturers Hanna Instruments and Milwaukee Instruments were also found liable for compensatory but not punitive damages in that trial, on plaintiffs’ theory that faulty meters failed to catch the contamination.¹³

In February 2024, a jury awarded about $130 million to five plaintiffs. In June 2024, another jury returned $3 billion.¹⁴ The largest verdict so far came in October 2024, when a jury awarded $5.2 billion to 15 plaintiffs after a 12-day trial, comprising $230 million in compensatory damages and $5 billion in punitive damages.¹⁵ Plaintiff Daisy Wei testified she had endured nine hospital stays in a single year, suffered permanent liver scarring, and would need lifelong medical monitoring and treatment.¹⁶

Bankruptcy and Whether Plaintiffs Will Collect

Real Water Inc. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning full liquidation, on August 19, 2021, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada. The case was designated an “asset” case, so some property is available for distribution, though the company is defunct.⁵

The gap between billions in verdicts and the company’s actual resources is the practical problem. Plaintiffs’ attorney Will Kemp said he expected the company’s insurance carrier to fight paying damages because of the bankruptcy.¹⁴ The federal consent decree named Brent Jones personally alongside the companies, but the available record does not show whether personal judgments or asset seizures have been pursued against him individually.¹⁰

Cases Still Pending

The litigation is not finished. As of the October 2024 verdict, Kemp represented 62 plaintiffs across multiple lawsuits, with another trial set for February 2025 and more cases behind it.¹⁴ A May 2026 lawsuit alleged that a Las Vegas woman named Addie Coggs contracted ALS from drinking Real Water and died in 2019, a claim that would push the theory of harm beyond liver disease if it succeeds.⁵

1
National Center for Biotechnology Information. Investigation of Acute Non-Viral Hepatitis Illnesses Linked to Real Water Brand Alkaline Water
2
The Guardian. Real Water Alkalized Liver Illness Death
3
Las Vegas Sun. Family Mourns Sister Whose Death Is Blamed on Real Water
4
Southern Nevada Health District. FAQ: Non-Viral Hepatitis Linked to Real Water Brand Alkaline Water
5
Las Vegas Review-Journal. New Lawsuit Claims Drinking Real Water Triggered Fatal ALS in Las Vegas Woman
6
AboutLawsuits.com. Real Water Liver Illnesses Verdict
7
Top Class Actions. Jury Awards $230M in Real Water Alkaline Water Verdict
8
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Investigation of Acute Non-Viral Hepatitis Illnesses – Real Water Brand Alkaline Water
9
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Real Water Inc. Issues Precautionary Recall of All Sizes of Real Water Brand Drinking Water
10
U.S. Department of Justice. Nevada Bottled Water Companies and Owners Ordered to Stop Distributing Adulterated and Misbranded Products
11
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Real Water CEO Had Brief, Controversial Political Career in Nevada
12
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas Jury Returns Nine-Figure Award in Water Contamination Case
13
USA Today. Real Water Contamination Case Liver Illnesses
14
Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas Jury Returns Massive Verdict Against Real Water
15
The Nevada Independent. Jury Hands $5.2 Billion Verdict Against Ex-Lawmaker’s Vegas Company in Bottled Water Lawsuit
16
8 News Now. $5.2B Awarded in Latest Lawsuit Against Las Vegas-Based Bottled Water Company