U.S. government files motion to block prominent physician’s testimony in Red Hill suit

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Tthe U.S. government is trying to block the testimony of a prominent Hawaii physician in a Red Hill lawsuit that includes allegations of medical negligence.

Dr. Jason Keifer, a psychiatrist and founder of Brain Health Hawaii, has treated surfers Mikey O’Shaughnessy and Carissa Moore, along with Red Hill families sickened by tainted water from the Red Hill fuel leaks in 2021. Keifer said in court records that he’s seen firsthand the “negative impact of the failure to assess, diagnose and treat symptomatic Red Hill fuel exposed patients.”

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Keifer found that Army Maj. Amanda Feindt got better care than her husband, Patrick, who has suffered gastrointestinal issues, and two kids who’ve had neurological and breathing problems.

“Because of this failure to meet the standard of care, the Feindt family has suffered additional harm, in addition to jet-fuel poisoning,” he wrote.

“My own employer has done this to my family,” added Feindt.

Feindt says she’s been fighting for basic testing since the beginning.

“My children, my husband, several thousand military dependents and our civilians did not get the same level of care,” said Feindt.

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Plaintiffs’ attorney Kristina Baehr said the military knows “how to treat toxic exposure for jet fuel,” but failed to in the case of the Red Hill-sickened families.

“Every defendant that I asked was really clear about the standard of care. Every single government employee said that standard of care is uniform. Take basic labs, x-ray, medical history, advised of risks. That happened only for the service members and not for their families,” said Baehr.

But the government, in court records, said Keifer’s testimony is “irrelevant” and should be stricken.

“They want to move to exclude the medical negligence claim,” said Baehr.

HNN reached out to Keifer for comment. “Out respect for the legal process and all parties involved, it is best that I not make any comments at this time,” he said, in a statement.

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