A lawsuit lodged by Misti Leon claims major oil companies like Exxon, BP, Chevron, Shell, Conoco, and Phillips 66 contributed to her mother Juliana Leon’s June 28, 2021 death from hyperthermia during a Pacific Northwest heat dome. The legal case asserts these corporations accelerated man-made climate change, which made the deadly heatwave “virtually impossible” without their emissions.
The New York Times covered the suit but omitted vital details cited in court filings: Juliana underwent bariatric surgery two weeks earlier, remained on a liquid diet, and was advised she could resume solid foods on the day she died; her car’s air conditioning had failed, forcing her to roll down the windows and pull over; local forecasts had warned of extreme heat.
Critics, including meteorologist Ryan Maue, question the climate attribution study, noting it uses model data dating only back to 1950 and lacks historical analysis spanning centuries .
Leaving out these facts raises concerns about the depth of reporting in a lawsuit that seeks to hold fossil fuel firms legally accountable for individual deaths tied to climate phenomena.
