Sometimes I find myself marveling at the fact that I am alive and relatively happy. It seems debilitating diseases are all around us, and it feels like a miracle and blessing to be able to live largely symptom-free. Of course, I feel horrible for anyone who was born in such a tough position, but I also cannot imagine developing a life-changing disease after living “normally” for most of my life. It is especially hard to think about when it has nothing to do with genetics; I could make peace with something that is no one person’s “fault.” But if it were due to something I did or consumed, thinking it was safe, the rage I would feel would be indescribable.
The surviving family members of Addie Coggs, a Las Vegas mom of six, likely know that rage all too well.
In 2019, Coggs died from complications of contracting Lou Gehrig’s disease, which is also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, Law & Crime reported. Although some ALS cases are genetic, a lot of them are sporadic and typically develop later in life. The degenerative disease doesn’t discriminate, it can hit anyone at any time, and it apparently can be triggered by things we are exposed to or consume.
For Coggs, purchasing a case of Real Water at Costco is what her family believes sealed her fate. It was discovered that Real Water contained trace amounts of a chemical found in rocket fuel, a known liver toxin.
A complaint accuses Real Water and its majority shareholder of making products that contain hydrazine, a chemical known to trigger ALS.
“As a direct and proximate result of the defective nature of the defendants’ lack of warning instructions on their bottled water products, Addie suffered substantial, adverse health consequences, including ALS and subsequent death,” the complaint filed by Addie Coggs’ family read. “Addie was exposed to defendants’ bottled water products through retail purchases and consumption.”
In 2021, the Federal Food and Drug Administration determined that Real Water was “operating facilities that fail to meet preventive controls requirements to control food hazards.” The company ceased operations in June of that same year, two years after Coggs’ death.
The family ascertained that Coggs had no prior exposure to the chemical before drinking the alkalized water.
“Water was passed through titanium tubes that were attached to negative and positive charges,” the complaint alleges. “The titanium tubes had a diaphragm that separated positively and negatively charged water. Experts believe that the electrification of the titanium tubes, while the water containing potassium and magnesium passed through the titanium tubes, is how the hydrazine was formed,” Law & Crime reported.
Costco Wholesale Corp. has reportedly settled lawsuits related to Real Water in the past, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Even a retired Nevada Supreme Court justice sued Real Water in 2025, claiming the water also caused her husband’s ALS and reportedly killed him.
“Because of the inherent flaws in the manufacturing process described above and the failure to conduct standard ingredient testing, Real Water made unsafe water that contained hydrazine and caused numerous persons to have liver failure in Las Vegas,” the complaint states, per Law & Crime.
“Including the plaintiffs in this lawsuit, plaintiffs are informed and believe that at least 90 other persons that suffered injury from consuming Real Water have already filed suit; including four death cases … two liver transplant cases … one brain surgery case, multiple miscarriages, over one dozen cases of planned liver transplants being aborted at the last minute at out-of-state transplant medical centers and scores of cases of hospitalization in ICUs for four to twelve days,” the complaint continues.
