Our environment includes everything around us, such as the food we eat, the water we use and drink, and the air we breathe. Our relationships with the environment are intricate and sometimes dangerous.
Laws and regulations governing environmental health are in place to manage and protect our environment. The regulations controlling the manufacturing and consumption of hazardous chemicals should be broadened in addition to the laws governing the manufacture and use of harmful products by corporations. The ambient air in workplaces, schools, and communities, as well as the drinking water and food supply, is contaminated with harmful substances. Numerous well-known conditions of public health, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and obesity, have been linked to chemical exposure. Members of socially underprivileged groups and workers in industrial and agricultural settings are exposed to toxins in disproportionately higher proportions. Children, pregnant women, and those with chronic illnesses are among the sensitive subpopulations that are more likely to be exposed. It is necessary to demand more deference from these businesses toward environmental protection and human life.
Q: What is a toxic tort?
A: A toxic tort is a civil lawsuit for losses caused by exposure to a dangerous substance, such as a chemical, medication, or pesticide.
Q: How do I know when I should contact an environmental attorney?
A: If you believe a person, business, or other entity is breaking the law regarding the environment. An environmental attorney can assess the situation and decide whether legal action is necessary. An attorney may also be aware of any class actions that have been brought in relation to the incident.
Q: Do I need a lawyer to represent me in a class action lawsuit?
A: Yes, you will need legal counsel to file the class action on your behalf if you are the lead plaintiff. If you have been approached about possibly joining a class action lawsuit, it will be beneficial for you to consult with an attorney to be sure it is the best course of action for you.
Q: Do class action lawsuits count as civil incidents?
A: A class action lawsuit is, in fact, a civil dispute because there are two or more parties involved.
Coming into contact with harmful chemicals, insecticides, poisons, or medications can lead to a special category of personal injury or property damage litigation called a "toxic tort." Most toxic tort claims rely on the plaintiff's claim that they unintentionally came into contact with dangerous substances at work or home. However, occupational toxic tort cases are more common than any other tort case because industrial employees are more likely than consumers or residents to have long-term exposure to harmful chemicals.
Toxic tort lawsuits are typically brought in the following situations:
Among the most serious and challenging cases involving personal injury and property damage are those involving environmental and toxic torts. Toxic tort lawsuits usually involve huge businesses and can be intimidating and challenging to undertake.
Anyone may file an environmental case in civil court. Class actions and individual lawsuits are normally the two main types of litigation that can be brought against an organization.
Class action: The majority of environmental cases are filed as class actions once a person alleges they were injured by an environmental toxin like asbestos since it is possible that other parties may also be experiencing the same problem. For instance, if you suffer pain while residing in an apartment complex that includes asbestos, it's conceivable that other residents would want to join your lawsuit if they also suffer harm.
Individuals: Anyone may file a lawsuit against any party for breaking environmental laws if they experience serious suffering or property loss as a result of environmental circumstances. You can launch a case even if no one is harmed physically if you know that an environmental law is being broken.
A class action lawsuit is brought by individuals in comparable situations. The plaintiffs in a class action case were likely all harmed or sustained equivalent property damage as a result of an environmental law violation. Class actions help courts handle individual disputes more easily by increasing efficiency and lowering litigation expenses. Theoretically, this makes it possible for victims to get compensation sooner.
Before beginning or joining a class action lawsuit, you must discuss your claim with a class action attorney. A complaint will be made and filed on your behalf if your attorney decides you have a strong case.
In a class action case, hiring a knowledgeable and experienced attorney is crucial since they will represent the interests of all class members of the lawsuit rather than just you. By filing a class action lawsuit, many people with the same problem can swiftly and fairly receive justice. It may be challenging to tell if you are the only victim of a mistake or wrongdoing or one of many. Therefore, it would be in your best interests to consult with an accomplished class action attorney before bringing a class action case.
Many individuals believe that the environment is an unbiased natural force that neither helps nor hurts any particular group. The environment is vulnerable to human pressures, just like everything else on Earth. Sadly, these forces frequently advance some of our society's most odious characteristics, such as racism and classism.
Communities all around our country have endured environmental injustices for far too long, bearing the weight of hazardous pollution, suffering from underinvestment in necessary services and infrastructure, and observing the disproportionate effects of climate change.
Although the term "environmental racism" is not commonly used, this does not mean that it should be ignored. Environmental racism is a significant issue in the United States that is not currently being addressed. It identifies how minority group neighborhoods, which are primarily made up of people of color and those from lower income, are burdened with an unjustified share of risks, such as toxic waste facilities, garbage dumps, and other sources of environmental pollutants, ultimately lowering the quality of life.
Due to ongoing environmental injustice atrocities, people of color and the poor are consistently denied the right to a free and healthy environment to live in. These towns' residents lack access to safe places for work, education, and housing.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) utilized emission particles during a 2018 study to evaluate the costs of pollution to the environment in various American areas. According to the study, the burden was 28% greater for individuals of different races and 35% higher for those who live in general poverty. Overall, Black Americans had a burden that was 54% more than the norm for the population.
The EPA works to create a world in which everyone, regardless of the demographic group they belong to, may have equal access to decision-making and the same degree of protection against environmental and health threats. This is done in order to provide a safe environment for living, learning, and working.
All of the EPA's initiatives, which include the following, are guided by its commitment to environmental justice:
The EPA collaborates with all parties concerned to solve problems and issues affecting the environment and public health in an effective and coordinated manner. In order to take environmental justice into account, the Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) integrated policies, programs, and initiatives.The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) assists organizations in defending the environment and public health in minority, low-income, tribal, and other vulnerable areas by incorporating environmental justice into its programs, policies, and projects.
According to the EPA, environmental justice is the fair treatment of all individuals, regardless of their race, color, national origin, or level of wealth, as well as their meaningful involvement in the creation, adoption, and upholding of environmental laws, rules, and policies.
Environmental justice has roots in the civil rights and social justice movements of the 1960s, including when Latino farmworkers in California banded together and fought for workplace rights and health safety, as well as when residents of Harlem, New York City, came together to oppose a sewage treatment facility.
In the 1990s, the environmental justice movement expanded across the nation thanks to partnerships with other environmental and social justice groups. The environmental justice movement received formal government recognition in 1994 with the issuance of Executive Order 12898, which established environmental justice offices within the EPA, Department of Justice, and other federal agencies.
Thanks to the groups that have grown out of this movement at all levels of society, many people now have a voice in their fight against injustices in the fields of the environment, health, and society. The environmental justice movement is currently expanding, changing, and formally integrating into public policy.
Product liability is the obligation owed by any or all parties involved in the production of a defective product that injured consumers. Unfortunately for customers, product liability insurance shields companies from responsibility if a product harms a third party. Design flaws, manufacturing errors, strict responsibility, and inadequate warnings are all claims that are covered by product liability insurance since they all have the potential to gravely harm customers or even result in wrongful death.
These large corporations are safeguarded. So why not safeguard yourself? You will want an experienced attorney to guide you through the challenging legal procedure while seeking protection from these large companies. Because a product goes through several phases of development and has a large user base, product liability cases against major corporations can involve defendants and plaintiffs from a wide range of jurisdictions. Since lawsuits typically include a huge number of parties from different states, plaintiffs may forum-shop in order to identify judges who will be sympathetic to their claims.
Indoor areas are a significant source of pollution exposure in the United States since the majority of Americans spend the bulk of their time inside. As a result, exposure in the house has received more attention in recent public health studies than it did in the past.
In addition to spending a lot of time indoors, modern homeowners also undertake do-it-yourself home improvement tasks, including tearing down walls and ceilings, taking up floor tiles, and upgrading obsolete plumbing. While renovating and furnishing your house, you do incur the risk of unknowingly polluting the air with dangerous asbestos fibers, which might cause mesothelioma.
Due to its strength and fire-retardant qualities, the naturally occurring mineral asbestos has long been employed in a range of building materials and other items. Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases may occur in those who manufactured, installed, or demolished items containing asbestos if they had long-term exposure to the small asbestos particles, which was typically the case.
To safeguard workers from exposure to harmful chemicals, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces strict legal requirements. Employers must identify hazardous chemicals in the workplace, give workers safety information, and train them on how to handle them according to OSHA regulations. The amount of a particular chemical that employees are permitted to be exposed to is also regulated by OSHA. Employers must assess potential workplace dangers and take precautions to safeguard employees.
The best method to prevent chemical exposure is to actively seek out potential hazards and fight for your own rights and safety at work. Regular risk assessments for both employees and employers should include:
Request that your employer takes the necessary steps to ensure that it complies with all of OSHA's criteria for a safe workplace. File a complaint with OSHA and consider speaking with your attorney if they disregard your request or provide you with an inadequate answer.
Dupont’s Forever Chemicals (Teflon)
A plot of property from cattle rancher Wilbur Tennant was purchased by DuPont in the 1980s to be used as a landfill for products that were claimed to be non-hazardous. A stream on the property ran straight into the Ohio River. Wilbur Tennant and Rob Bilott sued DuPont in 1998 following the unexplained deaths of hundreds of his cows and the discovery of strange characteristics in the stream. Bilott discovered internal DuPont records exposing PFOA contamination of groundwater and plant workers throughout the litigation process. A secret settlement for the lawsuit was made in 2001.
DuPont paid $343 million to resolve a class action lawsuit with 80,000 plaintiffs in 6 water agencies in 2004. The settlement also mandated the development of a C8 Science Panel and the funding of a study to gather health data from the population exposed to PFOA and assess whether exposure to it truly caused harm. Six conditions were linked to PFOA exposure in the 2013 research, such as ulcerative colitis, thyroid illness, kidney cancer, and testicular cancer.
BP Oil Spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig blew up and sank on April 20, 2010, leaving 11 crew members dead in the biggest oil catastrophe in the history of marine oil drilling operations. The rig was operating in the Gulf of Mexico's Macondo Prospect. Prior to being shut off on July 15, 2010, the damaged Macondo well leaked 4 million barrels of oil during an 87-day period. The United States filed a lawsuit against BP Exploration & Production and several other defendants in District Court on December 15, 2010, alleging that they were to blame for the spill.
In a deal made in November 2012 between BP and the DOJ, BP agreed to plead guilty to 14 criminal charges, including violations of the Clean Water Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and 11 instances of felony manslaughter. The agreement included fines and penalties totaling over $4.5 billion, which would be divided as follows: $1.26 billion to a DOJ-controlled discretionary fund; $2.4 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF); and $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
Works Cited
The Mesothelioma Center: Support for Cancer Patients & Families, https://www.asbestos.com/.
“Disparities in Distribution of Particulate Matter Emission Sources by Race and Poverty Status.” American Journal of Public Health, 7 March 2018, https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2017.304297?journalCode=ajph.
“Environmental Justice | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice.
“forum shopping | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute.” Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/forum_shopping. “Presidential Documents.” Presidential Documents, 16 February 1994, https://www.archives.gov/files/federal-register/executive-orders/pdf/12898.pdf.
