Toxic tort
{{Short description|Type of personal injury lawsuit due to exposure to dangerous substances}}
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A toxic tort claim is a specific type of personal injury lawsuit in which the plaintiff claims that exposure to a chemical or dangerous substance caused the plaintiff's injury or disease.
Place of exposure
People may be exposed to toxic chemicals or similar dangerous substances from pharmaceutical products,{{cite journal|last1=Flanders|first1=S.L.|title=A Tough Pill to Swallow: The Insurmountable Burden in Toxic Tort Claims Against Manufacturers of Children's Medications|journal=Journal of Law and Policy|date=2007|volume=16|pages=305–355|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/jlawp16&div=13&id=&page=|access-date=25 August 2017}} consumer products, the environment,{{cite journal|last1=Rabin|first1=Robert L.|title=Environmental Liability and the Tort System|journal=Houston Law Review|date=January 1987|volume=24|pages=27–53|url=http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/hulr24&div=12&id=&page=|access-date=25 August 2017}} or in the home or at work.{{cite book|last1=Blanc|first1=Paul D.|title=How Everyday Products Make People Sick: Toxins at Home and in the Workplace|date=2007|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520261273|url=https://archive.org/details/howeverydayprodu00blan|url-access=registration|access-date=25 August 2017}} Many toxic tort cases arise either from the use of medications, or through exposure at work.
= Occupational exposure =
There have also been many occupational toxic tort cases, because industrial and other workers are often chronically exposed to toxic chemicals - more so than consumers and residents. Thousands of toxic chemicals are used in industry and workers in these areas can experience a variety of toxic injuries. Unlike the general population, which is exposed to trace amounts of thousands of different chemicals in the environment, industrial workers may be regularly exposed to much higher levels of chemicals and therefore have a greater risk of developing disease from particular chemical exposures than the general population.
An occupational toxic injury case may result in a workers' compensation claim, which is made against the worker's employer. The same injury can potentially support a toxic tort case against "third parties", that is, people or entities other than the employer, such as manufacturers or distributors of chemicals, substances or equipment that exposed the worker to the chemicals, or the people or entities in control of the premises where the worker was exposed to the toxic chemicals.
= Pharmaceuticals =
Pharmaceutical injuries can occur when a person is injured by a dangerous, defective or contaminated medication. Many pharmaceutical toxic injury cases are mass tort cases, as most medications are consumed by thousands of people. The cases are often litigated against drug manufacturers and distributors, and potentially against prescribing physicians. When prosecuted against drug manufacturers and distributors, pharmaceutical toxic tort cases differ from medical malpractice suits in that pharmaceutical toxic tort cases are essentially product liability cases, the defective product being the drug.
= Injury at home =
The home has recently become the subject of toxic tort litigation, due to exposure to mold contamination, construction materials such as wood or carpeting treated with formaldehyde, and pesticides, and lead paint. Some imported consumer items, such as toys and ceramics, may be produced with dangerously high levels of lead.
= Environmental exposure =
People may also be injured from environmental toxins in the air or in drinking water.
Common chemicals in toxic tort cases
When a toxic tort case is based on chemical exposure, the following chemicals may be involved:
Common diseases in toxic tort cases
Among the medical conditions that may be alleged to be caused by exposure to a toxic substance, the following may be claimed in toxic tort cases.
See also
References
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Further reading
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- {{cite journal | first1=Victor E. | last1=Schwartz | first2=Cary | last2=Silverman | first3=Christopher E. | last3=Appel. | title=Respirators to the Rescue: Why Tort Law Should Encourage, Not Deter, the Manufacture of Products that Make Us Safer. | journal=Am. J. Trial Advoc. | volume=33 | issue=13 | date=2009 | url=https://www.shb.com/-/media/files/professionals/s/silvermancary/respiratorstotherescue.pdf}}
- {{cite court |litigants=3M COMPANY f/k/a MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY v. SIMEON JOHNSON, JAMES CURRY, BOBBY JOE LAWRENCE AND PHILLIP PATE |court=Supreme Court of Mississippi |date=2002-01-30 |url=https://courts.ms.gov/images/OPINIONS/CO23457.PDF |quote=dismissed with prejudice |reporter=2002-CA-01651-SCT }}
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