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Toxic Tort & Environmental Litigation
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- Benzene, Toxic Substances & Occupational Disease Claims
- Toxic Substances in the Semiconductor Industry
- Toxic Substances in the Environment and Home
- Landfill and Contaminated Property Litigation
Thornton & Naumes has successfully litigated a number of third party and workers' compensation cases on behalf of persons who have suffered serious personal injury by exposure to hazardous chemicals and other toxic substances in the workplace environment or home. These cases have ranged from exposure to radiation at nuclear power plants to solvents such as benzene and ethylene glycol ether used in heavy industry and semiconductor chip manufacturing. Lawyers at the firm have also litigated cases involving contaminated groundwater and air, which caused serious disease and are currently working on the growing problem of toxic mold in homes causing serious health problems and property damage.
The lawyers and staff who work on these cases have professional backgrounds in such disciplines as environmental science and law, toxicology, chemistry and epidemiology. This expertise combined with the firm's 20 plus years of experience litigating complex product liability cases against the asbestos, lead paint and tobacco industry has resulted in effective representation in many other areas of toxic tort litigation.
Benzene, Toxic Substances & Occupational Disease Claims
A growing part of Thornton & Naumes' toxic tort practice is representing workers with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who were exposed to benzene contained in petroleum based solvents. The firm has investigated hundreds of inquiries on behalf of workers and their families with these illnesses. We have cases pending in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland and Minnesota.
The firm has also litigated cases involving exposure to other toxic substances found primarily in solvents used in a variety of industries from aircraft engine and automobile manufacturing to oil refineries to precision parts manufacturing. These toxic tort cases have involved exposures to such substances as arsenic, beryllium, glycol ethers, methylene chloride, perchloroethylene, radiation, trichloroethylene, toluene and xylene. Among the cases we have successfully litigated in this area are product liability and negligence actions involving workers with beryllium disease in the defense industry, liver failure from exposure to brake cleaning solvents and brain cancer from radiation exposure at a nuclear power plant.
Toxic Substances in the Semiconductor Industry
There are various chemicals and other toxic substances used in the manufacture of semiconductor chips. The medical and scientific literature has shown that exposure to these chemicals can cause severe and lasting personal injury. In particular, certain chemicals used in clean rooms have been linked to reproductive problems among workers, including infertility, subfertility, miscarriage and leading to birth defects in their children. In addition, several chemicals have been linked to cancer.
In 2001, after three years of litigation, Thornton & Naumes successfully settled one of the first lawsuits in the country involving a "clean room" worker in the semiconductor chip manufacturing industry. These cases involve serious reproductive health problems and certain cancers associated with exposure to ethylene glycol ether and other chemicals used in the clean rooms where chips are manufactured. Ironically, clean rooms were so named because conditions such as air ventilation were designed to protect chips, but resulted in workers breathing re-circulated air contaminated with solvents. Thornton & Naumes continues to represent workers in the semiconductor chip manufacturing industry suffering from these health problems as a result of chemical exposures.
Currently, Thornton & Naumes is representing children of clean room workers who were born with birth defects including skeletal deformities, heart anomalies, shortened or missing limbs or organs, blindness, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, retardation, genetic damage, kidney problems or other birth defects. These birth defects may have occurred as a result of their parents' exposure to various toxic chemicals during gestation. These children have causes of action against the companies that are manufacturing semiconductor chips as well as against the manufacturers of the chemicals that caused their injuries. As a result, you and your child may be entitled to recover substantial legal damages.
Toxic Substances in the Environment and Home
The firm has also successfully represented individuals who have suffered serious disease from toxic substances found in groundwater, surface water and in the air. The cases we have successfully litigated include individuals exposed to dioxin who suffered illnesses such as Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and porphyria cutanea tarda.
The firm is investigating cases involving child leukemia associated with drinking water contaminated with benzene in Vermont.
We have also been involved over the years in cases involving land and well water pollution, two problems facing many homeowners in more rural parts of the country. We have investigated a number of cases involving contamination from landfills, hazardous waste sites and underground oil or gasoline storage tanks. Chemicals and metals released from such sites can permeate through soil and bedrock into neighboring wells or aquifers, resulting in drinking water contamination. Our cases have involved both health problems arising from exposure to contaminated water as well as diminution of property values.
Landfill and Contaminated Property Litigation
Because of the firm's expertise in toxic tort and complex civil litigation, Thornton & Naumes was asked to join in the representation of over 30 families whose property has been contaminated by the dumping of hazardous waste. The lawsuit, Collins et al v. Olin Corporation et al , was filed in May, 2003 in New Haven, CT. Up to 600 families who live in Hamden, CT may reside on property which was used by Winchester Rifle Co. and its successor, Olin Corporation along with the Town of Hamden as sites for the disposal of hazardous waste. Testing on over 70 of these properties to date shows hazardous levels of arsenic, lead and PAHs. This contamination has significantly reduced the value of these properties, interfered with the use and enjoyment of these homes, and has caused the residents to suffer emotional distress and other harm.
Thornton & Naumes also represents more than 100 plaintiffs in the town of Tiverton who filed a lawsuit in Rhode Island against New England Gas Company (Corvello, et al. v. New England Gas Company) in March 2005. The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs own property in an area that was filled with coal gasification waste material from Fall River Gas Company, predecessor to New England Gas Company. The coal gasification waste material contains arsenic, lead, cyanide and other hazardous substances and the presence of this contamination has caused the plaintiffs to suffer from significant reduction in property value, interference with the use and enjoyment of their property, and emotional distress and other harm.
As described further in the Attorney General Litigation Practice Area, Thornton & Naumes has also investigated actions to recover damages under Federal and State Superfund laws for the loss of significant natural resources caused by hazardous waste contamination.
Thornton & Naumes is prepared to help you with this complex litigation, should you have a valid claim. We have extensive experience representing plaintiffs in complex toxic tort and environmental litigation. If you have any questions, call Attorneys David C. Strouss or Brad Mitchell at 800-431-4600.
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