Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Toxic Torts Can Curb Unregulated Industry - Thursday, October 25, 2007
Like its namesake in England, the Manchester area of Houston is a hub of industry. It houses the largest petrochemical complex in the United States, and it works night and day to refine oil into gas in response to the quenchless thirst of American automobiles. From its cracking towers and smokestacks benzene and 1-3 butadiene and other known carcinogens leak into the air. It is the sort of scene we imagine happens only in the Third World, as people live in the toxic shadow of unregulated industry.
The Houston area has 20 times more 1-3 butadiene in its air than any other city in the United States, but there is no law that prevents these companies from spewing even more pollutants in the air if they choose to do so. No federal, state, or local laws can stop them from filling the air with lethal levels of toxic fumes. The government is reduced to begging them to reduce their emissions.
The chief toxicologist for the Texas Commission for Environmental quality has concocted just such a plan of systematic begging. The commission has developed an approach of "bringing companies in, telling them what we want." And, because the oil industry is posting record profits, the industry is complying with the requests, and adding any cost to efficiency or productivity to the cost it passes on to the average consumers.
But even though the petrochemical companies have attempted to occupy the moral high ground with their "voluntary limits" on emissions, the effects of their emissions are clear. People in the neighborhood around the plant suffer from high levels of respiratory disease, and children are 56 percent more likely to suffer from leukemia.
And who are these people? They are the poor, the disenfranchised, often members of minority groups. In all, they are people who feel they have no options or recourse to their environmental peril. But a remedy does exist. If you live in a neighborhood engulfed in the toxic plume of unregulated industry, a class action toxic tort suit can give that industry a little more reason to "voluntarily" reduce its emissions. Contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a local lawyer who will champion your cause.
An Excellent Movie on Toxic Tort - Tuesday, October 23, 2007
As a continued lead-up to the appearance of our toxic tort page, I thought I'd take today's blog to write about a very good movie concerning toxic tort, Michael Clayton. George Clooney stars as the title character, who is a fixer in a huge NY law firm. In the movie's main plot, he is brought in to fix a problem with one of the firm's elder lawyers, Arthur Edens, played by Tom Wilkinson, who seems to have lost his mind. Instead, it turns out that Arthur, far from being insane, has actually become a kind of Messianic figure (we see him stripping down in a deposition, like John the Baptist, who shed his fine clothes to wear furs in the wilderness), who is announcing the way of righteousness.
Arthur has worked for six long years defending an agricultural products company United Northfield (name recently changed to U-North, along with a snazzy new logo), from a toxic tort case related to a weed killer that was marketed aggressively to colder-climate farms. Apparently, the tasteless, odorless chemical dissolves easily in water, and is at risk for contaminating the well water of small farms and thereby causing cancer and even death, and the company knew it early in the marketing of the herbicide.
The movie's main plot revolves around whether Michael Clayton will listen to the call of his old friend, who has a history of mental illness, or whether he will stay loyal to his firm, to which he is bound by a complex web of loyalties and obligations. This tension is effectively developed throughout the movie, and remains in the balance up until the movie's final, gripping frames. The movie is strongly recommended if for no other reason than to watch the outstanding performances of Wilkinson, Clooney, and Tilda Swinton who plays the chief legal counsel for U-North with depth and sensitivity despite the almost completely reprehensible nature of the character.
It is impossible to leave this film without feeling outrage at the machinations of big chemical, and it is good to know that a remedy exists. If you or someone you love lives in a community affected by the noxious refuse of the chemical industry, contact PersonalInjury.com today to get in touch with a toxic tort lawyer who can help you receive redress for your injuries.
Coming Soon: Toxic Torts Page - Monday, October 22, 2007
Considering the topic of several recent blogs, especially those on the Mission, Texas pesticide plant, and the Fallon, Nevada leukemia cluster, it might seem odd that the entries never link to a page that would get my readers in touch with toxic tort lawyers. The reason for this is fairly simple: until now PersonalInjury.com didn't have a toxic tort page. Now I've rectified that, and the new page should be coming live in a day or two.
Obviously, I have long been interested in toxic torts for the simple reason that it's one of the areas that personal injury lawyers really have a chance to make a difference in our lives. Reading the stories about people in communities affected by a suspected toxic tort, there are many things that stand out. First, there is the possible harm caused by the exposure to toxic chemicals. Although Rachel Carson predicted what might happen to us in her landmark book Silent Spring (1962), it is nonetheless striking how much potential for damage there is in the spilling of a deadly chemical into the air or water.
Second, above and beyond the physical damage of the chemicals, there is also the uncertainty of toxic pollution. Even if people can smell or taste the chemicals, they are often unsure what, exactly is going on. Corporations who deal in toxic pollution do their best to foster this uncertainty. The exact content of what is being processed in any given plant is a closely guarded secret, and trade names change often, as do those companies that process and deliver various chemicals. Often, as in the Mission, Texas case, this seems to be a pre-meditated defense strategy, as it makes it harder for plaintiffs to successfully accuse any single polluter of wrongdoing.
Third, there is the fear spread by toxic chemicals. Because of the high degree of latency between contamination and injury, once cases of cancer or mesothelioma begin appearing, the entire community begins to feel threatened. After all, anyone exposed could become sick at any time now. It is heartbreaking to listen to the testimony of people living in a fear of death that breeds uncontrollably within them. This fear of toxic death is well-dramatized in the novel White Noise (1985) by Don Delillo.
Finally, one of the most tragic things about toxic pollution is that it swoops down, predator like, on those least able to defend themselves: the young, the old, the already sick. Especially tragic is the holes left by events like the Fallon, Nevada leukemia cluster, where so many children were killed at very young ages.
As I said, PersonalInjury.com's toxic tort page should be up soon, but in the meantime you can find information about pursuing lawsuits for catastrophic injury or wrongful death suits that will also get you in contact with a lawyer who will be able to pursue your toxic tort case.
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