Polychlorinated Biphenyls Lawyers

Polychlorinated Biphenyls, or PCBs, are artificial chemicals once used for various industrial and commercial objectives. PCBs can cause several health problems. Because of their hazard, they are no longer produced today but remain present in the air, water, and soil.

PCBs are especially present near factories where they were once manufactured, used, or discarded.

What Types of Health Problems Can PCB Cause?

PCBs can cause many human health issues, including:

• Liver cancer
• Malignant melanoma
• Immune system suppression
• Birth defects
• Premature births
• Neurological issues, including slower development and decreased short term memory
• Skin rashes

What Is Toxic Exposure? What Are Toxic Torts?

A toxic substance is something that is considered to be harmful to the human body, particularly in specific quantities. As such, toxic exposure happens when the human body comes into contact with a toxic substance.

There are many different types of toxic exposure, which can happen in many different environments.

Some examples of toxic exposure include, but may not be limited to:

• Exposure to chemicals in the workplace;
• Exposure to mold, especially dangerous types of black mold;
• Exposure to Asbestos;
• Exposure to lead paint;
• Exposure to toxic fumes from various activities such as welding;
• Hazardous chemicals in defective drugs or medications;
• Environmental contamination resulting from the release of certain gasses or toxins; and
• Soil or groundwater contamination results from the dumping of wastes and chemicals.

Personal injury law addresses situations in which another harms one party. Toxic torts refer to personal injury cases where the plaintiff alleges harm because of exposure to some toxin or chemical.

The factors required to establish a toxic tort case are similar to those required to establish in a typical negligence case. As such, you will need to demonstrate:

• That the Defendant Owed You a Legal Duty: This is generally straightforward in toxic torts cases. An example of this would be how in cases that involve contamination of the environment, you can prove that a company had a duty to the residents of the locality to avoid dumping any chemicals which would contaminate the soil or groundwater;
• The Legal Duty was Breached: Duty is specified based on the reasonable person standard, which considers how a reasonable party would act in the same situation. To further the example of environmental contamination cases, you could demonstrate that another company in a similar situation would have exercised more care to avoid dumping toxic chemicals. Additionally, you could verify that another company would have complied more strictly with relevant environmental regulations;
• The Breach of Duty Caused You Harm: The breach of legal duty must have been the direct or proximate cause of the harm. Establishing this can be considerably complicated, particularly if more than one party is potentially involved. An example of this would be how the owner of a property with toxic chemicals could argue that the builder is responsible, while the builder can argue that the owner did not properly inspect or maintain the property;
• You Suffered a Particular Harm: This involves demonstrating that you suffered particular harm because of the defendant’s actions. To demonstrate this, you will need to use different types of evidence, such as medical bills or proof of missed workdays.

What Is A Class Action Lawsuit?

A class action is a lawsuit that one or more people generally bring on behalf of a group of others who are in a similar position. Everyone must share similar legal problems, and there must be enough people involved that it would not make sense to bring separate lawsuits.

Additionally, the court must certify the class to bring an action. The court will consider the following before certification:

• The plaintiffs must adequately represent the interests of the whole class;
• There must be no conflicts of interest between the plaintiffs;
• The plaintiffs must be competent;
• The claims of the representatives must be similar and represent the entire class; and
• The question of fact must come from one act or a pattern of conduct by the defendant.

Initially, a person or group will bring a putative class-action lawsuit against the defendant. The court will then determine whether to certify the lawsuit as a class action. When certified, the original group will represent the entire class action group, and it will move forward as a class-action lawsuit.

Should the court decline to certify the class, they will typically give their reason why. This would most likely be because they do not think the class is complete, meaning that more potential plaintiffs could join the class to strengthen the case.

Any individual who may be affected by the class action lawsuit is allowed to receive notice of it being initiated. The notice must include a description of the claim and information that they can opt out of the class action if they wish to do so. If they do opt out, they must be aware that they will not be able to bring forth their claim in the future.

Because many class actions are considerably large, notices of class actions can be put in newspapers, TV commercials, or mailing lists. Depending on the events, it is possible for a potential class member who did not join the class to bring forward their suit if they had no idea that there was a class action.

Are There Other Causes Of Action For Toxic Exposure?

Personal injury lawsuits are not the only way someone affected by toxic exposure can recover compensation. An example of this would be how work-related injuries are not addressed through a typical personal injury lawsuit, even if the employer was directly responsible for the exposure.

Instead, these injuries are addressed through the worker’s compensation system, which all fifty states have enacted. A worker’s compensation claim is generally the sole remedy for injuries on the job.

However, suppose the employee was injured by a substance such as asbestos which a third party manufactured. In that case, they may be able to bring a claim against the manufacturer of the substance in a standard civil lawsuit. Cases that involve defective medications or drugs may be brought as a product liability case rather than a toxic tort case. When a toxic substance affects many people, a plaintiff may not bring an individual claim but rather a class action lawsuit.

Statutes of limitations set the time limit in which a particular claim can be brought against a defendant. It is imperative to keep these statutes in mind, mainly because claims for damages must be brought within a set time. This time frame is generally two or three years after the incident occurred for personal injury cases. However, this can be longer or shorter in some states.

This can be incredibly complicated for toxic exposure cases because an injury from toxic exposure may not show up right away. The injury may show up several years later as a severe medical condition. Many states have enacted a “discovery rule” to address this issue. In states which have passed a discovery rule, the statute of limitations does not begin until the injury is known or reasonably should have been known.

What to do If You Have Been Exposed to PCBs

If you have experienced any of the symptoms of PCB exposure, you should contact your doctor. You should also speak with a lawyer that specializes in toxic tort cases to decide if you have any claims for injuries you have suffered. A class action attorney can help you determine who is responsible for your injuries and how you may be compensated for your injuries.