Recently, a toxic mixture sulfuric acid and sodium hypochlorite formed a chlorine fog that covered downtown Atchison, Kansas. According to The Kansas City Star, it was the result of a chemical spill at the MGP Ingredients plant. The incident led to an evacuation and road closures. More importantly, 125 people had to be taken to the hospital for treatment, and as of this writing, two victims remained hospitalized because of the spill, including one MGP employee. Reportedly, officials at MPG cited a “delivery error” as the cause for the accidental chemical spill.
How Can Victims Fight Back Against Negligent Manufacturers?
Unlike the incident in Atchison, in many cases, people are exposed to dangerous chemicals for long periods of time without their knowledge. Year after year, companies are being caught using landfills, local streams and rivers and even the air we breathe to dump toxic their toxic waste. This can lead to serious, permanent and even life-threatening health issues for residents living near areas where manufacturers illegally dump chemicals.
In such situations, victims have used toxic tort litigation to strike back against those who did them harm. Toxic torts are lawsuits against chemical product manufacturers whose disposal of their waste was negligent and led to people and/or the environment suffering harm. Sometimes, victims file individual lawsuits against negligent manufacturers, but many times, they form a group and file a class action claim.
Class action lawsuits involve victims with similar injuries that were caused by the same action or product banding together and suing the negligent company or individual as a group. By filing the lawsuit together, the value of the victims’ claims often much more weight than they would individually, which can increase their chances of bringing those responsible to justice.
Need assistance with your personal injury claim, contact our dedicated St. Louis personal injury attorneys today.
Ever been involved in an evacuation? If so, please share this post on Twitter, Facebook or Google+ along with the story of your experience. Learning about what you went through might help others out there if they one day face a similar situation.
The information provided by Walton Telken, LLC in this Blog is not intended to be legal advice, but merely provides general information related to common legal issues. This Blog, and the information contained within it, is Attorney Advertisement. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. Past results afford no guarantee of future results. Every case is different and must be judged on its own merits.
