Toxic Torts are personal injury lawsuits in which a plaintiff’s injury or disease is said to be caused by exposure to a chemical. Typical exposure to toxic chemicals can occur from consumer products, from the environment, from pharmaceuticals, at work, and in the home.
The two most common venues of exposure are from pharmaceutical drugs and work-related exposure. These are where most Toxic Torts cases arise from. Because pharmaceutical drugs are consumed by thousands of Americans, pharmaceutical toxic injury cases are mostly mass tort cases. Thousands of toxic chemicals are used in industry (at levels much higher than in the environment which the general public is exposed to) and American workers suffer from toxic-related injuries and diseases. Most of the law in this area arises from asbestos exposure. Mold contamination and toxic construction materials have recently made the home a subject of toxic tort litigation. Toxic consumer products such as pesticides can be subject to toxic tort litigation as well if exposure causes injury. Finally, the pollutants in the air and water can cause injury and health risks to people exposed.