Toxic tort

Type of personal injury lawsuit due to exposure to dangerous substances

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A toxic tort claim is a specific type of personal injury lawsuit in which the plaintiff claims that exposure to a chemical or dangerous substance caused the plaintiff's injury or disease.

## Place of exposure

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People may be exposed to toxic chemicals or similar dangerous substances from pharmaceutical products,[1] consumer products, the environment,[2] or in the home or at work.[3] Many toxic tort cases arise either from the use of medications, or through exposure at work.

### Occupational exposure

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There have also been many occupational toxic tort cases, because industrial and other workers are often chronically exposed to toxic chemicals - more so than consumers and residents. Thousands of toxic chemicals are used in industry and workers in these areas can experience a variety of toxic injuries. Unlike the general population, which is exposed to trace amounts of thousands of different chemicals in the environment, industrial workers may be regularly exposed to much higher levels of chemicals and therefore have a greater risk of developing disease from particular chemical exposures than the general population.

An occupational toxic injury case may result in a workers' compensation claim, which is made against the worker's employer. The same injury can potentially support a toxic tort case against "third parties", that is, people or entities other than the employer, such as manufacturers or distributors of chemicals, substances or equipment that exposed the worker to the chemicals, or the people or entities in control of the premises where the worker was exposed to the toxic chemicals.

### Pharmaceuticals

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Pharmaceutical injuries can occur when a person is injured by a dangerous, defective or contaminated medication. Many pharmaceutical toxic injury cases are mass tort cases, as most medications are consumed by thousands of people. The cases are often litigated against drug manufacturers and distributors, and potentially against prescribing physicians. When prosecuted against drug manufacturers and distributors, pharmaceutical toxic tort cases differ from medical malpractice suits in that pharmaceutical toxic tort cases are essentially product liability cases, the defective product being the drug.

### Injury at home

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The home has recently become the subject of toxic tort litigation, due to exposure to mold contamination, construction materials such as wood or carpeting treated with formaldehyde, and pesticides, and lead paint. Some imported consumer items, such as toys and ceramics, may be produced with dangerously high levels of lead.

### Environmental exposure

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People may also be injured from environmental toxins in the air or in drinking water.

## Common chemicals in toxic tort cases

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When a toxic tort case is based on chemical exposure, the following chemicals may be involved:

* Nerve agents (including sarin)
* Mercury
* Asbestos
* Benzene
* Beryllium
* Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds / Agent Orange
* Manganese
* Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)
* Pesticides
* Silica
* Hexavalent chromium
* Chromium(III) oxide

## Common diseases in toxic tort cases

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Among the medical conditions that may be alleged to be caused by exposure to a toxic substance, the following may be claimed in toxic tort cases.

* Aplastic anemia
* Asbestosis
* Berylliosis
* Byssinosis
* Hodgkins disease
* Interstitial lung disease
* Leukemia
* Lymphoma
* Manganism
* Mesothelioma
* Multiple myeloma
* Pneumoconiosis
* Sarcoidosis
* Silicosis
* Thrombocytopenic purpura

## See also

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* Brownfields
* Carcinogens
* Erin Brockovich
* Groundwater remediation
* Respirator
* Toxicity

## References

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1. ^ Flanders, S.L. (2007). "A Tough Pill to Swallow: The Insurmountable Burden in Toxic Tort Claims Against Manufacturers of Children's Medications". Journal of Law and Policy. 16: 305–355. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
2. ^ Rabin, Robert L. (January 1987). "Environmental Liability and the Tort System". Houston Law Review. 24: 27–53. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
3. ^ Blanc, Paul D. (2007). How Everyday Products Make People Sick: Toxins at Home and in the Workplace. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520261273. Retrieved 25 August 2017.

## Further reading

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* Schwartz, Victor E.; Silverman, Cary; Appel., Christopher E. (2009). "Respirators to the Rescue: Why Tort Law Should Encourage, Not Deter, the Manufacture of Products that Make Us Safer" (PDF). Am. J. Trial Advoc. 33 (13).
* 3M COMPANY f/k/a MINNESOTA MINING AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY v. SIMEON JOHNSON, JAMES CURRY, BOBBY JOE LAWRENCE AND PHILLIP PATE,  2002-CA-01651-SCT (Supreme Court of Mississippi 2002-01-30) ("dismissed with prejudice").

* v
* t
* e

Occupational safety and health

Occupational
diseases
and injuries|

* Acrodynia
* Asbestosis
* Asthma
* Barotrauma
* Berylliosis
* Brucellosis
* Burnout
* Byssinosis ("brown lung")
* Cardiovascular
* Chalicosis
* Chronic solvent-induced encephalopathy
* Chronic stress
* Chimney sweeps' carcinoma
* Coalworker's pneumoconiosis ("black lung")
* Concussions in sport
* Decompression sickness
* De Quervain syndrome
* Erethism
* Exposure to human nail dust
* Farmer's lung
* Fiddler's neck
* Flock worker's lung
* Glassblower's cataract
* Golfer's elbow
* Hearing loss
* Hospital-acquired infection
* Indium lung
* Laboratory animal allergy
* Lead poisoning
* Low back pain
* Mesothelioma
* Metal fume fever
* Mule spinners' cancer
* Noise-induced hearing loss
* Phossy jaw
* Pneumoconiosis
* Radium jaw
* Repetitive strain injury
* Silicosis
* Silo-filler's disease
* Sports injury
* Surfer's ear
* Tennis elbow
* Tinnitus
* Writer's cramp

Occupational
hygiene|

* Occupational hazard
* Biological hazard
* Chemical hazard
* Physical hazard
* Psychosocial hazard
* Occupational stress
* Hierarchy of hazard controls
* Prevention through design
* Exposure assessment
* Occupational exposure limit
* Occupational epidemiology
* Workplace health surveillance

Professions|

* Environmental health
* Industrial engineering
* Occupational health nursing
* Occupational health psychology
* Occupational medicine
* Occupational therapist
* Safety engineering

Agencies and
organizations|

| International|

* European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
* International Labour Organization
* World Health Organization

|

National|

* Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (Canada)
* Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Germany)
* Istituto nazionale per l'assicurazione contro gli infortuni sul lavoro (Italy)
* National Institute for Safety and Health at Work (Spain)
* Health and Safety Executive (UK)
* Occupational Safety and Health Administration
* National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (US)
* Safe Work Australia (Australia)

Standards|

* Bangladesh Accord
* OHSAS 18001
* ISO 45001
* Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981
* Worker Protection Standard (US)
* Working Environment Convention, 1977

Safety|

* Checklist
* Code of practice
* Contingency plan
* Diving safety
* Emergency procedure
* Emergency evacuation
* Hazard
* Hierarchy of hazard controls
* Hazard elimination
* Administrative controls
* Engineering controls
* Hazard substitution
* Personal protective equipment
* Job safety analysis
* Lockout-tagout
* Permit To Work
* Operations manual
* Redundancy (engineering)
* Risk assessment
* Safety culture
* Standard operating procedure
* Immediately dangerous to life or health

Legislation|

* Diving regulations
* Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States)
* Potty parity (United States)
* Right to sit (United States)
* Workers' right to access the toilet

See also|

* Aerosol
* Break
* Break room
* Drug policy
* Effects of overtime
* Environment, health and safety
* Environmental toxicology
* Ergonomics
* Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program
* Hawks Nest Tunnel disaster
* Health physics
* Hostile work environment
* Indoor air quality
* International Chemical Safety Card
* Job strain
* National Day of Mourning (Canada)
* NIOSH air filtration rating
* Overwork
* Process safety
* Public health
* Quality of working life
* Risk management
* Safety data sheet
* Source control
* Toxic tort
* Toxic workplace
* Workers' compensation
* Workplace hazard controls for COVID-19
* Workplace health promotion

* Category
* Occupational diseases
* Journals
* Organizations
* Commons

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