Toxic Torts › Environmental Law › Personal Injury

BP Exec Defends Safety Record in Combative Trial Testimony

An executive with oil giant BP steadfastly defended the company’s commitment to safety while testifying today in the civil trial over the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill. BP’s Neil Shaw delivered testimony that grew...more

Judge Approves Deepwater Horizon Health Settlement

When BP spilled an unprecedented amount of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the devastation that followed went far beyond the environmental and economic damages that were the focus of initial reports. A health settlement,...more

Sea Monsters Two Years After Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

These aren’t just old fishermen’s tales. More than two years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, local Gulf Coast fishers are seeing eyeless fish and shrimp, festering sores and tumors on catches and other mutations in...more

Businesses Most Affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

So far, more than $9.5 billion has been paid out to compensate Gulf Coast residents and businesses for the losses suffered from the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. With the claims process reopened and a new settlement...more

BP Settlement Claim

After years of litigation, BP Exploration & Production, Inc. and BP America Production Company (collectively, "BP") entered a class-wide settlement ("BP Settlement") that covers most businesses located in the Gulf Coast...more

Judge Shoots Down BP’s Request to Drop Gross Negligence Charge

As soon as plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill trial called their last witness, an attorney for BP asked U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier to dismiss charges that the oil giant committed “gross...more

Indirect Costs of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill May Be Reimbursed

Lost business, lost profits — these are easily the most recognizable losses eligible for compensation from the BP settlement funds. However, under a new claims administrator and a new claims process, there are additional...more

Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Update - October 2012: Ninth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of a Public Nuisance Lawsuit

On September 21, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the Alaskan village of Kivalina against 23 energy companies. Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp., 2012 WL...more

N.J. Supreme Court Requires Plaintiffs to Prove Causation in Spill Act Cases

On Wednesday, September 26, 2012, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in NJDEP, et al. v. Ofra Dimant, et al. interpreting New Jersey's environmental cleanup statute, the Spill Compensation and...more

Anti-Assignment Clause In Insurance Policy Does Not Prohibit The Assignment Of Claim

Policyholders asserting claims against an insurer for damages arising from a fire, environmental contamination or other causes need to pay close attention to the “fine print” contained in their policy. Assigning a claim...more

Ten Questions with Beau James Brock

Interview with Beau James Brock published in the Baton Rouge Bar Association's Around the Bar periodical in April 2012....more

Residents Allege Radioactive Waste in River Caused Cancer

Were it not for the nearby rivers, St. Louis probably wouldn’t be the major metropolitan area that it is today. The Mississippi River flows past the city to the east, the Missouri-Mississippi confluence is to the north, the...more

Ontario Court of Appeal Dismisses $36 Million Environmental Class Action Award Against Inco

In a 3-0 decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal has reversed a $36 million trial award to members of an environmental class action. Thousands of Port Colborne, Ontario’s residents had sued Inco for property devaluation caused...more

McAfee & Taft RegLINC - September 2011: RCRA notice requirements By Chris A. Paul

If a notice pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act asserts that there is an ongoing release of pollutants, then it is unnecessary for a plaintiff to specify the date on which the violations occurred. That was...more

Medicare Pilot Program for Montana Asbestos Victims

In 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency declared a public health emergency arising from the long term asbestos exposure of Libby, Montana residents. The exposure occurred due to the operation of a vermiculite mine in...more

Appeals Court Upholds Summary Judgment Based on Daubert in Benzene Case

The Sixth Circuit last week upheld the dismissal of a plaintiff''s claim that benzene exposure caused her cancer. Pluck v. BP Oil Pipeline Co., No. 09-4572 (6th Cir., 5/12/11). The central issue was the exclusion of...more

A Test For Congressman Pacquiao

While the Panamanian vessel M/V Double Prosperity that has run aground the coral reefs off the coast of Kiamba town, in Sarangani Province recently may seem like a harmless incident with the Philippine Coast Guard already...more

ACOEM'S UPDATED POSITION ON THE "ADVERSE HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH MOLDS IN THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT" - WHAT THE...

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has recently published an updated paper on the health effects of mold exposure in an indoor environment. This article summarizes the key points that all...more

Trending Away from Medical Monitoring?

In conclusion, the law applicable to claims for medical monitoring has developed substantially since the first case of Friends For All Children. While the trend over time has been to recognize their availability through...more

Illinois Environmental and Toxic Exposures Class Action Attorneys

Environmental and toxic exposure cases are almost always brought as class action lawsuits. These cases are essentially personal injury lawsuits involving exposure to an environmental hazard. Unlike other personal injury cases...more

Illinois Appellate Court Rules That Employers Must Protect Family of Employees From Asbestos Dangers

Article on Illinois Appellate Court opinion ruling that employers owe the immediate families of their employees a duty to protect against take-home asbestos exposure. This article was written by Dave Scriven-Young, an...more

Gadolinium Litigation

NSF: The Man-Made Disease, The Litigation Swell And The Lives Lost

Read the background on the disease, nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, gadolinium-based contrast agents and the renally impaired and the enormous litigation swell that has surfaced as a result. ...more

Jury Instructions in Punitive Damage Cases: Using the New Mandates from the United States Supreme Court

Recognizing that “most pattern jury instructions do not contain instructions regarding the constitutional limits on punitive damage awards,” article authors George Pitcher and Rachel Robinson address the need for defendants...more

EPA Inspector General investigation into failure to prevent concultant conflicts of interest

Documents relating to an EPA investigation into consultant conflicts concerning asbestos. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral which has been linked to several diseases, including asbestosis, lung cancer, and...more

EPA Asbestos Factbook

Information from the Environmental Protection Agency concerning asbestos, including diseases linked to asbestos exposure, including asbestosis and mesothelioma. The factbook also covers issues surrounding asbestos in schools...more