Benchmarks: Worker has intentional tort claim for toxic exposure 
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: November 19, 2012
Tags: intentional tort, toxic tort, workers' compensation
An Oklahoma power plant worker has overcome the typically insurmountable hurdle of workers’ comp exclusivity, getting the green light to pursue an intentional tort claim against his employer for exposure to toxic fly ash.
Engineers can’t be sued for beryllium contamination
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: February 4, 2011
Tags: Beryllium, EPA, Restatement (Second) of Torts, toxic tort
A toxic tort plaintiff could not sue an engineering firm for failing to make a public disclosure of beryllium contamination at a chemical plant near her home, a Pennsylvania appellate court has ruled in affirming a summary judgment.
Judge sets trial date to split blame for Gulf oil spill
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: September 20, 2010
Tags: toxic tort
At last week’s packed opening hearing of the massive litigation over the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier scheduled a key proceeding in the litigation — a trial to determine the proportion of fault among the corporate defendants — more than a year from now, in October 2011.
Jury: Texaco must pay $19M in birth defect suit
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: April 9, 2010
Tags: birth defects, toxic tort
A Mississippi jury on Thursday awarded $19 million to five women who alleged an oil company is responsible for their children born with disabilities and illnesses, including mental retardation.
Jury awards former Pfizer scientist $1.37M
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: April 2, 2010
Tags: toxic tort
A former Pfizer scientist who claims that she has been paralyzed by inadvertent exposure to a virus engineered at the pharmaceutical company’s laboratories in Groton, Conn., was awarded $1.37 million Thursday by a federal jury in Hartford following a trial that raised questions about safety practices in the dynamic field of genetic engineering.
Jury: Katrina trailer not unreasonably dangerous
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: March 30, 2010
Tags: toxic tort
A federal jury on Monday rejected a New Orleans man’s claims that government contractors provided him with a trailer after Hurricane Katrina that exposed him to dangerous fumes, dealing another blow to those suing the trailer makers.
Judge to weigh $657M deal for WTC responders
By:
Correy Stephenson
Published: March 12, 2010
Tags: September 11, toxic tort
A settlement that could pay up to $657.5 million to more than 10,000 ground zero rescue and recovery workers sickened by dust from the destroyed World Trade Center goes before a judge Friday, and he has said he favored a settlement but planned to analyze it carefully to make sure it was fair.
Judge picks a dozen 9/11 health cases for trial
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: February 22, 2010
Tags: toxic tort
Nearly a decade after the Twin Towers fell, a dozen of those who claim they’ve been condemned to death by Ground Zero’s toxins are finally headed to court. Federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein Friday revealed the 12 health cases tied to the terror attacks that will go to trial in Manhattan federal court just blocks from the World Trade Center site.
Two workers awarded $12M in toxic waste suit
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: November 17, 2009
Tags: toxic tort
Two men who became seriously ill after working at a Hicksville, N.Y., magazine distributor located atop a former nuclear fuel plant have been awarded $12 million in a federal negligence suit against Verizon Communications Inc.
Dole blocks $97M banana worker verdict
By:
Pat Murphy
Published: October 21, 2009
Tags: product liability, toxic tort
Dole Food Inc., the world’s biggest fresh fruit and vegetables producer, can’t be forced in the U.S. to pay a $97 million verdict issued by a Nicaraguan court, a federal judge said.
