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Find Babst Calland attorneys in this practice area
Babst Calland’s Toxic Tort Litigation Group pulls from a depth of technical knowledge to defend clients on a wide range of toxic tort cases.
For more information:
Steve Baicker-McKee
(412) 394-5499
sbaicker@babstcalland.com
The firm’s strong background in environmental regulatory work, coupled with business-minded litigators, has made Babst Calland a clear choice for defendants and potential defendants of all sizes for the past 15 years
EXPERIENCE LITIGATING TOXIC TORT
Babst Calland is uniquely positioned to assist companies facing toxic tort claims based on alleged exposure to toxic substances. Babst Calland defends toxic tort claims nationwide and our experience ranges from single plaintiff, single defendant, and single product claims of personal injury to defense of class actions toxic tort claims. We represent a broad spectrum of local and national companies, and we routinely work with smaller manufacturing entities, as well as with some of the largest in the world. In addition, we frequently work with insurers in the defense of these matters, maximizing the resources and expertise of our firm to defend our clients. Babst Calland’s Litigation Services Group has deep experience in toxic tort cases that involve alleged personal injury or property loss. By way of example, we have:
- Defended a series of toxic tort claims related to an alleged fly-ash landslide, allegedly covering a neighborhood in ash and exposing residents to arsenic.
- Defended a series of toxic tort cases related to alleged exposure to pesticides.
- Defended a toxic tort matter related to birth defects allegedly caused by TCE exposure.
- Represented companies alleged to have provided asbestos-containing products and alleged to have premises liability to plaintiffs exposed to asbestos.
- Defended cases that involved alleged injuries caused by exposure to benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene.
- Defended a lead defendant in toxic tort cases arising out of a leukemia cluster that prompted the largest cancer study ever conducted by the Center for Disease Control.
- Defended toxic tort cases, including individual actions and a class action, which involved alleged exposure to resorcinol, a product used in the manufacture of tires.
- Defended cases in several states in which neighbors to industrial plants claimed diminution in property value due to the presence of environmental contaminants such as particulates, chlorinated organics, PCBs and PAHs.
- Defended a plant owner in a series of toxic tort cases based on alleged emissions from a nuclear fuel processing facility.
WE MASTER THE TECHNICAL, SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL ASPECTS OF TOXIC TORT CLAIMS
Given our experience in handling environmental and chemical cases, we are able to understand the complex scientific issues that arise in toxic tort cases
The common element of toxic tort claims is that the plaintiffs have been exposed to a chemical. The disease endpoints include cancer, birth defects, and major organ disease (such as lung, brain and central nervous system, kidney, and liver). Such exposure may arise from a workplace, environmental contamination, or a consumer product. Because toxic tort cases almost always involve complex claims of personal injury, the issues of causation and the nature and extent of the plaintiff’s alleged injury require close scrutiny and investigation. Given our experience in handling medical cases, we are able to understand the complex medical and toxicological issues that arise in toxic tort cases, as well as identify and secure some of the country’s pre-eminent physicians and scientists. Our experience in handling medical cases is an invaluable asset to our clients.
KNOWLEDGE OF REGULATORY AND SUBJECT MATTER
Another invaluable asset that Babst Calland provides to its clients is our understanding of the regulatory framework surrounding exposure claims. We have provided regulatory guidance to manufacturers, suppliers of the raw products and end users, and we understand the industries and the regulations involved in this type of litigation. The litigation attorneys at Babst Calland call on the experience of our regulatory lawyers and utilize this skill set to further the defense of toxic tort cases. In addition, we are accustomed to working closely with scientific, engineering and other experts in the various applicable specialties, and believe that our in-depth knowledge of the chemical’s history, use and disposal is an integral aspect of providing an effective and successful defense. Babst Calland has wide-ranging professional relationships with many of the leading scientists and physicians in the U.S. in the relevant disciplines. We have presented these individuals as witnesses at trial. Our own understanding of the science and regulations on which these cases turn permits us to communicate effectively with juries.
WE PLAN LITIGATION STRATEGIES AND DO NOT JUST REACT TO THE PLAINTIFF BAR
The defendants must establish an effective defense plan early in the litigation. Our strategy is to minimize risk and exposure to our clients and to present a genuine trial risk to plaintiffs. In some cases that entails an early quiet settlement, but in other circumstances we suggest that defendants actively and aggressively defend the claims and try test cases to discourage the filing of additional claims. In the right circumstances, we have sought to bisect the case in order to force plaintiffs to initially establish scientific causation. This can be an effective method to focus on what is often plaintiff’s Achilles heel.
The Babst Calland Toxic Tort Litigation Group is uniquely poised to tackle toxic tort claims. Our lawyers are the founders and co-chairs of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Toxic Tort Committee, members of the Steering Committee of the DRI Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee, on the Board of the Risk Communication Committee of the Society for Risk Analysis, and Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association's Toxic Tort and Environmental Law Committee. From practical advice to business-minded strategies, Babst Calland provides dedicated service and client satisfaction.
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