Toxic Tort Lawyers
When Do I Need a Toxic Tort Lawyer?
Toxic tort refers to personal injuries resulting from exposure to hazardous chemicals and other substances.[1] This may include chemicals used in your workplace, asbestos in homes, toxic mold, or even harmful pharmaceuticals that caused unexpected side effects.
If you or a family member have symptoms and medical expenses after exposure to a harmful substance, you need to talk to a toxic tort lawyer. They can explain the laws, your rights, and your case. The situation may seem confusing to you, but an experienced lawyer will be able to sort through all the elements and determine if someone is negligent.
Good lawyers and law firms offer free evaluations, so don’t worry about wasting money on a lawyer only to find out you don’t have a case. It’s especially important to reach out to a firm in these situations:
- You know you were exposed to a toxic substance, such as mold in your home or a chemical spill in your neighborhood.
- The incident left you with symptoms and illness.
- You have a lot of medical bills resulting from the illness.
- A lawyer or insurance representative has contacted you about a toxic incident.
- You were exposed at work and your employer is not remediating the problem.
- Your workers’ compensation claim has been denied.
Why is it So Important to Hire a Toxic Tort Lawyer?
Toxic tort cases are notoriously complex and difficult to prove.[2] This doesn’t mean you should not seek justice and damages. It does mean that you need a toxic tort lawyer on your side, advocating for you and proving your case.
A toxic tort lawyer can provide you with the essentials for proving negligence:
- Expert Testimony.
There is a lot of science to a toxic tort case. Your lawyer can provide experts in toxic substances and medicine to prove you experienced exposure that caused your symptoms. Experts must stand up to the scrutiny and discrediting attempts of the other side. Only lawyers who specialize in toxic torts have the best experts. - Diverse Law Expertise.
Complicated cases over toxic substance exposure involve more than just tort and personal injury law. It would help if you also had a lawyer with deep knowledge of environmental law, construction and building, workplace and workers’ compensation law, products liability, and other areas applicable to your unique situation. - Experience Negotiating.
A lawyer specializing in toxic torts knows how to negotiate with big insurance companies backing defendants. Those companies do whatever it takes to avoid paying victims or to minimize compensation. Your lawyer must have strong negotiating skills to maximize damages. - Experience Litigating.
Not all cases will end in a settlement, which means your lawyer may need to go to court for you. Toxic tort lawyers have experience litigating, bringing in experts for testimony, and presenting evidence in front of a jury.
How Do I Find the Right Toxic Tort Lawyer?
There are a few places you can start your search for a lawyer to take your case. If you know anyone who has been in a similar situation, find out if they worked with a lawyer they liked. If not, do a search for lawyers and firms who specialize specifically in toxic torts. Don’t settle for a lawyer without relevant experience.
Check with your state bar association to find firms that handle these kinds of cases. Another good place to look is in the news. Toxic tort cases often make headlines. Look at cases in your state with big wins, and you’ll find a law firm that successfully helped victims.
As you narrow down your search for the right toxic tort lawyer for your case, take advantage of free initial consultations. Reputable firms will evaluate your case for free. Come prepared with important questions:
- What is your experience handling cases like mine?
- Can you show me examples of wins for past clients?
- Do you have experience going to trial with toxic tort cases?
- Who will be handling my case?
- Do you think I have a strong case?
- What do you think I can recover in damages?
- How long do you expect the process to take?
- What experts do you have available, and how will they prove negligence?
Working with Your Toxic Tort Lawyer
It’s always important to be open and honest with your legal team, but it is essential in complicated toxic tort cases. Provide as much information as you can and be honest about everything, even if you worry you could have played a role in the accident. In addition to whatever they request, make sure your lawyer has:
- Any incident reports or police reports related to the incident
- Your recollections of the event
- Details about your workplace, if that’s where exposure occurred, including any safety violations you know about or suspect
- Details about your home, if the exposure occurred there, including records of purchase and any work done on the house
- All of your medical reports, symptoms, and bills related to the toxic substance
- Any expense you have had related to exposure, such as home repairs for mold or asbestos
When you work with a toxic tort lawyer, you have an expert on your side advocating for your rights and your healthy. They will provide expertise and guidance to help you recover the damages to which you are entitled.