Toxic Hazards
Environmental and medical experts successfully expose chemical polluters
Ever so slowly, toxic chemical pollution ruins our water, land and air. The Environmental Division of Janet, Jenner & Suggs advocates for individuals, communities and governments affected by this type of pollution. Our attorneys and staff have handled cases dealing with environmental hazards and the medical and property damage it causes. Click here to fill out a brief questionnaire if you feel you have been affected by toxic pollution. Our attorneys will review your case and determine if you have a legitimate claim or can become part of a class action.
Linking toxic materials to illness and disease
Toxic materials—like poisonous gases, chemicals and waste—can be contaminating the ground, water and air for years before residents realize the damage to their health and property. Our environmental experts have been able to identify the causes and the responsible corporations. With our decades of experience in handling cases involving complex medical issues, we are better able to identify current and future health problems that could be caused by these pollutants. A key part in toxic hazard cases is to find as many people as possible who could have been hurt by the pollution so they can be monitored for health risks. Unfortunately, some people move away and never suspect they are at risk of many health problems including:
- Lung cancer
- Leukemia
- Brain damage
- Birth defects
Seeking compensation for health and property damage
Our skills and expertise at the negotiating table and, particularly, in the courtroom help our clients because we understand the problems they face today and in the future. We know how to effectively tell our clients’ stories to jurors. Juries and courts can then make the final decision and provide the results our clients deserve for health and property damages.
Underground Toxic Plume (click to enlarge)
Contaminated ground and well water cases
Among our current cases is a class action suit for current and past residents of Dayton, Ohio’s McCook Field. Ground water underneath the city’s Behr Dayton Thermal Plant was contaminated with manufacturing chemicals (trichloroethylene or TCE) since at least 1998. Of the more than 400 homes that have been tested for toxic vapors, over half tested positive for elevated TCE levels – some as high as 650 times the official “action level.” One school was closed due to contamination. The USEPA has called this area one of the worst hazardous waste sites in the country and has designated it a Superfund site. The case is being handled by My Advocates attorneys Howard Janet, Robert Jenner, Ken Suggs, Steve German and Joel Rubenstein.
In addition, the Firm is currently investigating toxic tort claims involving contaminated drinking wells and anticipates being imminently retained to assist in the pursuit of pending natural resource damage claims.
Combining toxic and medical expertise
A lead attorney in our Toxic Tort Division is Steve German, who worked with the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Enforcement Section and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New Jersey Superfund Branch. Among his cases were trial and appellate victories (Interfaith Community Organization v. Honeywell International, Inc) in Jersey City, NJ, which resulted in one of the nation’s largest environmental cleanups. One million tons of chromium waste was excavated and removed from contaminated groundwater and sediments in the Hackensack River. The site is in a densely populated neighborhood and in his ruling on the case Federal District Court Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh said it presented ”a substantial risk of imminent damage to public health and safety and imminent and severe damage to the environment.”
”This was the biggest one, the most egregious one, but it is by no means the only one,” said Mr. German. He said there are about 120 other sites in the area — most in Hudson County — contaminated with hexavalent chromium.
Bringing their expertise in medical and legal issues to the Toxic Tort Division are Howard Janet, Robert Jenner, and Ken Suggs. Each also has extensive experience in jury trials and obtaining record breaking verdicts or settlements for their clients in medical error cases.
Joel Rubenstein is another attorney in our Toxic Tort Division. He has represented plaintiffs in an environmental class action lawsuit seeking damages on behalf of property owners and individuals who have been exposed to contaminants such as trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride and 1,4-dioxane through groundwater contamination from a Raytheon plant in St. Petersburg, Florida.