Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey - Toxic Tort Litigation - Chemical Injury Attorneys

Toxic chemicals are used for a variety of industrial, professional, and consumer purposes. People are sometimes injured when they are exposed to these dangerous chemicals. When residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the Northeast sustain a chemical injury, the Locks Law Firm's toxic tort attorneys offer the opportunity to pursue compensation from the parties responsible. We have succeeded on behalf of many seriously injured individuals and families, and we may be able to help you as well.

• The Definition of a Toxic Tort
• Toxic Tort Examples
• Mesothelioma and Asbestos
• Benzene Exposure
• Lead Poisoning
• Toxic Encephalopathy
• Vinyl Chloride Exposure
• Coal Tar Pitch Exposure

What is a Toxic Tort?

The Locks Law Firm represents clients throughout the Northeast, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in filing chemical injury and toxic tort lawsuits. Our attorneys represent people who have been injured by environmental contaminants, solvents used in the workplace and also from chemical injuries resulting from exposure to harmful consumer products.

Exposure can occur primarily in one or more of three ways:  By swallowing the chemical, by breathing it into the lungs or through contact with the skin.  It can occur when a person is directly working with chemicals such as hydrocarbon solvents, including benzene, TCE or PCBs.   Exposure can also occur when dangerous chemicals are dumped into the waterways or aquifers that supply your water, or by exposure to fumes or toxic dusts in the air you breathe. Usually, but not always, when a person is exposed to the point that a disease occurs, the exposure occurs over a long period of time. But many cases of mesothelioma have been diagnosed based upon relatively short exposures to asbestos.   Diseases that result from chronic exposures include multiple types of cancer such as leukemia as well as neurological diseases or damage to the brain and nervous system.

If you are suffering from a serious disease and you believe that it may have been caused by exposure to toxic chemicals at work or in your environment, you may have a right to financial compensation from the companies and people who caused your exposure. Residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey should meet with our chemical injury with our toxic tort attorneys as soon as possible to learn about their legal options.

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Toxic Tort Examples

The Locks Law Firm, has offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and elsewhere, and serves clients nationwide. We handle many kinds of toxic tort cases for chemical injury victims. In each case, our attorneys perform a thorough investigation by consulting medical professionals, retaining expert witnesses, and doing what is necessary to build the strongest possible case.

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Mesothelioma and Asbestos

Asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis. Thousands of individuals have died of asbestos-linked medical conditions, and many cases are still being identified today. This is due in part to the long period of incubation between asbestos exposure and disease or damage to the lung symptoms.  Many times a person who worked with or was exposed to asbestos is not diagnosed with mesothelioma until twenty or thirty years later.  But if he or she is diagnosed with mesothelioma, it is virtually certain that this terrible disease was caused by exposure to asbestos.

If you or someone you love has a history of asbestos-related employment or product use and has recently been diagnosed with asbestosis, lung cancer, or mesothelioma in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or throughout the Northeast, contact our chemical injury, toxic tort, and asbestos attorneys as soon as possible. Our asbestos attorneys are among the most experienced in the entire country in this field and have considerable knowledge of the sources of exposure. We may be able to help you.

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Benzene Exposure

Benzene, once a popular solvent and fuel additive and now a known carcinogen, is linked to cancers of the blood and bone marrow, including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Benzene exposure can occur on refineries and from working with benzene containing products, including solvents, gasoline, glues and paints. Some victims are unknowingly exposed to benzene by chronically breathing gas fumes leaked into the atmosphere. If you have worked with benzene or benzene containing products in any capacity, and you have been diagnosed with AML, MDS or NHL, you may have a valid claim against the companies that made and sold benzene containing products, for failure to warn or failure to use safer alternative materials. Residents of New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the rest of the Northeast should speak with our chemical injury and toxic tort attorneys to learn more about this condition.

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Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning is responsible for learning disabilities, neurological damage, and other potentially serious symptoms in both children and adults. This chemical injury is particularly dangerous for children, who are most susceptible. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and serving New Jersey and the Northeast, our firm's chemical injury and toxic tort attorneys can help you if a member of your family is suffering from lead poisoning.  A child suffering from excessive exposure to lead through paint chips, toys or other lead containing products may suffer from many neurological problems that will cause him to have difficulty in school and at home. If you or your child has been harmed by exposure to lead, we may be able to help. Contact Locks Law today a call for a free consultation.

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Toxic Encephalopathy

Many of the same solvents that contain benzene can cause toxic encephalopathy as well as cancers of the blood and bone marrow. Toxic encephalopathy is damage to the brain resulting in short-term memory loss, diminished mental functioning, depression, anxiety and hair trigger temper. Serving victims in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and elsewhere in the region, the chemical injury and toxic tort attorneys at The Locks Law Firm can help victims of toxic encephalopathy.

Toxic encephalopathy is common in railroad workers, who are exposed to both aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene, naptha, and mineral spirits and chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene, trichloethane and perchloroethylene. If you or your loved one has been exposed to these solvents and is suffering from these symptoms, several of which are similar to the symptoms of Alzheimer disease, we may be able to help.

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Vinyl Chloride Exposure

Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas with a sweet odor. It is used to make plastics, including pipes, wires and cable coatings. It was often used in the construction and automobile industries and was used in many aerosol products such as hairspray, paint and glue prior to 1974. It is commonly found in polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) plastic. Vinyl chloride causes angiosarcoma of the liver, liver disease and brain cancer.

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Coal Tar Pitch Exposure

Coal tar pitch and coal tar pitch volatiles have been shown to cause kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, and scrotum cancer.

Persons working in the aluminum industry, near coke ovens, as roofers and in coal tar production plants are exposed to coal tar pitch volatiles.  Coal tar pitch is used to make anodes and cathodes, coat steel and aluminum columns, cover floors, and spray over ventilation systems.

If you or your loved one have been exposed to coal tar pitch and have developed one of the cancers listed above in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or New Jersey areas, our experienced chemical injury and toxic tort attorneys can help.

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Contact the Locks Law Firm

If you wish to discuss your legal options with an expert in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or elsewhere in the Northeast, the chemical injury and toxic tort attorneys of The Locks Law Firm may be able to assist you. We have established a history of success in toxic tort litigation. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.

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