Not too long ago, we talked to you about a revolutionary technology that could help plaintiffs prove that they were exposed to toxic chemicals. This advancement could help balance the scales when it comes to taking a toxic tort lawsuit to court, but you don’t always need new tech to prove toxic exposure. Take this latest toxic tort case for example…
Why DuPont Settled a Lawsuit for $671 Million
Parkersburg, West Virginia has a problem. It is right next to a Chemours/DuPont plant that seems to have a little leak.
Experts say that the water supply near Parkersburg has been contaminated by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). This chemical is used in the production of Teflon coated pans, waterproof jackets and microwave popcorn. There’s only one problem—it’s known for causing diseases like testicular cancer and kidney cancer.
The people of Parkersburg were shocked when they heard about the contamination, and so they filed lawsuits. DuPont and Chemours have settled some 3,550 of those lawsuits by agreeing to pay $670.7 million, yet the companies refuse to admit they did anything wrong.
This wasn’t the first time DuPont has had trouble with PFOA. The EPA fined the company $16.5 million in 2005 for using the toxic chemical. Thanks to that ruling, other large manufacturers agreed to no longer use this chemical in their factories, but not everyone has taken to the practice.
What effect will this new settlement have? Keep following our Florida personal injury attorneys to find out more about how toxic chemical lawsuits can affect you. We’ll be running more stories on the subject for about a month, so check back with our blog and post your thoughts on Twitter and Facebook.