Catastrophic Toxic Exposure Lawsuits
Toxic exposures are often silent at first and devastating when missed. Acute releases (spills, fires, derailments) and chronic exposures (contaminated water, workplace solvents, heavy metals, PFAS) can lead to life-altering injuries and diseases. In the first days and weeks, you’re asked to make complex medical and insurance decisions while trying to breathe, heal, and plan the road ahead. Our role is to steady that chaos. We move quickly to preserve evidence, notify the right parties, and protect your claim so you can focus on recovery.
From day one, we assemble the right team for exposure cases: industrial hygienists, toxicologists, environmental engineers, pulmonologists, oncologists, hepatology/nephrology specialists, life-care planners, and economic experts. We build liability and damages in parallel, capturing air/water/soil data, chain-of-custody sampling, SDS/OSHA/EPA records, incident reports, and biomonitoring, so nothing is left to chance.
How Much Is Your Case Worth?
Our Results
McEldrew Purtell has a proven track record of maximizing recovery for our clients.
Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.
Ways We Can Help
Below are common causes and contexts for toxic chemical exposure. For each, we develop the evidence and pursue every responsible party to seek full compensation under the law.
Industrial Plant & Refinery Releases
Process upsets, line breaks, flaring events, and storage tank failures can expose workers and nearby communities to hydrocarbons, VOCs, acids, and particulates. Potentially liable parties may include operators, maintenance contractors, component manufacturers, and third-party service providers.
Freight Rail & Tanker Truck HazMat Incidents
Derailments, valve failures, and rollover spills can create toxic plumes and persistent soil/groundwater impacts. Potential defendants may include carriers, shippers, loaders, maintenance vendors, component manufacturers, and response contractors.
Workplace Solvent & Degreaser Exposure (e.g., benzene, TCE/PCE)
Degreasing, parts-washing, and shop ventilation failures can lead to hematologic and neurologic harms. Potential defendants: chemical manufacturers, distributors, premises owners, and safety/ventilation contractors.
Pesticides & Herbicides (agricultural and landscaping)
Thermal runaway in e-bikes, scooters, vapes, laptops, and power tools can trigger intense fires and inhalation injuries. Potentially liable parties may include battery and device manufacturers, distributors/retailers, and property owners where storage/charging practices violated standards.
Heavy Metals (lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium)
Overpressure and particulate clouds injure lungs (blast lung), while smoke/chemical plumes cause secondary damage. Potentially liable parties: utilities, fuel system manufacturers, event operators, premises owners, and pyrotechnic vendors.
PFAS & Emerging Contaminants (including AFFF)
Long-chain “forever chemicals” persist in water and blood, impacting multiple organs. Potential defendants: AFFF/chemical manufacturers, airports/fire training facilities, industrial dischargers, and municipal systems.
Carbon Monoxide & Hydrogen Sulfide Poisoning
Faulty appliances, enclosed-space work, or sewer/industrial gas releases can cause hypoxia and acute organ injury. Potential defendants: property owners/managers, utilities, product manufacturers, installers, and maintenance vendors.
Fires, Explosions & Toxic Smoke Plumes
Derailments or cargo releases expose workers and communities to toxic plumes; diesel exhaust exposures affect railroad workers.
Post‑collision vehicle fires and battery thermal events in cars, trucks, and buses demand rapid preservation of the vehicle and data. Potentially liable parties may include vehicle and component manufacturers, carriers, maintenance providers, and other negligent drivers.
Contaminated Consumer Goods & Cosmetics
Unsafe or contaminated products (including talc-based or solvent-containing items) can cause systemic exposure. Potential defendants: manufacturers, component suppliers, distributors, and retailers.
Medical & Pharmaceutical Contamination
Contaminated drugs/devices or compounding failures can lead to toxic or infectious harm. Potential defendants: manufacturers, compounders, distributors, and healthcare providers.
Indoor Air Quality & Mold/Mycotoxins
Carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide exposure during fires can injure the brain, heart, and lungs even without obvious external burns. Potentially liable parties may include premises owners, utilities, product manufacturers, and event operators where safety failures contributed.
Community & Groundwater Contamination (landfills, dry cleaners, industrial sites)
Plumes and vapor intrusion can impact entire neighborhoods and schools. Potential defendants: site owners/operators (past and present), waste haulers, PRPs, and environmental consultants.
Don’t Just Take Our Word For It
Hear From Our Clients
At McEldrew Purtell, results matter and so does the way we achieve them. While our case outcomes reflect our tenacity in court and at the negotiation table, it’s the voices of our clients that truly capture who we are and why we do this work.
We represent people at the worst moments of their lives: after catastrophic injuries, workplace tragedies, and preventable losses. Through every case, we aim to deliver not just compensation but clarity, confidence, and care.
If you’re considering working with a Philadelphia trial lawyer, we invite you to read what our clients have said about their experiences with McEldrew Purtell. Their words are the most powerful testament to our values, our dedication, and our results.
Learn More
Faulty Kitchen Appliances Can Cause Fires, Burns, and Wrongful Death
Families can suffer serious burns, smoke inhalation, and catastrophic fire damage from a kitchen appliance that was supposed to be safe on the counter, under the cabinet, or inside the home. Air fryers, dishwashers, microwaves, toasters, ranges, and other appliances…
Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks Can Cause Serious Neurologic Injuries and Life-Threatening Infections
When a dural injury results in Cerebrospinal Fluid leak after an epidural injection, lumbar puncture, spinal cord stimulator insertion, spine procedure, or another intervention near the dura, the consequences can be debilitating and life-threatening. Patients may suffer severe migraines, brain…
Supply Chain Failures: Toxic Chemical Exposure Leading to Burns, Organ Damage, and Wrongful Death
Workers, drivers, warehouse employees, emergency responders, and nearby families can suffer life-changing injuries when hazardous chemicals leak, spill, or ignite. A single transportation failure or packaging defect can expose people to toxic fumes, chemical burns, respiratory damage, explosions, or long-term…
FELA vs. Worker’s Comp: What Qualifies as an FELA Claim?
One of the most important questions in a railroad injury case is whether the claim belongs under a state’s workers’ compensation law or the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA). he answer to this question can have a dramatic impact on…
Five Killed in Virginia I-95 Bus Crash as Investigators Examine Multi-Vehicle Collision Near Work Zone
Five people were killed and dozens more were injured when a bus struck multiple vehicles on Interstate 95 in Virginia. For the families involved, the central question is not only what happened in the seconds before impact, but whether the…
Corporate Negligence in Trucking: When Company Decisions Cause Safety Issues
Families traveling on the highway may not realize that the commercial trucks driving beside them are not always operated by safe or even easily identifiable companies. Often, that only becomes clear after a serious crash, when victims and their families…
FAQs
Get answers to commonly asked questions regarding toxic chemical exposure and learn how we can help with your case.
What counts as a toxic exposure case?
Any harmful contact with a hazardous chemical or contaminant – by inhalation, ingestion, or skin/eye absorption – that causes injury, disease, or death. Cases include workplace exposures, industrial/community releases, and contaminated products or water.
What should I do right after a suspected exposure?
Get medical care, describe the exposure to your provider, document symptoms, photograph the scene/equipment, preserve clothing if relevant, and contact counsel quickly so evidence and notices go out immediately.
How do you prove exposure and causation?
We combine environmental data (sampling, historical releases, SDS/permits) with medical evidence (diagnoses, differential, biomarkers) and expert testimony (toxicology, industrial hygiene, epidemiology).
Can multiple companies be responsible?
Yes. We often pursue manufacturers, premises owners, contractors, and others whose combined failures created the exposure.
What damages can I recover?
Medical costs (past/future), lost wages and earning capacity, home/vehicle modifications, life-care needs, and non-economic harms (pain, suffering, loss of life’s pleasures). In egregious cases, we evaluate punitive damages.
What if my exposure happened years ago?
Many toxic injuries have long latencies. We investigate historical records, employer/plant archives, and environmental databases to build a timeline.