Toxic and Mass Tort

The Toxic and Mass Tort group at Polsinelli Shughart PC has successfully defended tens of thousands of toxic and mass tort cases. Named as national and regional defense counsel because of their integrity and insight, our attorneys have coordinated and mounted significant defense efforts on behalf of major industrial clients.

Our diverse group of attorneys has defended cases involving exposures to:

  • Asbestos
  • Benzene
  • Beryllium
  • Diacetyl (butter flavoring)
  • Hexavalent Chromium
  • Mold
  • Perchloroethylene
  • Silica
  • Vinyl chloride
  • Other chemical and mineral products

Medical disease claims from these exposures include:

  • Asbestosis
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Lung cancer
  • Mesothelioma
  • Pulmonary obliterans
  • Silicosis
  • Other claimed latent diseases

Our work includes development of medical defenses; coordination of discovery responses; use of e-discovery techniques; preparation of medical and product state-of-the-art expert witnesses; use of computer animations for trial presentations; and testing of defense themes in mock jury presentations. No matter the product involved, our guiding principles remain the same: We believe in client focus, sound legal advice, quality work and quality service.

Our attorneys have the trial experience to aggressively and effectively represent a client anywhere the case may take us. We have tried cases in federal and state courts from New York to California. Our Toxic and Mass Tort attorneys represent clients in some of the most challenging jurisdictions, such as Madison and Cook counties in Illinois. We have experience in litigating the typical issues arising in toxic and mass tort cases. More importantly, we recognize the impact that trials have on a client’s business, so we implement innovative pretrial strategies to minimize the effect of mass and repetitive litigation on our client’s bottom line.

In our advisory role, we assist our clients with loss prevention advice, including claim prevention to reduce exposure when claims may be anticipated. We also provide consultation on issues such as adequacy of warnings, warranties and industry standards.

Notable Experience

  • Successfully defended client through defense verdicts and appeals in repeat litigation accusing client of conspiracy to suppress medical and scientific information from workers exposed to toxic substances
  • Obtained court’s orders dismissing latent disease claims based on challenges to plaintiff’s experts. The court barred plaintiff’s experts from testifying and then granted summary judgment because of a failure of proof on general and specific causation
  • Obtained a federal court ruling that provisions of a state environmental act regulating the transportation of waste in interstate commerce were unconstitutional and finding that fines imposed against client were improper
  • Obtained a precedent setting decision from State Supreme Court that applied to a 10-year statute of repose to latent disease claims
  • Obtained Federal Appellate Court ruling that state legislature's efforts to amend the 10-year statue of repose to allow for latent disease claims was unconstitutional as an effort to eliminate defendants' constitutionally vested rights to a defense
  • Obtained State Supreme Court ruling under last injurious exposure rule barring toxic tort claims against an employer that was not the last employer of the employee under state's workers' compensation statute
  • Advised property owners and property management companies regarding mold remediation and responding to mold-related claims
  • Successfully defended landlords and property management companies against claims of personal injury arising from mold exposure in residential apartments
  • Successfully defended manufacturer of hard board siding against moisture intrusion and growth of mold product defect claims by more than one hundred plaintiffs
  • Successfully defended client against claims that toluene diasocyanate exposure causing lung damages
  • Successfully defended client in claims that chemicals used in animal feed resulted in cancer to humans
  • Provided national product liability coordination and defense to client for all punitive damages claims brought against client across the country
  • Provided successful defense to client in claim that plaintiff developed lung injury from carbon monoxide exposures from client's product
  • Developed strategies for client in several hundred silicosis claims to obtain court orders granting summary judgment in every case based on plaintiff's failure to prove that exposure to client's product caused plaintiffs' diseases
  • Handled wrongful death litigation concerning the inhalation of silica in industrial operations and from coal mining operations
  • Defended manufacturers of asbestos-containing materials for over two decades. We are designated regional and national trial counsel for a number of clients
  • Defended major oil companies in lawsuits involving claims of personal injury from inhalation of hydrocarbons and isocyanates
  • Defended manufacturers of paints and adhesives against claims of personal injury alleged from exposure to volatile organic compounds
  • Defended lawsuits alleging that beryllium (used in manufacturing lightweight alloys incorporated into aerospace and defense items) has caused potentially fatal disease
  • Defended various manufacturers who have been sued for personal injuries arising out of claimed formaldehyde exposure
  • Defended manufacturers of products against personal injury claims from exposure to toluene diisocyanate (TDI). This includes a defense verdict after a jury trial concerning plaintiffs who claimed that TDI exposure caused debilitating lung injuries
  • Defended manufacturers of benzene-containing products against claims that alleged exposures to benzene caused the latent diseases for which plaintiffs sought compensation
  • Defended pharmaceutical companies against diverse claims involving tetracycline, vaccine injury, diet drugs, and hormone replacement therapy in state and federal courts
  • Participated in clients' national trial teams to assist in developing themes for defense of cases and to try cases for clients related to alleged exposures to chemicals