Pesticides & Other Toxic Chemical Exposure Cases

Welcome to the Rodgers Law Firm

We at the Rodgers Law Firm in Fort Worth, Texas understand the devastation and losses that may be caused by injuries suffered in toxic chemical exposure cases. Victims often may have no transportation, may be unable to work due to injury, may have no health insurance or large savings to pay for medical care, may not know how to find health care providers that will wait for payment until the case settles or is tried, and may not have the energy or know how to deal with the insurance company for the wrongdoer.

That's why we are here – to do everything we can to help our clients get the answers, the assistance, and the compensation that they are entitled to under the law.

We represent victims who have been seriously injured in toxic chemical exposure accidents all over the DFW Metroplex and surrounding cities, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Denton, Burleson, Cleburne, Decatur, Weatherford, Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Azle, Mineral Wells, Mansfield, Sherman, and Denison.

Contact us for a free, no obligation consultation. We will meet with you at our office or any location convenient to you.

The following pages of detailed legal information will give you insights into the depth of our capabilities in these kinds of cases.

Actual Toxic Chemical Exposure Case Handled By Our Law Firm

Pesticide Company Employee Sprays Homeowner with Pesticide
North Richland Hills, Texas

Our client hired a nationally-known pest exterminating company to spray powdered pesticide underneath her pier and beam home. Access underneath the house was through a trap door inside the house.

The pesticide application required that the pesticide company employee push the nozzle and hose of the spray equipment through the trap door and then below the floor of the house. The spray equipment blower was kept inside the house.

All was going well until the employee accidentally hit the wrong button on the spray equipment and blew the pesticide dust inside the house, not under it. The blower force was so strong it blew the dust throughout the house and onto the homeowner in another room.

Recovery for injuries was in addition to payment by the exterminating company to clean the carpets, drapes, furniture and air ducts, to replace all clothes, bedding, and drapery, to repaint the house interior, for temporary lodging while the house was being cleaned and repainted, for medical care, and to test the household air quality after cleanup.

The case was settled before trial. (S31G)

Overview of Toxic Chemical Exposure Cases in Texas
In our complex, highly developed industrial society humans have become more and more exposed to dangerously high levels of toxic chemicals at home and at work. OSHA currently regulates exposure to almost 400 known toxic substances.

Examples of known toxic substances include pesticides, asbestos, acetone, arsenic-treated wood, benzene, cadmium, creosote, formaldehyde, mercury, methylene chloride, silica, tolulene, and vinyl chloride, just to name a few.

Injuries caused by exposure to toxic chemicals are quite varied. Lung disease, blood disease, and cancer are among the most serious toxic injuries. Asbestos exposure causes lung cancer and mesothelioma, exposure to vinyl chloride causes angiosarcoma of the liver, and exposure to benzene causes leukemia and other cancers.
Studies have linked chronic solvent exposure with breast cancer, leukemia, birth defects, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, hepatitis, hearing loss, dermatitis, irregular heartbeat, and more.

Many toxic injuries result from the inhalation of toxic chemicals. The respiratory system is especially at risk of toxic injury, because it is fragile and is the only internal organ system that is directly exposed to the environment. Examples of respiratory toxic injuries include reactive airways disease, bronchitis, chemical pneumonia, and pulmonary fibrosis.

The toxicity of a chemical refers to its ability to damage an organ system (kidneys, liver), disrupt a biochemical process (e.g., the blood-forming process) or disturb an enzyme system at some body site remote from the site of contact. Any chemical substance can be harmful to living things.

For every chemical, there are conditions in which it can cause harm and, conversely, for every chemical, there are conditions in which it does not. A complex relationship exists between a biologically active chemical and the effect it produces that involves consideration of dose (the amount of a substance to which one is exposed), time (how often, and for how long during a specific time, the exposure occurs), the route of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, absorption through skin or eyes), and many other factors such as gender, reproductive status, age, general health and nutrition, lifestyle factors, previous sensitization, genetic disposition, and exposure to other chemicals.

The most important factor is the dose-time relationship. The dose-time relationship forms the basis for distinguishing between two types of toxicity: acute toxicity and chronic toxicity. The acute toxicity of a chemical refers to its ability to inflict systemic damage as a result (in most cases) of a one-time exposure to relative large amounts of the chemical. In most cases, the exposure is sudden and results in an emergency situation.

Chronic toxicity refers to a chemical's ability to inflict systemic damage as a result of repeated exposures, over a prolonged time period, to relatively low levels of the chemical. Some chemicals are extremely toxic and are known primarily as acute toxins (hydrogen cyanide); some are known primarily as chronic toxins (lead). Other chemicals, such as some of the chlorinated solvents, can cause either acute or chronic effects.

The toxic effects of chemicals can range from mild and reversible (e.g. a headache from a single episode of inhaling the vapors of petroleum naphtha that disappears when the victim gets fresh air) to serious and irreversible (liver or kidney damage from excessive exposures to chlorinated solvents). The toxic effects from chemical exposure depend on the severity of the exposures. Greater exposure and repeated exposure generally lead to more severe effects.

Exposure to toxic chemicals can occur by inhalation, dermal absorption, ingestion, and injection. Inhalation and dermal absorption are the most common methods of chemical exposure in the workplace.

Acute toxins can cause severe injury or death as a result of short-term, high-level exposure. Examples of acute toxins include hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen dioxide, ricin, organophosphate pesticides, and arsenic.

Chronic toxins cause severe injury after repeated exposure. Examples of chronic toxins include mercury, lead, and formaldehyde

Carcinogens are materials that can cause cancer in humans or animals. Several agencies including OSHA, NIOSH, and TOSA are responsible for identifying carcinogens. There are very few chemicals known to cause cancer in humans, but there are many suspected carcinogens and many substances with properties similar to known carcinogens.

Examples of known carcinogens include asbestos, benzene, tobacco smoke, chromium, and aflatoxins. Zero exposure should be the goal when working with known or suspected carcinogens. Workers who are routinely exposed to carcinogens should undergo periodic medical examinations.

Reproductive toxins are chemicals that can produce adverse effects in parents and developing embryos. Chemicals including heavy metals, some aromatic solvents (benzene, toluene, xylenes), and some therapeutic drugs are capable of causing these effects. The developing embryo is most vulnerable during the time before the mother knows she is pregnant. Therefore, it is prudent for all persons with reproductive potential to minimize chemical exposure.

Sensitizers may cause little or no reaction upon first exposure. Repeated exposures may result in severe allergic reactions. Examples of sensitizers include isocyanates, nickel salts, beryllium compounds, formaldehyde, and diazomethane.

Irritants cause reversible inflammation or irritation to the eyes, respiratory tract, skin, and mucous membranes. Irritants cause inflammation through long-term exposure or high concentration exposure. Examples of irritants include ammonia, formaldehyde, halogens, sulfur dioxide, poison ivy, and phosgene.

Special experts are needed in toxic chemical exposure cases. For example, an environmental engineer may be needed to determine the amount of toxic chemicals in the environment to which the patient was exposed, an industrial hygienist may be needed to determine the amount of chemical absorbed into the victim’s body by air, skin or oral exposure, and a toxicologist may be needed to determine that the chemicals involved and the nature of the exposure are capable of producing the injuries documented by the patient’s treating doctor.

Medical experts have determined that if someone has one or more of the following symptoms following a chemical exposure, the person may have been exposed to a hazardous chemical capable of inflicting serious, permanent injuries due to the exposure:

Heart irregularities, shortness of breath, headaches, eczema, hives, depression, learning disorders, muscle aches, joint pain, joint swelling, back pain, chronic sinus infection, ear/throat/chest pain, sleep disturbance, dizziness, numbness, fatigue, upset stomach, abdominal pain, anxiety, swelling, and spontaneous bruising. This is not a complete list of all possible symptoms.

If you have been exposed to a toxic chemical at work, at home, or in other settings, an attorney evaluating your case will likely need answers to the following questions:
1.Where were you exposed to the chemical? What were you doing at the time? What caused the chemical exposure? Was this the first such exposure to anyone, or were there other exposures before yours? How many times were you exposed to such substance(s)? When and over what time period were you in contact with the chemical during each separate exposure?

2. What is the name, address, and telephone number of the person(s) or company or companies responsible for the chemical release? Why and how do you believe they were responsible? Was your employer involved in any way?

3. If you were on the job, were you wearing personal protective equipment such as penetration-resistant gloves and shoes, eye guards, or breathing respirators? If so, what were the types and manufacturers? Were they working properly? If not, why not? If you did not have such equipment, why not? Have you handled the chemical before the time of the exposure that caused you medical problems? If so, how many times and when did you safely use the chemical? Did you receive any training in the use of the chemical? Did your employer have any type of safety training? an OSHA hazardous

4. What was the highest and lowest possible level or amount of exposure to the substance? In terms of quantity of chemical and time period of exposure? How can this be proved? Was the method of exposure airborne or direct contact as a solid or liquid with your skin or eyes or mouth? Were your lungs exposed through breathing?

5. Exactly what hazardous substance or substances were you exposed to? Did you or can you obtain the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) required by OSHA to be prepared by the chemical producer/distributor? Were the warnings and safety precautions on the MSDS followed? If not, why not? Did anyone disregard the warnings? If so, who and when?

6. Have you or anyone else obtained samples of the chemical? Can anyone get samples? Can you get or have you gotten samples directly from a container of the chemical? Important: to show actual exposure in the environment, can you get or have you gotten samples of the air, water, or soil that contains the chemical as released? Are samples of the released chemical available from someone’s clothing, shoes, or other garments or fabrics? If so, you should place samples in either clean, sealed, airtight, glass jars such as a canning jar or, for garments, fabrics, and shoes, place them in clean paper bags such as grocery bags (do not use plastic bags or any containment method that will mix other chemicals with the sample). Store the samples in a cool, dry location – do not expose them to direct sunlight or heat or high humidity. You need to be able to show not only that the chemical was released, but that you were directly exposed to it in an amount harmful to humans, the method and manner and length of exposure, and that the environment you were in contained hazardous levels of the chemical as well.

7. What were each of your symptoms, when did each symptom begin, and have any symptoms stopped or changed frequency, intensity, or duration in any way?

8. Were others exposed as well? When? Before or after your exposure? Where? Under what conditions? What are their symptoms? Are their symptoms like yours? Did you get or can you get their names, addresses and telephone numbers? Were they employed by your employer? If not, where were they employed? Have they been to see a doctor or other health care provider for their symptoms? If so, who and when?

9.Were there witnesses to any of the exposures? If so, what are their names, addresses, telephone numbers and employers?

10. Have you seen a doctor or other health care provider for treatment for your symptoms? If so, who and when? Are any of the health care providers a “company doctor” or anyone associated in any way with the persons that may be responsible for the chemical release? How did you pick the health care providers you have seen? Who made the referral?

11. What did your health care providers tell you? Did you have any specialized tests such as a lung or pulmonary function test, blood test, urine test, and the like? What were the results?

Losing the Right to Make the Claim
You must file your Texas toxic chemical exposure case within a certain time period or else you will lose your right to pursue your claim. In many cases, the suit must be filed within two years from the date of the accident.

Simply contacting the business that is responsible for the accident or contacting the businesses’ insurance company about the accident is not enough to stop the running of the two year period.

There are other reasons to act quickly. Key witnesses may disappear, witnesses’ memories may fade, and vital documents may be lost. Sometimes it takes months of investigation to determine who the true defendants are that are legally responsible for the accident. It is crucially important that you do not delay in consulting with an attorney.

Contact us for a free no-obligation consultation as soon as possible to ensure that you retain your right to pursue your claim.

Ask Us for a Second Opinion If Another Attorney Has Declined To Represent You
Attorneys regularly decide whether the case that they are reviewing does or does not meet all the requirements to be a viable, sound case. Making this determination is not an exact science. Based on different experiences and analytic abilities, one attorney may turn down the opportunity to represent a client and another attorney may decide to take the case.

The second reviewing attorney saw something the first reviewing attorney may have overlooked. The first attorney may have decided that liability was not clear, that the damages were not large enough, there was not available insurance coverage or other sources to pay the money damages, or that there were other problems in seeking a recovery.

We would welcome the opportunity to review your claim even if another attorney has turned the case down. There is no charge or obligation for our review.

You may contact us at the following phone numbers at any time:

Office: toll free: 1-866-560-1075

local: 817-717-4080

Copyright 1994 - 2007 Clifford B. Rodgers.

Last Modified July 6, 2007.