Property Contamination Claims: Who to Blame

Perhaps you’ve been living over a dump. Obviously, you didn’t know about it or you wouldn’t have been so thrilled by the cheap rent. Now the place has made you sick.

Who do you blame? Who can you sue? Is someone supposed to clean this mess? And shouldn’t you have been warned? The answers to these questions are not always straightforward. Let’s explore them.

Contamination Complications

Several legal and logistical issues apply to the question of contamination. Who to blame gets complicated. Take the cheap apartment scenario — after a decade you discover that the place has been poisoning you. Can you sue your landlord for injury?

Yes, but whether the claim succeeds depends on what the landlord knew and should have known, what was reasonable under the circumstances. Whether cleanup is possible or can be made the landlord’s responsibility also depends on how the environmental hazard came about, when, and state and local environmental protection laws.

In other words, there is recourse for an injured person when contamination caused injury. Still, the source of the poison and what was known about it — or should have been known and disclosed — and other factors go into a determination of what’s reasonable and what is negligence in toxic torts.

Big and Small Picture

On a grand scale, there are major environmental spills and federal laws that govern who should clean up what and when. Even then, proving responsibility for contamination is not easy, as there are limits to liability that might surprise you.

Sometimes a property owner is responsible for contamination even when it’s caused by a negligent tenant. Sometimes a person who purchased a contaminated property can be sued for contribution to cleanup, although there are defenses. But there are defenses in all federal legislation. It does not always follow that contaminators pay for cleanup or injury.

Contamination Claims

All of the caveats aside, negligence suits for contaminated property, water, and food abound. Whether you’re injured by a product or property or a public service that’s poorly managed — like the victims of lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan’s water — you can sue.

Who the appropriate parties to target are, and what standards govern a claim, depend on the context of the suit and poisoning. A property purchaser suing a developer might make breach of contract claims in addition to arguing negligence for causing injury. A good lawyer will advance all plausible arguments to help you recover.

Consult With Counsel

If you or someone you know has been injured on contaminated property, or in any other context, speak to a lawyer. Many personal injury attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to discuss your case.

Related Resources:

• Have an injury claim? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury)
• Negligence Background (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
• What Are Toxic Torts? (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
• Toxic Chemicals and Materials (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2016/03/property-contamination-claims-blame-and-cleanup.html

Lumber Liquidators Scandal Keeps Getting Worse

via Tumblr hobbsr04.tumblr.com/post/140402663472 The hits just keep on coming for Lumber Liquidators in their burgeoning formaldehyde flooring scandal. Amidst class action lawsuits and criminal investigations comes news that the company’s stock price has been tanking, even farther than expected. Why? Because the flooring in question is even more of a cancer risk than expected. The Centers for Disease Control released an elevated warning, saying the the risk of contracting cancer from exposure to certain laminate floors is now at six to 30 cases per 100,000 people, triple what it had previously warned. Falling Through the Floor News broke last year that certain Chinese-made laminate flooring imported and sold by Lumber Liquidators contained dangerous amounts of formaldehyde, which can be found in the glue used to make the flooring. According to a 60 Minutes investigation, labs found that the average level of formaldehyde in tested products exceeded California’s formaldehyde emission standards by 600-700 percent. A few months later came word that the U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing criminal charges under the Lacey Act, which makes it “unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell … any plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any Federal, State, foreign, or Indian tribal law, treaty, or regulation.” Just last month, Lumber Liquidators agreed to pay $13 million in criminal fines and penalties for illegally cutting down Mongolian oak trees in Russia. (The trees protect endangered Siberian tigers and Amur leopards.) On Shaky Ground And now, that illegal flooring is even more dangerous than suspected. The new CDC report indicates that even “exposure to the lowest modeled levels of formaldehyde could result in eye, nose, and throat irritation,” and the organization admitted it underestimated the airborne concentration of formaldehyde from the flooring. While it admits the estimate is conservative on the high side, the “estimated risk of cancer is 6-30 cases per 100,000 people.” If you purchased laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators between 2012 and 2014, make sure you follow these CDC guidelines to minimize the risk of formaldehyde exposure. And if you are suffering from breathing problems or ear, nose, or throat irritation, you should seek medical attention, and contact an experienced personal injury attorney near you. Related Resources: Hurt by a product or accident? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury) Lumber Liquidators Takes Hit After C.D.C. Elevates Warning (AP) Cancer Risk: Lumber Liquidators Laminate Has Dangerous Formaldehyde Levels (FindLaw’s Common Law) Defective Products and Products Liability (FindLaw’s Injured) from Injured blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2016/03/lumber-liquidators-scan... via Blogger hobbsr04.blogspot.com/2016/03/lumber-liquidators-scandal-...

via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/87814799@N02/25453068206

Lumber Liquidators Scandal Keeps Getting Worse

The hits just keep on coming for Lumber Liquidators in their burgeoning formaldehyde flooring scandal. Amidst class action lawsuits and criminal investigations comes news that the company’s stock price has been tanking, even farther than expected.

Why? Because the flooring in question is even more of a cancer risk than expected. The Centers for Disease Control released an elevated warning, saying the the risk of contracting cancer from exposure to certain laminate floors is now at six to 30 cases per 100,000 people, triple what it had previously warned.

Falling Through the Floor

News broke last year that certain Chinese-made laminate flooring imported and sold by Lumber Liquidators contained dangerous amounts of formaldehyde, which can be found in the glue used to make the flooring. According to a 60 Minutes investigation, labs found that the average level of formaldehyde in tested products exceeded California’s formaldehyde emission standards by 600-700 percent.

A few months later came word that the U.S. Department of Justice is pursuing criminal charges under the Lacey Act, which makes it “unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell … any plant taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any Federal, State, foreign, or Indian tribal law, treaty, or regulation.” Just last month, Lumber Liquidators agreed to pay $13 million in criminal fines and penalties for illegally cutting down Mongolian oak trees in Russia. (The trees protect endangered Siberian tigers and Amur leopards.)

On Shaky Ground

And now, that illegal flooring is even more dangerous than suspected. The new CDC report indicates that even “exposure to the lowest modeled levels of formaldehyde could result in eye, nose, and throat irritation,” and the organization admitted it underestimated the airborne concentration of formaldehyde from the flooring. While it admits the estimate is conservative on the high side, the “estimated risk of cancer is 6-30 cases per 100,000 people.”

If you purchased laminate flooring from Lumber Liquidators between 2012 and 2014, make sure you follow these CDC guidelines to minimize the risk of formaldehyde exposure. And if you are suffering from breathing problems or ear, nose, or throat irritation, you should seek medical attention, and contact an experienced personal injury attorney near you.

Related Resources:

• Hurt by a product or accident? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury)
• Lumber Liquidators Takes Hit After C.D.C. Elevates Warning (AP)
• Cancer Risk: Lumber Liquidators Laminate Has Dangerous Formaldehyde Levels (FindLaw’s Common Law)
• Defective Products and Products Liability (FindLaw’s Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2016/03/lumber-liquidators-scandal-keeps-getting-worse.html

Can I Sue a Website for Libel?

via Tumblr hobbsr04.tumblr.com/post/140359136622 It’s great to be able to communicate with so many people all over the world using the Internet. But it also means that there are more opportunities for defamation, or people publishing false and injurious comments that result in damages after lawsuits. You can sue a website for the defamatory statements it posts to a limited extent. But Facebook can’t be blamed for the inane things people say on it all the time. If someone uses the social media platform, or any other, to defame you, you can use that as evidence for your defamation suit against the insulting writer. And if, say, you are defamed on a personal or business website, then you can target the site in your suit. Libel The law protects people from both written and spoken statements that are false, harmful, and cause damage to a person’s reputation. Written defamation is called libel. Spoken defamation is called slander. Both clams have similar elements, including publication or release to third parties. In order to succeed in a defamation claim based on statements published online, you must prove that the statements were false and that they were published, thus damaging your reputation. For public figures there is a higher standard applied to defamatory statements. People who are in the public eye can expect to be criticized and discussed extensively. And sometimes critics get it wrong. For a famous person to prove defamation they must show actual malice. Online Defamation If you are being insulted online and the statements are false, make sure to collect the evidence. Posts and tweets can be deleted from social media, so take a deep breath, take a screen shot, and talk to a lawyer. Do not reply to the comment … unless you can muster a very simple “This is not true.” And definitely don’t insult the writer back. Do not attack the website or going around writing defamatory statements about the publication. Although it is not easy to do, you must keep your cool or risk finding yourself in the position of being sued, rather than suing, for defamation. Related Resources: Have an injury claim? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury) Defenses to Libel and Slander (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law) Time Limits to File a Defamation Suit (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law) 3 Tips When You Sue for Online Defamation (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law) from Injured blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2016/03/can-i-sue-a-website-for... via Blogger hobbsr04.blogspot.com/2016/03/can-i-sue-website-for-libel...

via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/87814799@N02/25337069932

Can I Sue a Website for Libel?

It’s great to be able to communicate with so many people all over the world using the Internet. But it also means that there are more opportunities for defamation, or people publishing false and injurious comments that result in damages after lawsuits.

You can sue a website for the defamatory statements it posts to a limited extent. But Facebook can’t be blamed for the inane things people say on it all the time. If someone uses the social media platform, or any other, to defame you, you can use that as evidence for your defamation suit against the insulting writer. And if, say, you are defamed on a personal or business website, then you can target the site in your suit.

Libel

The law protects people from both written and spoken statements that are false, harmful, and cause damage to a person’s reputation. Written defamation is called libel. Spoken defamation is called slander. Both clams have similar elements, including publication or release to third parties.

In order to succeed in a defamation claim based on statements published online, you must prove that the statements were false and that they were published, thus damaging your reputation.

For public figures there is a higher standard applied to defamatory statements. People who are in the public eye can expect to be criticized and discussed extensively. And sometimes critics get it wrong. For a famous person to prove defamation they must show actual malice.

Online Defamation

If you are being insulted online and the statements are false, make sure to collect the evidence. Posts and tweets can be deleted from social media, so take a deep breath, take a screen shot, and talk to a lawyer.

Do not reply to the comment … unless you can muster a very simple “This is not true.” And definitely don’t insult the writer back. Do not attack the website or going around writing defamatory statements about the publication. Although it is not easy to do, you must keep your cool or risk finding yourself in the position of being sued, rather than suing, for defamation.

Related Resources:

• Have an injury claim? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury)
• Defenses to Libel and Slander (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
• Time Limits to File a Defamation Suit (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
• 3 Tips When You Sue for Online Defamation (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2016/03/can-i-sue-a-website-for-libel.html

First Sexually Transmitted Zika Virus Case in Oregon

via Tumblr hobbsr04.tumblr.com/post/140308723537 Health officials in Oregon last Friday announced the state’s first known case of sexually transmitted Zika virus. The victim is a woman whose partner had active Zika symptoms. Officials do not yet know if the disease can be passed to sexual partners when it is dormant, which would make infection even more dangerous than it now seems. “Though mosquito bites appear to be the most common way Zika is spread, there is increasing evidence for sexual transmission as well,” Dr. Richard Leman, Oregon’s public health physician, said in a news release. Meanwhile, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating more than a dozen similar cases around the country, also seemingly transmitted sexually. Daytime Flights Oregon health officials said that sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than they initially believed. The CDC is looking at 13 cases of Zika around the country that they believe were sexually transmitted. The vast majority of cases thus far seem to come from direct infections. The virus is reportedly carried by one species of mosquito — aedes aegypti — that thrives in tropical and subtropical climates, and can be found in Hawaii as well as some parts of the southern United States. The virus is also carried by another species, aedes albopictus. Both species are daytime biters, unlike some other types of mosquitoes. Although Oregon health officials declined to give details on the infected woman, where she lived, or even which country her sexual partner had traveled to, they did say that he went abroad and that she did not. The health officials also specified that they have not yet come across a case of sexually transmitted Zika in someone whose partner did not show active sign of the infection. That indicates there is still some hope that Zika is not secretly spreading among people who are seemingly uninfected. But little is yet known about the virus or how to treat it. Talk to a Lawyer If you or someone you know has been infected with zika or any other disease, whether transmitted sexually or otherwise, speak to a lawyer. Many attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to assess your case. Related Resources: Have an injury claim? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury) Can You Sue for Getting an STD? (FindLaw’s Injured) Suing Someone for Giving You an STD (FindLaw’s Injured) Woman Infected With Herpes Gets $6.7M, BMW (FindLaw’s Injured) from Injured blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2016/03/sexually-transmitted-zi... via Blogger hobbsr04.blogspot.com/2016/03/first-sexually-transmitted-...

via Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/87814799@N02/25310234862

First Sexually Transmitted Zika Virus Case in Oregon

Health officials in Oregon last Friday announced the state’s first known case of sexually transmitted Zika virus. The victim is a woman whose partner had active Zika symptoms. Officials do not yet know if the disease can be passed to sexual partners when it is dormant, which would make infection even more dangerous than it now seems.

“Though mosquito bites appear to be the most common way Zika is spread, there is increasing evidence for sexual transmission as well,” Dr. Richard Leman, Oregon’s public health physician, said in a news release. Meanwhile, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating more than a dozen similar cases around the country, also seemingly transmitted sexually.

Daytime Flights

Oregon health officials said that sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than they initially believed. The CDC is looking at 13 cases of Zika around the country that they believe were sexually transmitted.

The vast majority of cases thus far seem to come from direct infections. The virus is reportedly carried by one species of mosquito — aedes aegypti — that thrives in tropical and subtropical climates, and can be found in Hawaii as well as some parts of the southern United States. The virus is also carried by another species, aedes albopictus. Both species are daytime biters, unlike some other types of mosquitoes.

Although Oregon health officials declined to give details on the infected woman, where she lived, or even which country her sexual partner had traveled to, they did say that he went abroad and that she did not. The health officials also specified that they have not yet come across a case of sexually transmitted Zika in someone whose partner did not show active sign of the infection.

That indicates there is still some hope that Zika is not secretly spreading among people who are seemingly uninfected. But little is yet known about the virus or how to treat it.

Talk to a Lawyer

If you or someone you know has been infected with zika or any other disease, whether transmitted sexually or otherwise, speak to a lawyer. Many attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to assess your case.

Related Resources:

• Have an injury claim? Get your claim reviewed for free. (Consumer Injury)
• Can You Sue for Getting an STD? (FindLaw’s Injured)
• Suing Someone for Giving You an STD (FindLaw’s Injured)
• Woman Infected With Herpes Gets $6.7M, BMW (FindLaw’s Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2016/03/sexually-transmitted-zika-virus-case-announced-in-oregon.html