How do toxic tort cases differ from other types of toxic litigation?
Pharmaceutical toxic tort cases are often litigated against drug manufacturers and distributors, as well as prescribing physicians. However, pharmaceutical toxic tort cases differ from medical malpractice actions because they are essentially product liability cases, the defective product being the drug. Occupational toxic tort cases arise from work but differ from workers’ compensation claims, because workers’ compensation claims are made against the worker’s employer, while an occupational toxic tort case usually must be brought against “third parties,” i.e., people or entities other than the employer – usually manufacturers or distributors of toxic chemicals or the machines or devices that expose the worker to the chemicals, and the owners and lessors of premises where the worker is exposed to the toxic chemicals. Some people also consider lawsuits claiming damage to real property to be toxic torts cases. However, real property contamination cases are qualitatively quite different fr
