A class action lawsuit is filed by a group of people who have suffered similar injuries or harm due to the same action or product. In this article, we’ll look at three world-famous cases that made headlines across the globe, and why.
- Exxon Valdez
It has been 30 years since the Exxon Valdez oil spill devastated the Prince William Sound in Alaska. What were once pristine waters, ranked among the top 10 fishing ports in the United States, was devastatingly polluted with 11 million gallons of oil.
Exxon was fully aware of the high risk of carrying oil through Prince William Sound. Despite knowing this, they had a captain manning the helm who could not even legally drive a car due to a DUI.
At the time, in 1989, it was the worst environmental catastrophe in United States history, killing more wildlife than anything before. These are the estimated number of wildlife fatalities due to the spill:
- 300 harbor seals
- 2,800 sea otters
- 22 killer whales
- 250,000 seabirds
- Billions of salmon and herring eggs
Over $3.8 billion was spent on the cost of clean up and compensating 11,000 residents. The clean up effort was massive, but could not undo all the damage done to the ecosystem.
Fishermen suffered greatly, their livelihoods were snatched from them in an instant. Though only 11,000 residents were compensated, over 60,000 Alaskan residents were directly affected by the spill. Even those who received some sort of pay out from Exxon claim it was nowhere near enough to make up for the profits they lost.
- Roundup
Monsanto’s Roundup was once known as the safest weed killer on the market. Monsanto claimed that the chemical that makes up Roundup, glyphosate, was as safe as table salt. It has now come to the limelight that this is not the case at all.
Glyphosate has been directly linked to causing cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The first Roundup lawsuit to go to trial was in August 2018. Dewayne Johnson, a former groundskeeper, developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma two years after being involved in an accident where he was soaked in Roundup. He was awarded $289 million from Monsanto. Since then a multitude of class action lawsuits have popped up regarding Roundup exposure.
Everyone has likely been exposed to Roundup. It is used in schools and parks, and traces of glyphosate are even found in the food we eat. Those with the most exposure are:
- Gardeners
- Farmers
- Groundskeepers
- Agricultural workers
- Landscapers
If you or someone you or someone you know developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after exposure to Roundup you can currently contact a law firm and take legal action. Miller Firm’s lawyers will do a free consultation with victims of Monsanto’s product.
- Mesothelioma
You may have seen commercials for lawsuits pertaining to mesothelioma caused by asbestos, or if you have rented an apartment built before the mid-1970’s you might remember having to sign off that you understood the building contained asbestos.
Asbestos was used as an insulant until the mid-1970’s, and it was found in a ride range of products including:
- Sealants and paint
- Drywall
- Shingles
- Fireproofing material
- Cement powders
- Air-conditioning equipment
Asbestos has been found to stick to the mesothelium layer of organs and takes 15 to 20 years to create cancerous cells. It is directly linked with the cancer known as mesothelioma. People go years without knowing they were affected, but once diagnosed the disease is extremely aggressive. The manufacturers were not ignorant to this; it was known by companies since the 1930’s that asbestos causes cancer.
Mesothelioma is most common in miners, construction workers, and those who worked on ships containing asbestos. Class action lawsuits were once the common ground of mesothelioma cases, but now anyone diagnosed with mesothelioma caused by the negligence of others can hire their own attorney and pursue a case.
