PROPERTY CONTAMINATION

Long-term health concerns and property damage can lead to property contamination lawsuits against those responsible for the pollutants. In Ohio and around the nation, companies may prioritize profitability over environmental protection and must be held accountable.

Environmental property damage claims relate to air, water and land pollution, resulting from negligent waste management, corporate negligence, and the use of toxic chemicals. Chemical run-off and fracking spillage can contaminate large areas of private property.

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Environmental Attorney representing plaintiffs nationwide in property contamination lawsuits and Toxic Exposure Attorney.

Contact The Lyon Firm if you suspect a nearby company has contaminated your property. EPA experts will be able to determine the root cause of the contamination.

Joe Lyon has been investigating environmental negligence cases in Ohio and nationwide. The Firm has been featured in the local media, discussing the terrible consequences of property contamination, and the legal action plaintiffs can consider. 

Types of Property Contamination

If land or facilities are contaminated with toxins or pollution due to the negligence of a nearby corporation, the home and property owner may be entitled to compensation for damages to personal property, public nuisance and any injury resulting from exposure to hazardous substances. Contact a property contamination lawyer to investigate the root cause of the pollution.

Recent lawsuits and settlements have targeted oil and gas companies, government land operators, miners, and other manufacturers for contaminating the environment, private property, and endangering the health and lives of thousands of American citizens.

Air, land and water pollution have been serious issues in areas with drilling rigs, fracking equipment, pipelines, and underground tanks, contaminating and poisoning much of the soil and groundwater. Property contamination claims involve dangerous substances that include harmful metals, hydrocarbons, radon, asbestos, benzene, lead and toxic waste.

Joe Lyon is representing plaintiffs nationwide in a wide variety of civil litigation and environmental damage claims.  

• Air Pollution
• Property Damage
• Fracking Contamination
• Railroad Accidents
• Agriculture Pollution
• Water Contamination
• Dupont C8 Water Contamination
• AFFF Firefighting Foam property damage
• Mold Infestation
• Fuel Spills

Environmental Damage Litigation

The Gulf coast oil spill highlighted how dangerous large corporations can be to the environment, but that incident is only one of many that occur all too often.

Oil companies are among the largest offenders for failing to uphold environmental integrity, though many other companies and industries in the United States regularly pollute private properties, causing major damage to land, homes and the health of Americans. The following entities have recently been named in property damage claims:

•    Municipal Landfills
•    Military Installations
•    Steel Plants
•    Industrial Farms
•    Fertilizer Companies
•    Oil Processing Plants
•    Local Gas Filling Stations
•    Dry Cleaners
•    Fracking Companies
•    Oil and Gas Companies
•    Injection Wells

Industrial Chemical Contamination

• Vinyl Chloride (VC Exposure)
• Benzene
• Tetrachlorethylene (PCE)
• Trichloroethylene (TCE)
• Glyphosate
• Lead
• Asbestos
• PFAS
• AFFF 3M Firefighting Foam
• Formaldehyde
• Silica
• PFOA 

Water Contamination

Industrial and agricultural pollutants can cause serious damage not only to property and groundwater supplies but for the overall health of entire populations. Toxins that contaminate water can include fertilizers and pesticides, sewage, benzene, lead, chemical waste, and other accidental industrial spills.

Millions of Americans may be affected by water contamination, and those responsible must be held responsible in order to provide for a safer, healthier future.

Corporate negligence can compromise regions and cities. Unfortunately, environmental property damage has become quite common. Air pollution and water contamination can both be attributed to negligent waste management, corporate negligence, improper safety training, and the reckless use of toxic chemicals.

If you have been exposed to toxins at the workplace or suspect water contamination on your property, contact an experienced Toxic Tort Attorney and Water contamination lawyer to investigate.

Following toxic exposure at the workplace or water contamination on your home property, it is critical to have the area assessed by environmental experts to determine the cause of contamination and the extent of the health risks.

The Lyon Firm works with national environmental litigators and serves as a water contamination lawyer for those suffering from the consequences of industrial negligence.

Fracking Pollution

Because land contamination is not only dangerous to residents health, but also greatly affects property values, environmental property damage lawsuits are necessary to recover what is lost to large reckless corporations in fracking and other industrial work sites.

When valuable natural resources like oil, gas and minerals are located in America, and companies move to extract them, the drive for profitability can compromise vast areas and cases of environmental property damage are not uncommon.

Most claims of environmental property damage are related to air, water and land pollution, resulting from negligent waste management, defective equipment, corporate negligence, poor and improper materials safety training, and the reckless use of toxic chemicals. Large chemical and petroleum spillage can contaminate large swaths of land, including private property.

America’s oil and gas companies have the ability to create jobs and wealth around the country, but they also have a responsibility to protect the environment and preserve property values in surrounding areas.

When fracking causes irreparable environmental damage, homes and properties are damaged, and remediation is necessary, they need to compensate property owners for the damage they have caused. To achieve this, property owners should reach out to a qualified fracking attorney.

Several toxic chemicals are used every day on fracking sites, though employees who work closely with the substances may not be entirely aware of the health risks the toxins present.

Employers have a duty to warn workers of the risks and provide them with proper protective equipment and safety protocols. Fracking companies have failed in the past to take responsibility for unsafe workplaces, and employee cancer rates reflect their negligence.

Some states on the east and west coast, and many counties throughout the country have banned fracking because of the volatile nature of fracking, which is known to elevate environmental risks, contaminate large swaths of land and water, and make a negative impact on entire regions.

Many areas with fracking activity are reconsidering the economic benefits of the process because of the severe damage it causes to the state of land and property values.

Benzene and Silica are only two of the toxic substances found regularly on fracking sites. There are several others. The fracturing fluid injected into the ground at oil and gas sites may consist of dangerous chemical additives, gels, foams, and compressed gases.

A common fracturing fluid blend may contain water, sand, other proppants, and up to a dozen or more toxic chemical additives. Some drilling sites rely on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and propane, which present certain dangers to workers as well. In addition to being a fire hazards, LPG can cause cold burns to the skin and it can act as an asphyxiant at high concentrations.

If not properly controlled, frac sand can cause lung cancer, silicosis and other fatal illnesses in exposed workers. Benzene exposure is linked to Acute Myeloid Leukemia and other cancers. Other fracking chemicals used at worksites include:

• Polyacrylamide
• Methanol
• Ammonium persulfate
• Radon
• Methylene chloride
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• Methane
• Benzene
• Toluene
• Isopropyl alcohol
• Ethylene glycol
• 2-butoxyethanol
• Acetic acid
• Hydrochloric acid
• Borate Salts
• Glutaraldehyde
• Isopropanol
• Guar Gum
• Aluminium Phosphate-Ester Oil

Injection Well Pollution

Residents in Ohio and other states with fracking injection wells and other ongoing oil and gas projects ongoing are forced to live with the environmental damage caused by oil and gas production. Both long-term health concerns and property damage can lead to contamination lawsuits against those responsible for the spills or leakage.

Recently in Colorado, a family living in an area with over 50 fracking injection wells reported that their home and school are exposed to toxins like benzene.

Oil and gas companies are willing to take the risks, and even though benzene and other dangerous chemicals used in the fracking process are known cancer-causing agents, the companies operate until legal action is pursued and victims force the issue of public health, safety and responsible corporate behavior.

Methane gas and other chemicals used in fracking often escape and contaminate groundwater. When companies put profit ahead of environmental protection, they can be found negligent when environmental damage negatively affects property values.

Fracking is a complicated energy extraction process that involves different companies that specialize in drilling technology, transportation, chemical manufacturing, and land management.

Many of these companies can be held liable by a fracking contamination lawyer if they are responsible for operations that result in a loss of widespread property values. Large corporations that have been recently named in property value loss lawsuits include:

•    Chevron Corp.
•    ExxonMobil Corp.
•    Halliburton
•    ConocoPhillips Co.
•    EOG Resources Inc.
•    Continental Resources Inc.
•    Whiting Petroleum Corp.
•    Marathon Oil Corp.
•    QEP Resources
•    Hess Corp.
•    Samson Oil and Gas Ltd.
•    GasFrac Energy Services
•    Spectra Energy Corp.
•    Antero Resources
•    Enterprise Products Partners
•    Plains All American Pipeline
•    U.S. Silica

Agriculture Contamination

Private water wells and drinking water are regularly being contaminated by farms in Ohio and across the nation, spurring property damage lawsuits and pollution claims against large agriculture operations.

Farms using huge amounts of pesticides and raising livestock are causing major environmental problems, according to an article published in the Wall Street Journal this week.

Many property owners have stopped drinking from private water supplies on their property, which have allegedly been poisoned by nearby farms. Bacteria and nitrates, mostly derived from manure and chemical agents, have contaminated much of the nation’s groundwater supply near large farming operations.

Farms are now more productive than ever, but that comes at a massive cost to the environment and to property owners, who are looking to litigate the damages. The rate of groundwater contamination has increased in recent years, and as much as a fifth of the country’s groundwater is unsafe for consumption.

Property Contamination Lawsuits

Following land and water contamination, clean-up costs are often very expensive, and will require property contamination lawsuits and legal claims to recover compensation for the property damage.

Lawsuits may be able to recover not only property values but also any damages related to adverse health reactions to contamination and the following:

• Loss of Land Value
• Loss of future earnings
• Cost of Remediation
• Medical Expenses related to illness

Air Pollution 

Hazardous air pollutants, released from a number of heavy industries, including energy, auto makers, chemical producers, and oil refiners, are known to cause cancer and other serious health impacts.

Medical experts, your Ohio toxic air pollution lawyer and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have warned that even low doses of dangerous airborne chemicals can alter hormones. Long term exposure to certain toxins has been linked to a wide range of health effects, including infertility, cardiovascular disease, and multiple forms of cancer.

Camp Lejeune Contamination

One of the most devastating cases of recent property contamination occurred at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Many military veterans and civilians were exposed to contaminated drinking water, and suffered related illnesses.

Health officials concluded the contaminants in the drinking water at Camp Lejeune likely increased the risk of cancers, adverse birth outcomes, and other dangerous conditions. Victims are able to receive government disability benefits totaling more than $2 billion.

Environmental Litigation & Toxic Exposure

Oil and gas companies, and other major polluters in the United States, must be held responsible for their negligent actions that damage property, and potentially harms thousands of innocent people each year.

The objective of any property contamination claim is to restore the land, compensate the property owners, and penalize the reckless, negligent corporation that was responsible for the damage.

The contamination of surface water, groundwater, and soil is a serious matter, and involves environmental experts to properly assess the situation and create a cleanup and remediation plan. Quick reaction to environmental damage is necessary to control the risks, and begin legal action against the responsible parties.

Environmental pollutants that cause harm to personal health include fertilizers and pesticides, sewage, lead, heavy metals, chemicals, asbestos, and petroleum-based substances.

Due to the large amount of contamination the U.S., it is difficult to know how many properties and residents are affected, though current legal and medical records suggest the problem is more widespread than previously thought.

Because the contaminants include a range of substances, health complications can vary widely. Some contaminants cause property damage and little discomfort, while others may be potentially life-threatening. Common injuries and illnesses caused by environmental contamination may include:

•    Heart disease
•    Severe allergic reactions
•    Certain forms of cancer
•    Immune deficiency
•    Nerve damage
•    Lymphoma
•    Heavy metal poisoning
•    Neurological problems
•    Developmental disabilities
•    Reproductive damage—birth defects