• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Law Offices of Robert H. Weiss, PLLC Announces Texas Residents File Class Action Lawsuit Against Koppers Inc.

Posted on: Monday, 22 October 2007, 12:00 CDT

On Friday, October 12, 2007, Law Offices of Robert H. Weiss, PLLC announce that the residents of Somerville, Texas struck a blow against corporate irresponsibility by joining together to file a Class Action lawsuit demanding that Koppers, Inc., a multinational company doing business throughout the world, establish and maintain a medical monitoring program for the residents living in Somerville, Texas to detect the presence of cancer and other diseases related to the toxic pollution caused by Koppers' wood treatment facility.

Located about 90 minutes south of Houston, by car, the small town of Somerville, population around 1700, is polluted with some of the most toxic and harmful chemicals known to man, such as creosote, dioxin, and PAHs. These highly toxic chemicals are used in the wood treatment process to extract water and moisture from the wooden logs and telephone poles to render them weather and insect proof so that they will not rot or deteriorate over the years while exposed to the elements.

Unfortunately, this railroad tie plant in the heart of Somerville has unleashed a toxic soup of chemicals upon the dust, soil, air and water in this lakeside community. Nearly every Somerville Resident has a neighbor, friend or family member who has been tragically struck down by cancer or another illness. This leaves the rest of the residents who have been exposed to years and years of chemical contamination at risk for developing the same cancers and malignant diseases. The full extent of this risk cannot be fully understood or predictable without a long term medical monitoring program which will allow the past and present residents to be regularly screened with a series of tests to facilitate the early detection and treatment of cancers and diseases believed to be associated with their chemical exposure to the pollution coming from the wood treatment plant.

Attorneys for Rights For America have filed a medical monitoring class action suit to force the Koppers Inc., the operators of the Somerville wood treatment plant to establish and maintain a comprehensive medical surveillance program.

The class action lawsuit was filed on Friday, October 12, 2007 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, where Koppers Inc. is headquartered. More than 60 families have already filed or intend to file lawsuits against Koppers Inc. and the owner of the land where the plant is located, the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad, for wrongful death, personal injury, loss of property values, and other causes of action related to injuries sustained through their exposure to the highly toxic pollutants the residents breathe and ingest through contaminated water and other sources.

Attorneys at Rights For America are ready for comment at 516-876-4213.

A list of plaintiffs is available as well as those who can and are willing to be interviewed.

*

Dozens of past and present employees of Defendants' railroad tie and wood products processing facility at Somerville, Texas have also filed or intend to file claims related to their injuries sustained while working at this facility. Several such employees have been diagnosed with stomach and intestinal cancers or brain tumors as a result of working with and handling Defendants' toxic chemicals used to produce railroad ties and other wooden products. Other employees have struggled to wage unsuccessful battles for their lives after contracting the cancers and other malignant diseases related to their work as the Somerville facility.

SOURCE: Law Offices of Robert H. Weiss, PLLC

Source: MARKET WIRE

More News in this Category