Confidential Settlement Obtained for Client Who Suffered Neurological Injuries from Chemical Exposure
Fountain was ultimately able to overcome the inherent causation obstacles to obtain a favorable recovery for the client.
Attorney Don Fountain was successful in obtaining a confidential settlement for a client who suffered neurological injuries from exposure to a variety of commercial insecticides, pesticides, and miticides that were carelessly sprayed onto the client while he was working outdoors.
The client was exposed to a potent mixture of chemicals, including: Timectin, DuPont Kocide 2000, Citru-Shield, Dimethoate 4EC, Aliette WDG, and Soluble Potassium Nitrate, which are all commonly used throughout Florida and the country especially, in the agriculture industry. Furthermore, these chemicals are often sprayed in vast quantities over large areas that are typically easily accessible by humans.
These types of chemicals include Category 2, 2B, 4, and 4EC on the toxicity scale, and are specifically labeled with a variety of the following:
- “POTENTIALLY CAUSING CANCER AND REPRODUCTIVE ISSUES DUE TO HUMAN EXPOSURE”
- “TOXIC TO FISH, MAMMALS AND AQUATIC ORGANISMS”
- “TOXIC TO FISH AND AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES”
- “SKIN CORROSION/IRRITATION, EYE DAMAGE/EYE IRRATION, ACUTE TOXICITY (ORAL)”
- “TOXIC TO AQUATIC AND ESTUARINE INVERTEBRATES”
The risk of exposure to a mixture of these chemicals is not fully known, but is believed to have a synergistic effect resulting in an increased risk of injury. As a result, chemical exposure cases always involve causation challenges due to the variety of chemicals that people are exposed to throughout their lives, as well as the inherent challenge in demonstrating a link between the chemical exposure and the victim’s symptomology. Fountain’s experience in this field allowed them to establish this link for their client, despite pre-existing medical conditions and a history of smoking, as well as alcohol and drug use. Fountain was ultimately able to overcome the inherent causation obstacles to obtain a favorable recovery for the client.
One of the firm’s practice areas involves chemical exposure injuries ranging from household and beauty shop chemicals to large-scale industrial use products such as chlorine and chlorine gas. These cases fit nicely with Clark Fountain’s extensive product liability practice because the defective design, manufacturing, and warnings claims that predominate in product defect cases easily translate to chemical exposure cases.