Toxic Tort Litigation

Kean Miller LLP is a leader in field of toxic tort defense. We have unsurpassed expertise across the full spectrum of toxic tort litigation, including the defense of claims for environmental contamination and remediation, short-term and long-term exposure to hazardous substances, industrial accidents involving hazardous or toxic substances, asbestos litigation, and products liability litigation involving the sale of hazardous or toxic substances. Our toxic tort practice ranges from the defense of small, single plaintiff/single defendant claims to representation in complex, multi-party claims and large class actions involving tens of thousands of claimants.

We use state-of-the art computer technology for organizing, managing, and litigating complex toxic tort cases, including the development of computer databases of claimant information and geo-coded mapping capabilities. The firm's attorneys are actively involved in the defense of toxic tort cases in state and federal courts throughout Louisiana. Our representation has included representing joint defense groups in a number of cases. The firm has been successful in resolving a substantial number of cases through ADR, including mediation, and has successfully negotiated class action settlements in state and federal courts.

Our work in toxic tort cases has required the development of expertise in a broad range of fields in order to work with expert witnesses in developing the defense of its case, including hydro-geology, analytical chemistry, process chemical engineering, air dispersion modeling, epidemiology, toxicology and a variety of medical specialties.

We represent business and industrial clients in toxic tort litigation involving claims for personal injury, including fear of future injury or illness, and projects damages related to:

• Alleged environmental exposures to substances on site and off site via air, water, groundwater, or soil.
• Railcar explosions.
• Alleged exposures to hazardous or toxic substances at industrial facilities.
• Transportation accidents.
• Alleged exposures to hazardous or toxic substances manufactured or sold by business and industrial clients.
• Alleged exposures to a variety of materials, including asbestos, silica, H₂S, SO₂, NO_x,chlorine, ammonia, and other chemicals.
• Class actions for exposures, both long-term and short-term, from industrial facilities or waste disposal sites.
• Class actions for alleged injuries in neighborhoods or communities surrounding industrial facilities that have experienced major incidents, such as explosions, fires, or accidental releases.