“BURDEN OF PROOF” RESTS WITH THE INJURED PARTY
by Contributor
(Jul. 2, 2019) — Were you exposed to toxic chemicals at work? Wonder if you’re entitled to file a chemical exposure lawsuit? Find out more in this guide.
Chemical exposure occurs when you come directly into contact with a certain chemical, or when you encounter a substance already contaminated with a chemical. Around 32 million workers face the threat of coming into contact with dangerous chemicals either directly or indirectly.
The 650,000 already existing chemical products and the hundreds more being introduced each year pose a major problem for workers and employers as well.
Chemical exposure at work can cause life-changing injuries or cause serious health problems. This can happen on the job without warning. When this happens, a chemical exposure lawsuit can help you get your employer to cover your medical bills, and pay you damages for your injury.
However, not all victims are entitled to file a chemical exposure lawsuit. If you come into dangerous contact with a chemical at work and you are wondering if you are entitled to file a chemical lawsuit then read on.
Here is a guide to help you understand if you are entitled to file a chemical lawsuit.
Effects of Toxic Chemical Exposure
As an employee with exposure to a chemical, you risk suffering a short-term or a long-term effect. You can also experience a minor or major effect, but if you are lucky, you will not experience any effect at all.
The effect a chemical has on you depends on the extent and time of exposure. Exposure to chemicals occurs in three different ways: skin contact, ingestion, and inhalation. A chemical on your skin may not cause you detrimental effects when attended to immediately.
One which you breathe in or ingest through your mouth is riskier. However, regardless of how you encounter the chemical, if it causes serious issues then you may stand a chance if you present a legal case.
Chemical Exposure Lawsuit Claims Due to Injuries and Other Issues Caused by Toxic Chemicals
After exposure to an industrial chemical leak, you may suffer from a chronic disease. You may also suffer from skin irritation or difficulty in breathing, among other problems. However, the more you wait around to see how the chemical turns out, the more difficult it is for you to prove that the exposure was the actual cause of your health issues.
A successful chemical lawsuit is possible, but there some factors that may hinder success. You as the worker filing the lawsuit have the burden of proof. You have to prove that you suffered exposure to the chemical, and it caused you a lot of harm.
You then need to show that the exposure was the cause of your health problem or injury. You also need to prove that the owner of the chemicals has a legal obligation to compensate you.
You can present a chemical lawsuit under the following circumstances.
- Negligence
If the defendant owed you the duty of care and failed, then you stand a good chance of presenting a successful case. For example, if your employer released a toxic substance that caused your injury when he or she shouldn’t have, then there was a breach of duty. The breach is the legal cause of your injuries or health problem.
Under the law, the employer should compensate you for the injuries or health issues that arose after the incident. Under negligence, an employer is also liable for your injuries if he or she failed to carry out proper inspections and repairs. Such maintenance could have been the solution to preventing a hazardous chemical situation in the workplace.
To get a professional to help you determine whether your case was really due to negligence, and carry the case through to court, you need to find a law firm. Ensure you select a qualified and experienced law firm to receive the help you need. Find a law firm with years of legal experience and with enough knowledge to pursue justice for you effectively.
- Breach of Warranty
Products in a company can clearly stand out as being safe for use. The same products can cause negative effects. If this happens, the company is liable for any harm caused.
Products can come into a company with a written or unwritten warranty, claiming that the product is safe to serve its intended purpose. If you as a worker use the chemical as intended but it causes you harm, you can sue the company for breaking the implied promise that the product was safe.
- Strict Liability
A product can also work the way it is supposed to with all the instructions clearly and strictly followed but still cause harm. The court might find all the parties involved in bringing the product into the market guilty. Each person will be liable from the manufacturer to the distributors to the sellers, especially if the product in question was faulty designed or there were inadequate warnings.
It is very much worth noting that some chemical effects do not manifest themselves until later on in life and so proving your case in such circumstances can be hard. So what do you do in such a situation? Well, there is hope for you if you have the input of witnesses plus other crucial information.
If you are a victim of chemical exposure, your state worker’s compensation board needs to give you a chance to get medical care paid for. You also deserve compensation for a disability if you suffered from one. You can also file a legal lawsuit against an employer, manufacturers or any other company involved in putting the product out in public.
Find a Lawyer to Help You File for a Chemical Exposure Lawsuit
If you have been exposed to a dangerous chemical at work, you might be able to file a chemical exposure lawsuit. However, that depends on the severity of the incident, the facts that surround the exposure, and the resulting health problems. The success of the case will vary depending on these factors but you cannot get any compensation if you do not involve a professional lawyer.
Lawyers with experience in such matters are your only hope of winning such cases.
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great and helpful article