The following questions and answers should help you understand the types of cases handled by the Metzger Law Group.
What is a toxic tort case?
A toxic tort case is a special type of lawsuit, brought against the manufacturer or supplier of a chemical product which causes a toxic injury. Toxic tort cases are usually quite difficult to prove, because the connection between exposure to a toxic chemical and a resulting injury or disease is often elusive. For example, some cancers may first develop 25 years or more after exposure to a cancer-causing chemical. Toxic tort cases are also very costly to litigate, because they typically require expert testimony from numerous medical and scientific experts.
What types of cases does the firm handle?
The firm represents victims of toxic injuries in cases against the chemical and drug companies that manufacture toxic chemical products. Most of the firm's practice is concentrated on litigating occupational cancer, blood and lung disease cases. For clients who need organ transplants, the firm litigates to compel insurers to pay for such costly procedures.
The principal area in which the firm concentrates its practice is toxic tort litigation. (Please see above.)
The firm also litigates a variety of environmental cases, including hazardous waste, real property contamination, air pollution, and groundwater contamination. Sites typically involved are landfills, hazardous waste sites, and gas stations.
The firm also litigates Proposition 65 cases on behalf of various
environmental organizations. The firm has successfully litigated
Proposition 65 cases involving carcinogens and reproductive toxins in
cosmetics, and is currently litigating a lawsuit against McDonald's
and Burger King to require them to give the public cancer hazard
warnings because their french fries contain very high levels of the
industrial carcinogen acrylamide - levels 200 times higher than
allowable under law.
The firm is also actively involved in public interest
litigation. The firm has filed a number of cases to unseal
confidential settlements in toxic tort cases and has filed
friend-of-the-court briefs regarding toxic injuries in appellate
courts throughout the country, including the United States Supreme
Court. The firm is also prosecuting a major lawsuit against Shell
and Dow for causing hundreds of plantation workers in the Ivory Coast
to become sterile from the banned pesticide DBCP.
What types of injuries are caused by toxic chemicals?
Injuries caused by exposure to toxic chemicals are quite varied. However, lung disease, blood disease, and cancer are among the most serious toxic injuries. Toxic injuries can be acute or chronic, depending on the toxin's properties and the nature and extent of exposure.
Chemicals can enter the human body in a number of ways. Chemicals can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin or eyes, can be ingested, and can be injected into the human body.
Exposure to a large number of chemicals can cause various types of cancer. For example, asbestos exposure causes lung cancer and mesothelioma, exposure to vinyl chloride causes angiosarcoma of the liver, and exposure to benzene causes leukemia and other cancers.
Many toxic injuries result from the inhalation of toxic chemicals. The respiratory system is especially at risk of toxic injury, because it is fragile and is the only internal organ system that is directly exposed to the environment. Examples of respiratory toxic injuries include reactive airways disease, bronchitis, chemical pneumonia, and pulmonary fibrosis.
Solvents and other toxic chemicals can cause a variety of other toxic injuries, including neurotoxic, immunotoxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, and teratogenic injuries (birth defects).
What is the Metzger Law Group?
The Metzger Law Group is a "boutique" firm -- a small law firm that practices in a specialized area of the law. The firm concentrates its practice on toxic torts, litigating cases involving cancer, blood disorders, lung disease, and other injuries resulting from exposure to chemical and environmental toxins. The firm also handles a variety of other types of environmental and related public interest litigation.
Is the firm successful on behalf of its clients?
The firm has been successful in obtaining recovery in six and seven figures for injured clients and has secured organ transplants for clients who have been denied treatment. Since most of the firm's cases settle on the condition that the firm keeps the settlement confidential, the firm is not at liberty to discuss the recoveries it obtains for its clients in specific cases.
Who are the firm's clients?
Many law firms provide a list of representative clients (typically major corporations) to impress people that the firm is successful. In toxic tort cases, The Law Offices of Raphael Metzger represents only individuals -- real people suffering severe injuries -- against chemical and drug companies.
Who does the firm sue?
The companies the firm has sued are a virtual Who's Who in the petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical industries and include many Fortune 500 companies. The firm does, however, have a few corporate clients, such as Toxic Injuries Corporation (a nonprofit corporation dedicated to identification, prevention and treatment of toxic injuries).
What are some of the firm's representative cases?
In recent years the firm has represented a number of aerospace engineers and technicians who developed rare cancers of the blood and blood-forming organs. The engineers and technicians are employees of major aerospace companies in Los Angeles County, who developed leukemia, multiple myeloma, and other rare cancers as a result of exposure to advanced composite materials and solvents. Most of the employees developed these rare cancers in their forties. The first of these cases was that of a technician who developed a rare form of leukemia at age 40 and died a few months later. Settlements with approximately 40 chemical manufacturers were negotiated on behalf of the technician's widow, children, and estate. The firm is presently litigating other cancer cases from toxic exposures in aerospace.
How do I find out if I have a case worth pursuing?
Please fill in the questionnaire you will find by following this link including relevant contact information. We will then follow up with you based on the information you provide.
Does the firm perform community service?
Most of the firm's clients are disabled or suffering from terminal medical conditions caused by exposure to toxic chemicals. Few law firms are able or willing to litigate toxic injury cases, because it is quite difficult and costly to prove such claims. The firm provides this litigation service to its severely injured clients, most of whom would otherwise be unrepresented. The firm also assists its clients in securing necessary medical care, by establishing that treatment is covered under clients' medical insurance policies and group plans.
Many of the firm's clients need organ transplants. Health insurers and HMOs often refuse to authorize transplants, claiming they aren't medically necessary or are excluded from coverage as experimental or investigational procedures. The firm has persuaded a number of insurers that an organ transplant for a terminally ill client is covered as an emergency service, and that most organ transplants are neither experimental nor investigational. When necessary, the firm files suit to obtain an injunction requiring the insurer to immediately authorize the organ transplant and to litigate any coverage issues at a later date.
In 1986, California voters adopted Proposition 65, now known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. Proposition 65 makes it unlawful for anyone to discharge a chemical known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity into drinking water, or to expose Californians to such chemicals without first providing clear and fair warning. The firm represents Toxic Injuries Corporation, a nonprofit corporation, in enforcing violations of Proposition 65. The firm also provides assistance to Toxic Injuries Corporation in evaluating chemicals for carcinogenicity and reproductive toxicity.
The firm also advocates the rights of persons suffering toxic injuries and the terminally ill. The firm has been seeking to persuade the California Judicial Council to make reasonable accommodations to terminally ill litigants, so that they are assured access to the courts and judicial processes despite their physical disabilities and terminal medical conditions. The firm is concerned that litigants with terminal medical conditions often do not obtain justice because the courts do not process their cases in an expedited manner. The firm is also involved in efforts to unseal confidential settlements of toxic tort cases which preclude the public from learning of the existence and extent of toxic hazards that cause injuries.
Where are the firm's offices?
We are located in Long Beach, California. For directions to our office and related infrmation, visit our location page.
How do I get in touch with the firm?
You are welcome to send a general message to info@toxictorts.com or visit our "Meet our People" page and send e-mail to an individual at our firm. From within the United States, you can telephone us at 877-Tox-Tort.
Our Lawyers Can Help!
If you have questions about benzene poisoning or blood disorder symptoms and are concerned about possible occupational diseases and cancers, we are here to help. Toxic tort and injury laws are complex and confusing. The Metzger Law Group is here to help you. Call us today for a FREE evaluation to find out if you have a case or fill out our free evaluation forms to consult with a member of our caring staff.
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