Toxic torts

Toxic torts in United States

Toxic torts 

Late capitalism features a variety of noxious substances essentially unknown several hundred years ago such as plutonium, PCPs, CFCs, asbestos, defective medicines etc. – the chemical by products of a highly industrialized society. Unfortunately the illness or illnesses caused by these products are generally any of a variety of cancers. Thus proving the causal link between, say, toxic waste dumping, and a particular plaintiff’s injury is difficult. Worse, the same industrial processes that create those toxic substances also permits their widespread diffusion which can lead to mass disasters. As yet society has not developed a comprehensive solution to this problem nor a legal framework in which to implement such solution.

The problematic character of toxic torts lies first in the issue of causation and second in the possibility of multiple victims. In both regards toxic torts raise issues similar to those cases of mass-torts.


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