Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

What the People Near the Livonia Ford Plant Need to Know About Vinyl Chloride Contamination

February 24, 2017 | Shawn Collins

Recently, Ford Motor Company sent a letter to the owners of homes and businesses to the immediate east of Ford’s Transmission Plant in Livonia, Michigan, to deliver the unfortunate news that a chemical known as “vinyl chloride” is contaminating the shallow groundwater in their neighborhood. The revelation of this serious groundwater contamination demands more and urgent testing, specifically to determine how and where the vinyl chloride may be moving, and whether it is threatening to intrude–in “vapor” form– into the homes and businesses, where people are breathing the air. However, even though it has apparently not done this critical testing, Ford nevertheless wrote in its letter that “there is no health risk to residents” from the contamination, and that the “extent of the vinyl chloride has successfully been defined”.

While Ford may have good intentions, and want to reassure its neighbors, the reassurance is, at best, premature. It may even be wrong. Ford has not done the testing and investigation necessary to prove that its comforting statements are true. These families and business owners do not need unsupported assurances. They have the right to full disclosure from Ford–and from the State of Michigan, if it has important information–of all of the facts so that they can make informed decisions about protecting themselves against any threat to their property and health from the vinyl chloride. They should not have to rely on the good faith of a big company and their government.

As a lawyer who represents families contending with these very same problems and dangerous chemicals, I wanted to offer the following thoughts gained from my experience:

Will Michigan Finally Confront the Vapor Intrusion Problem Threatening Thousands of its People?

February 22, 2017 | Shawn Collins

Beware of anyone who knows that people may be drinking or breathing dangerous chemicals, and yet doesn’t want to test to learn for certain if the chemicals are actually there. That kind of self-induced ignorance can cost people their health, even their lives.

In my 17+ years as an environmental lawyer, I’ve met many families who have fallen victim to the recklessness of polluters and even some in government, whose cynical creed is: “If you don’t look for contamination, you won’t find it”. They fight against ever having to test for chemical contamination–in water, air, soil. That way, they can use ignorance as an excuse to continue to deny that there is any problem at all, and thereby avoid ever having to pay to clean it up. That is their real goal. You can tell who they are because they often say things like this: “We are aware of no evidence that there are toxic chemicals in these families’ homes.”

Well, of course, you’re not aware of any “evidence”. How could you be? You haven’t bothered to look for it.

How Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt are Going to Hurt Pollution Victims

February 20, 2017 | Shawn Collins

It’s hard to say what’s worst about Scott Pruitt, Donald Trump’s choice to head the EPA. Among the choices are:

·He’s a paid shill for big oil companies who masqueraded as a public servant, i.e., the Attorney General of Oklahoma.

·He used his public office to do what big oil and other polluters wanted him to do. He sued the EPA 14 times, alleging that the agency didn’t have the right to try to restrict pollution.

Michael Flynn Had the Russians; Scott Pruitt Has the Oil Companies: Why the US Senate should reject Pruitt to Head the EPA

February 16, 2017 | Shawn Collins

The recent resignation-in-disgrace of Trump Administration National Security Advisor (NSA), Michael Flynn, and the resulting damage to the country could have been avoided. If the President and his advisers had looked at Flynn more carefully before he was appointed to head the NSA (and assuming that they even cared about what they would have found), they would have realized that the conflicts created by Flynn’s unusual coziness with the Russians would explode in their faces, and badly damage our national security interests.

Are Trump and his people about to screw up again?

Trump has nominated to head the federal EPA Scott Pruitt, the Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma. And, in typical Trump fashion, the President is insisting that Pruitt’s nomination be rushed through the Senate, despite the growing number of warning signs screaming that Pruitt’s coziness with big oil and gas companies is going to result in another disastrously conflicted Presidential appointee. For example:

Traffic Deaths Increase for Second Straight Year

February 16, 2017 | John Risvold

Despite all of the advances in automobile safety, traffic-related deaths are on the rise. Over 40,000 people died in automobile crashes in 2016. According to new estimates from the National Safety Council, some factors contributing to the increase include distracted driving and not taking proper precautions. 47 percent of motorists are comfortable with texting while driving, while 16 percent do not wear seat belts, and 10 percent drive under the influence of alcohol or marijuana. The NSC is calling for a total ban of cell phone use while driving, a stronger measure than Illinois’ push for hands-free driving. NCS also is pushing lawmakers to make collision avoidance technology like automatic braking standard in all vehicles.

Bloomberg News reports US motor vehicle deaths hit 40,200 last year, up six percent from 2015 and 14 percent from 2014. The increase marks a trend also identified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which reported an eight percent spike in deadly crashes in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the first nine months of 2015.

An increase in distracted driving is just one of the many causes outlined by The New York Times. While cars and phones now offer advanced voice controls and other features intended to keep drivers’ eyes on the road, apps like Facebook, Google Maps, Snapchat and others have created new temptations that drivers and passengers find hard to resist.

Scott Pruitt: Too Many Conflicts of Interest to be Next EPA Chief

February 15, 2017 | Shawn Collins

It is well known that President Trump’s pick to run the EPA, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, has sued the EPA 14 times.

What is not so well known is that many of these lawsuits are still pending. Specifically, still pending are lawsuits that Pruitt filed charging that the EPA is behaving illegally for requiring big polluters-like the oil and gas companies that have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pruitt’s political campaigns-to cut down on the tonnage of toxic chemicals that they belch into the environment.

What happens to these lawsuits when Pruitt takes over at EPA? He goes from the one suing EPA, to the one being sued.

Naperville Homeowners with Lead Service Lines Must “Get the Lead Out”

February 14, 2017 | Shawn Collins

The City of Naperville has recently identified some 341 Naperville homes with lead water service lines. The City has yet to test 143 other homes that likewise may have lead service lines. Homes with lead service lines in Naperville would typically have been built before 1930-when the City outlawed lead in the service lines of newly-constructed homes. It is possible that some homes built after 1930, but before 1986, also have lead service lines, because, in 1986, lead in service lines was outlawed nationally. 1

If your Naperville home is identified as one having a lead service line, here’s what you need to know:

(1) Any concentration of lead in drinking water is dangerous, especially to children and pregnant women. The World Health Organization says that there is no safe level of lead. 2 At high levels of exposure, lead attacks the brain and central nervous system, potentially causing coma, convulsions, and possibly even death. Children who survive this level of lead poisoning may be left with mental retardation and behavioral disorders. At lower levels of exposure, lead affects children’s brain development resulting in reduced IQ, reduced attention span, increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational achievement. Lead exposure also causes anemia, hypertension, cardiovascular effects, nerve disorders, decreased kidney function, fertility problems, immunotoxicity, and toxicity to the reproductive organs. 3

Scott Pruitt has no Business Running the Environmental Protection Agency

February 13, 2017 | Shawn Collins

This week, the U.S. Senate votes on whether to approve President Trump’s choice, Scott Pruitt, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). Why should every Senator in the building vote “No”?

Let me ask you this:

Would it be OK with you if a lawyer for the world’s largest oil companies-who has spent his career attacking the environmental protections which the EPA is charged with enforcing-was suddenly in charge of whether your family was protected against pollution caused by the world’s largest oil companies?

Headed for an Epidemic: Traumatic Brain Injuries as Dangerous as Asbestos

February 10, 2017 | John Risvold

Headed for an Epidemic: Traumatic Brain Injuries as Dangerous as Asbestos

When we turn on a football game, we expect to see hard-hitting tackles. What we don’t immediately consider is the effect those tackles have on the human brain. Concussion has become a Sunday afternoon buzzword when watching NFL games, but it is not just professional athletes who are dealing with the effects of traumatic brain injures. Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries are a dangerous part of our every day lives.

Concussions among high school athletes, in particular, are on the rise. According to the National Institutes of Health an estimated 300, 000 sport-related traumatic brain injuries, predominantly concussions, occur annually in the United States. Sports are second only to motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury among people aged 15 to 24 years.

Nearly 2 Million Children in the US Suffer Sports-Related Concussions Every Year

February 10, 2017 | John Risvold

Study: Nearly 2 Million Children in the US Suffer Sports-Related Concussions Every Year

Nearly 2 million children in the United States suffer sports-and recreation-related concussions annually, and many of them may go untreated, according to a recent study.

Concussions, a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), are common in children. Sports and recreation are a leading cause in minors 18 and younger, according to researchers. Concussions are especially dangerous in young children because they may not be able to tell you how they are feeling. You’ll need to watch them carefully for any signs and symptoms.