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On behalf of Harrison Davis Steakley Morrison Jones, P.C. posted in Personal Injury on Thursday, November 2, 2017.

When most Texas residents think of personal injury claims, they think of a physical injury caused in an accident — like a slip-and-fall incident or a car collision. However, many personal injury claims arise out of toxic exposure to harmful substances.

Exposure to a toxic substance can happen in many different ways. Here are four of the most common types of toxic exposure claims:

  • Asbestos exposure: Imagine you work in an old office building, or you live in an old apartment complex. Unbeknownst to you, the building is infested with asbestos, which wouldn’t normally be a problem except that a construction company has been doing extensive demolition work without properly containing the asbestos dust. This could result in toxic exposure to carcinogenic and dangerous asbestos.
  • Hazardous waste: When you improperly dispose of hazardous waste, it can enter the water table, and it can enter the air as well. This can cause serious and even fatal health problems for community members who come in contact with the substances.
  • Toxic chemicals: It’s not unheard of for individuals to be exposed to toxic chemicals. Perhaps it happens on the job, and an employer negligently failed to equip employees with necessary safety equipment to keep them safe. Industrial cleaners, for example, can be very dangerous. Sometimes employers do not adequately train their employees regarding how to deal with these substances safely.

Contaminated water: If a company dumps dangerous chemicals near a swimming area, it could endanger the public and cause serious health problems.

If you’ve been harmed by a toxic substance in your environment, it’s important to get to the bottom of who — or which parties — are responsible for the contamination. Those parties may be liable to pay for your medical care if you attempt to hold them responsible in court.