What Is an Environmental Injury?

Injuries and ailments are not always caused by other people. Environmental injuries are injuries that occur as victims are exposed to something dangerous in the environment. If the exposure occurred because of work conditions or a similar situation, a company or organization may be liable. If you suffered an environmental injury or ailment, you may be able to receive compensation. Contact Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for more information about environmental injury law in Houston.

One of the most common environmental injuries is lead exposure . In recent decades, companies have taken steps to reduce the risks of lead exposure. However, it is still a serious hazard. Whether you breathe it, swallow it, or absorb it into your skin, exposure can cause severe consequences. Some of the symptoms of short-term lead exposure include:

Because it can be difficult to diagnose lead poisoning, some people suffer lead overexposure for a long period of time. Long-term lead exposure can lead to:

Another potential source of environmental injury is asbestos . The United States government banned the use of asbestos decades ago but, because it can take 30 or 40 years for symptoms to appear, many people are still seeing results from exposure in the past.

Asbestos is not naturally harmful. It only becomes dangerous when someone disturbs it by touching or moving products that contain asbestos. The fibers lodge in your lungs and can cause serious problems. Some of the diseases that asbestos can cause include:

Asbestos is especially hazardous because people do not need to work with it to suffer from overexposure. Workers can bring it back to their homes and communities in their clothing. Asbestos exposure is especially dangerous because of how quickly and easily the particles spread.

Oil spills are another common cause of environmental injuries. The risk is becoming more prevalent as oil transportation is happening more frequently all around the world. People can suffer injuries both from direct and indirect exposure to oil spills.

Direct oil spill exposure occurs when people live or work close to a spill. Individuals may suffer injuries by breathing contaminated air or letting oil make contact with their skin. Long-term inhalation of oil fumes can pose a serious health risk, introducing volatile gases into the body. If the oil touches your skin, you will experience initial irritation. The symptoms will intensify if the oil seeps into your skin and enters your body.

Indirect exposure can happen to people who live farther away from a spill. Many can experience health issues when bathing in contaminated water, which could occur without the victim realizing that the water contains dangerous oil contaminants. People may also eat contaminated food.

Determining liability in environmental injury claims can be difficult because symptoms may take a while to appear and there is rarely a single instance when the injury occurred. Sometimes companies can be responsible, especially if you are a worker who was sent into an area with dangerous contaminants. A company could also be responsible if it used asbestos in products and distributed them or if it caused an oil spill.

Environmental injury cases can become complicated and difficult. Contact Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for more information and guidance with your environmental injury claim.

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