Talk to a lawyer about a lawsuit over the dangerous health effects of a petroleum spill

Your exposure to spilled petroleum has very likely put your health at risk. Talk to a lawyer for free about a possible suit over damages to your health and property. Weitz & Luxenberg will represent you at no charge unless you win.

Here are the facts about a petroleum spill's effects on the human body that the lawyers at Weitz & Luxenberg think you should know. Petroleum damages your central nervous system.

Its effects include: 

• Feet and legs: one petroleum compound, methyl butyl ketone, causes a numbing nerve disorder called "peripheral neuropathy." This is a serious disorder involving damage to the nerves of the peripheral nervous system causing numbness, tingling sensations, and loss of coordination in the legs and feet (Uic.edu).
• Reproduction: prohibiting conception and damaging the developing fetus in the form of physical deformities, retarded growth, and changes in physiology (Ecologycenter.org).
• Cancer: the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that the petroleum compound, benzene, is carcinogenic to humans.
• Circulatory, respiratory, & more: other petroleum compounds affect the blood, immune system, lungs, skin, eyes, central nervous system, liver, and kidneys.

How petroleum pollutes

An oil spill releases liquid petroleum into the environment. Because petroleum disperses so easily atop water, it often results in significant pollution. The oil may be a variety of materials, including crude oil, refined petroleum products (such as gasoline or diesel fuel) or by-products, ships' bunkers, oily refuse or oil mixed in waste.

In addition to the direct health concerns for human beings, petroleum is devastating to the environment, affecting the entire span of the food chain. Commercial fisherman are very often devastated by a petroleum spill, as it can affect their livelihood for months on end – damaging their boats, making it difficult to haul in a catch, and discouraging consumers from enjoying their product. Tourism, naturally enough, also plummets in affected areas. The BP spill in the Gulf Coast, for example, will cost Florida $23 billion in tourism dollars (Treehugger.com).

These hazardous effects are the byproduct of a corporation's negligence that you have to suffer. Spills take months or even years to clean up. The litigation involved can take even longer. If your quality of life has been affected, you have a right to seek justice with an environmental lawsuit. Our Environmental Unit will fight for your right to fair compensation.

Contact Weitz & Luxenberg for concrete results

Our environmental attorneys are litigators with more than 25 years' worth of courtroom experience in an in-depth understanding of the environmental laws involving petroleum spills.

Our litigations include many environmental issues, including, but not limited to: 

• Arsenic
• Benzene
• Chromium
• Dioxins
• Landfill Odors
• Gulf Oil Spill
• Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)
• Lead Poisoning
• Mercury Poisoning
• Pesticides
• Petroleum Spills
• PCB
• Property Damage
• Radium
• TCE
• Water Contamination
• Vapor Intrusion

Our firm specializes in toxic tort, personal injury and property damage claims. We counsel and represent our clients in all phases of civil litigation, including all pre-trial proceedings such as document production and depositions and trials.

Please, fill out the form on this page for a free legal evaluation of your potential petroleum case. We will be in touch shortly. Weitz & Luxenberg works on a contingency basis; there is no fee unless you receive a favorable verdict or a settlement.

Sources:

http://www.uic.edu/sph/glakes/harts1/HARTS_library/solventhazards.txt

www.ecologycenter.org/erc/petroleum/body.html

www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/bp-gulf-oil-spill-impact-tourism-oxford-travel.php

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