Case Study: Lead-Contaminated Soil
Baron & Budd represented 137 individuals who were exposed to high levels of lead and other toxic substances while growing up in a small town in Central Texas. As children, our clients' favorite "playground" was an abandoned oil refinery with several ponds, abandoned buildings (that the children transformed into playhouses), oil tanks to climb on, a creek, tangles of wild berries, grapes and plums for picking and eating, and "the beach"--a sandy area along the banks of the creek and one of the children's favorite play areas. There was no fence, no gate, and no warning signs to discourage the children from playing on refinery property. In fact, it was not until 1987, when the State of Texas required the refinery owners to do so, that security fences and warning signs first appeared on the property. Sadly, the fences and the warnings came too late for a generation of children permanently injured because the soil of their "beach" and play areas was contaminated with lead.
Back during the operation of the refinery, a powdery substance called litharge (lead oxide) was used in the refining process. The waste from the litharge area drained to the sandy "beach" area and the creek, where lead levels were discovered to be several hundred times the levels of lead in residential soil considered safe by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The soil at the refinery site also contained concentrations of other carcinogenic substances that were hundreds of times over levels considered safe. Moreover, oil tanks at the refinery had leaked and overflowed for decades, and there had been several large spills of crude oil at the site.
The highest concentrations of lead at the refinery were found in the top layer of soil at the "beach," where the children made sandcastles, sunbathed, and played children's games. High levels of lead were also found in the children's other favorite play areas, including in and around the abandoned buildings, in and between the tanks, and near the pond.
To prove the case, Baron & Budd's clients were evaluated by a toxicologist, a neurologist, and a neuropsychologist. Baron & Budd also hired an engineering consulting company to conduct an extensive environmental study of the refinery site. Based on the results of this study and the use of a computer model developed by the EPA to assess lead exposure in children, Baron & Budd's expert witnesses concluded that the plaintiffs were poisoned by lead at the refinery site. The doctors agreed that the plaintiffs suffered a decrease in IQ, neurological impairments, and learning disabilities as a result of their lead exposure.
Baron & Budd obtained a sizeable settlement of a confidential amount for our clients in this case. Though the neurological damage from lead poisoning is irreversible, our clients now have the resources to pay for rehabilitative, psychological, and other medical expenses.
Results Depend on the Facts of Each Case.
