Mass Tort

Trichloroethylene Contaminated Groundwater

Challenge:

When a major Southwest city found trichloroethylene in its groundwater and in wells supplying city drinking water, a fifteen-year long lawsuit followed that included tens of thousands of claimants, alleged injuries and demands for medical monitoring.

Solution:

We were asked to coordinate all of the medical/toxicological and water distribution data and acted as the primary consulting team throughout the process. We gathered and managed millions of pages of documents, built a literature library containing the world's scientific and medical knowledge about the health effects of trichloroethylene and the conditions/diseases diagnosed in the claimants. We developed deposition strategies for our clients, briefed the city council on a number of occasions, and vetted and provided experts in every relevant medical and scientific subspecialty.

Reflection:

Managing the voluminous information in this case that ultimately included nearly one hundred thousand claimants provided a valuable knowledge base for us. The amassed data clearly delineated actual exposure patterns and multiple, alternative causes of the conditions/diseases alleged. We have since applied the knowledge and experience we gained in this case in our approach to numerous mass tort claims.

Environmental Air Contamination - Urban Lead Smelter

Challenge:

A large mass tort matter involved an urban residential area that was previously exposed to airborne levels of lead from a smelter that had been centrally located in the area for nearly one hundred years. The smelter was closed, but recent environmental sampling had revealed elevated lead levels in air and soil in the community. Affected individuals, it was claimed, spanned multiple generations of families, despite the absence of any available exposure data from the past.

Solution:

Using EPA-approved, conservative models, we developed several different exposure pathway scenarios, assuming varying levels of lead exposure over time. Medical and neuropsychological evaluations of all claimants were performed to determine current blood lead levels, health and intellectual functioning. We reviewed medical records of all claimants and developed a database which we populated with medical data, health department blood lead data, residence location, weather and wind patterns. Court-directed mediation was sought and granted. Our medically directed assessment enabled the rapid settlement of claims in which exposure data, blood lead levels and medical data were causally correlated with the facility. Other claims were eliminated or settled for minimal value.

Reflection:

We were able to manage efficiently this large multi-litigant exposure matter using computer modeling of exposures and correlating the exposure data with medical, diagnostic testing, toxicological and exposure data. Our proactive health-based management strategy permitted rapid assessment of the damage value of individual claims, and gave our clients the necessary background to enable them to make informed settlement decisions.

Alleged Contaminated Well Water From Coal Slurry

Challenge:

Seven hundred residents of a poor, rural area bounded by a waste treatment plant, a scrap yard and several coal mines claimed that their well water had been contaminated by coal mining operations which pumped coal slurry into the mined-out tunnels over a period of ten years. During that time, it was alleged, the deposited slurry had contaminated underground aquifers. Well water testing, conducted by the state Department of the Environment and claimants' experts, had revealed elevated levels of several heavy metals, including lead and arsenic, as well as other substances, including iron, barium, sulfates, antimony, manganese, magnesium and others. Claims included adverse health effects related to alleged well water contamination.

Solution:

We used our proprietary T2S2 automated causation and document management system, developed to manage mass tort claims, to initially address the issue. We populated this database with claimants' personal and demographic data, including multiple residences, alleged conditions, location and test results for all wells used, and included applicable drinking water standards and permissible contaminant levels. Scientific, toxicological and medical literature, adverse effect levels of contaminants and known carcinogens were incorporated for purposes of causation analysis. We rapidly determined the wells that had exceedences and further analyzed the wells' locations, known toxicological effects of well contaminants and compared them with confirmed health conditions of affected individuals. Ultimately, hundreds of thousands of data points were analyzed using this automated system.

Analysis of the well data uncovered multiple errors. When well locations were tied to individual claimants, it became apparent that, for most claimants, the mine tunnel contents could not have flowed into their wells, since the tunnels were downhill from the residential wells. Other claimants' well testing revealed no contaminants, or contaminants not associated with their claimed health conditions. Analysis of the well testing results obtained by the DEP and the claimants revealed discrepancies which confirmed improper testing techniques, such as testing of surface well water, sludge, or well water with solid particulates, all of which are unavailable for human exposure. The vast majority of claimants had no toxicologically-significant well water contamination.

Review of claimants' medical records, in many cases, did not confirm the presence of the medical condition(s) claimed. Medical conditions and alleged toxicological exposures could not be causally linked.

Reflection:

Our comprehensive relational database proved to be an efficient means to organizing the extensive demographic, geographic, occupational, academic, medical, toxicological, regulatory and exposure data. Causation analysis was facilitated, thus permitting rapid prioritization and valuation of claims. We were able to identify inadequacies in test methodologies, errors in toxicological assessment, disease diagnosis and causal attribution and assisted our clients to use them in questioning opposing experts, crafting Motions in limine, and challenging testimony.

Contaminated Groundwater Matter

Challenge:

In a mass tort matter in a major Southwest city, over twelve hundred claimants alleged exposure to contaminated groundwater caused by discharge from a manufacturing plant. Various health conditions ranging from brain tumors to cancer to birth defects were alleged. Alleged contaminants were multiple and diverse, and included chlorinated solvents, petroleum distillates and heavy metals. The claimants were supplied public water, which they alleged was contaminated by the public water authority when multiple aquifers, including some contaminated aquifers, were mixed at the pumping station.

Solution:

Using our prior mass tort experience, we created an automated claims analysis system that integrated technical, medical and scientific databases. All entered information was tied to the original documents, which provided immediate access to the source document. Technical information included claimants' demographic information, geographic location of residences, the plant, sources of contamination, groundwater flow and plume movement, and well monitoring data. Exposure data, as well as risk assessment models to calculate past, current and future exposures to the residents were included. Medical data on individual claimants was gathered from medical records, school and employment records. Medical literature addressing diagnosed conditions and their known causes were entered into the database. Review and analyses of relevant literature regarding the substances at issue and known human health effects and current occupational and regulatory environmental standards were also included. Formulae were developed to compare an individual claimant's exposure risk with his or her diagnosed conditions, occupational and environmental exposures and the known human health effects associated with the contaminants. This yielded a list of claims prioritized by the likelihood of a relationship between the claimed condition(s) and exposure to the substances at issue, enabling the attorneys to strategically and tactically assess each claim individually and aggregated by claimed medical condition, age, address, and exposure duration.

Reflection:

Our medical and scientific literature analysis and review, along with immediate availability of primary documents, assisted our experts in individual case reviews and preparation for testimony. Our clients were provided access to our automated system through a secure extranet. Because primary documents were included in the system, they were immediately accessible and capable of being updated. The automated analysis of claims enabled rapid prioritization based on objective medical and scientific data, facilitating early identification of potentially meritorious and non-meritorious claims, valuation of claims, strategic planning, and case management.

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