Case Summary
On September 10, 1997, there was an explosion at a Georgia Pacific chemical plant located in a quiet neighborhood on the south side of Columbus, Ohio, spewing harmful toxins throughout the surrounding area. This catastrophe followed many years of continuous hazardous releases from the facility, which caused those living near the plant to suffer burning eyes and nostrils, shortness of breath, fatigue, and other near daily discomforts. In addition, the Southside residents were understandably concerned about more serious health problems, as their community had experienced unusually high rates of lung and liver cancer.
In the aftermath of the explosion, eight members of the Southside community filed a class action lawsuit in Ohio state court on behalf of all those affected by chemical releases from the Georgia Pacific plant, charging negligence and seeking to recover for property damage as well as present and future personal injuries.
We and our co counsel were successful in obtaining a settlement of the case for $22,000,000. While the settlement compensated those with present injuries and property damage, much of it was set aside for future medical monitoring. A companion federal case was filed alleging, among other things, violations the Clean Air Act. Both cases were dismissed as part of the settlement
