Environmental Litigation

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Overview

Pollutants in the air. Toxic emissions. Oil spills. Legacy waste sites. When corporate actions harm the environment and its people, those actions need to be held to account. Environmental impacts to personal health can be immediately obvious, and they can also have long-term consequences. This is an area of law that combines factual undertakings and legal statutes.

Examples of environmental litigation include:

  • A community being harmed by an irresponsible corporate polluter

  • A crisis event causing immediate environmental harm

  • Impacts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) or “forever chemicals”

  • A business impacted by a hazardous chemical harm that was not appropriately evaluated

Environmental issues can impact people, businesses, communities, and regions. They can occur from irresponsible corporations and poorly assessed risks.

Understanding the Science of Environmental Litigation

One of the challenges with environmental litigation comes with scientific findings and the interpretation of those facts. To determine who is responsible for the harm or injury caused by an environmental situation, a thorough review of the actions of all parties is necessary to see who played what role in creating, approving, and evaluating the chemical, incident, or abuse that took place.

Access to the appropriate technical resources leads the way in this area of law, as does the knowledge of being able to differentiate fact from supposition or junk science. Actions that impact our environment need to be taken seriously, and that includes serious representation.

Pursuing Environmental Litigation

The goal of environmental litigation is to find out who is responsible for the problem and to provide compensation for those injured. Was a hazardous substance left off a label? Was a risk assessment edited to exclude potentially harmful information? Were contaminated properties handled in a less accountable way to save money?

These are some of the discussions that lead to determining responsibility in environmental claims.

How Our Attorneys Can Help

Holding bad actors to account with environmental litigation requires access to technical knowledge as well as experience in many elements of law. From understanding approval processes to corporate structures to the legislation that serves to protect the public interest, these are just some of the areas an attorney needs knowledge and experience. With Bryson, clients have a range of collaborative expertise that supports environmental claims.

Do You Have a Case?

If you think there is an environmental issue impacting you, bring it to our attention. Contact us with an overview of your experience so we can advise you on next steps. Call 844-201-2929 or complete the short form below.

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