Toxic Torts/Asbestos

Our industry-leading team helps clients to make strategic, timely, and informed decisions, whether we are defending individual, class action, or mass plaintiff joinder actions of toxic exposures or asbestos cases. With a wide geographic reach and national capabilities, we guide clients through claims across the board, providing strategic recommendations tailored to each defendant’s particular facts and circumstances. In some instances, we identify opportunities for early resolution; in others, we prepare for trial.

We have represented hundreds of clients, including chemical, automotive and product manufacturers, suppliers and vendors, manufacturers of talc-containing products, component part manufacturers, premises owners and contractors, trucking companies, railroads, refineries, and companies that produce coal, pesticides, tobacco, and many other well-known brands. 

Our team has worked to defend a wide range of toxic tort claims and asbestos cases locally, regionally, and nationally. Serving as lead trial counsel, we have obtained defense verdicts in jurisdictions with historically active asbestos dockets. As national coordinating counsel, we coordinate consistent discovery responses across multiple jurisdictions and negotiate with plaintiffs’ firms across the country. We have also represented multiple clients in the same matter, often allowing for split defense costs.

Applying our understanding of the scientific and medical issues unique to these cases, we identify and work with scientific and liability experts who provide professional insight and serve as expert witnesses. We work closely with corporate representatives, fact witnesses, scientists, and investigators to prepare for depositions and litigation, defend their testimony, and conduct depositions of adverse and non-party witnesses.

We recognize the value of early case resolution, negotiating outcomes with plaintiffs’ firms and seeking dismissals or resolution through motion practice. 

Our lawyers are creative problem solvers and experienced litigators

Our services assist you in making strategic, timely, and informed decisions

• Counseling to prevent litigation before it arises where possible
• Identifying opportunities for early resolution
• Thoroughly investigating and analyzing facts and potential liability
• Identifying and hiring experts who give valuable advice and can serve as litigation witnesses
• Investigating and examining opposing experts
• Preparing witnesses for and defending depositions of corporate, executive, and managerial witnesses and conducting depositions of adverse and non-party witnesses
• Providing in-depth analysis of medical causation
• Providing strategic litigation plans and budgets to "right-size" the defense of your matters
• Providing experienced counsel and analysis on valuation of cases for settlement
• Getting you ready for litigation
• Defending clients through discovery, settlement negotiations, alternative dispute resolution, and — when necessary — trial and appeal

Following is a selected sampling of matters and is provided for informational purposes only. Past success does not indicate the likelihood of success in any future matter.

• Served as co-lead counsel and achieved a complete defense verdict in three consolidated talc cases in St. Louis involving allegations that a product caused cancer 
• Served as co-coordinating counsel for a long-running and widespread representation of a company on asbestos matters, including trials across the country 
• Served as national trial counsel for products liability matters involving underground mine respirators
• Won a summary judgment serving as counsel in a mesothelioma case alleging $100 million in damages
• Settled an asbestos case involving a living mesothelioma patient who was a mechanic who alleged exposure to asbestos in brakes 
• Served as lead co-counsel in a complete defense verdict in a St. Louis jury talc trial 
• For years, lawyers from the firm, either as lead counsel or co-counsel, have tried asbestos personal injury cases to verdict in states throughout the country
• We have obtained defense verdicts for product manufacturer clients in living mesothelioma cases
• Obtained defense verdicts for product manufacturer clients in deceased mesothelioma cases
• Represented a chemical manufacturer in matter concerning MCHM spill into public water source
• Represented a manufacturer of fungicides and rodenticides in defense of claims of exposure by end-user
• Represented a petroleum refinery in class action claims for exposure to dust and emissions generated from use of Kolin Clay
• Represented the user of transformers against claims that employees and families of employees were exposed to PCBs
• Represented an owner of underground storage tanks that failed and leaked MTBE into water source
• Represented a transportation company that wrecked, leaking and exposing public to hydrochloric acid
• Represented manufacturers of asbestos and asbestos products in personal injury and property damage exposure claims
• Represented an employer whose employees were exposed to various substances, including paint, solvents, asbestos, silica, and benzene
• Represented a railroad tanker car owner involved in failure which spilled toluene into community ground water
• Represented a property owner on claims of buried toxic chemicals, including benzene
• Represented a railroad in train-train collision involving release of acetaldehyde
• Represented a manufacturer of paint thinner in claims of exposure by end users
• Represented a petroleum distribution retail outlet in diesel explosion and exposure cases

To learn about our E-Discovery practice, please click here.