Searcy is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,663. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of White County. Like Searcy County, the city takes its name from Richard Searcy, a judge for the Superior Court of the Arkansas Territory. Mike Beebe, Arkansas' current governor and former state Attorney General (2003-2007), lived and worked in Searcy several years, both in private law practice (1972-1982) and while representing the area in the Arkansas State Senate (1982-2002). His wife, Ginger, is a native of Searcy. The Beebe-Capps Expressway, a notable thoroughfare in Searcy, is named after Mike Beebe and his fellow lawmaker, John Paul Capps, both of whom engineered the funds and political willpower to complete its construction. Searcy is the home of Harding University, a private college affiliated with the Churches of Christ and the state's largest private university. Harding College (its original name) moved to Searcy from Morrilton in 1934, having bought the campus of the defunct Galloway College, a Methodist college for women. Regional ice cream producer and distributor Yarnell Ice Cream Co. has its headquarters in the city's downtown area. Odell Pollard, state chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party from 1966-1970 and an ally of the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, practiced law in Searcy from 1950-2005. He was the Republican national committeeman from 1973-1976.

What is toxic tort law?

Toxic Tort cases involve people who have been injured through exposure to dangerous pharmaceuticals or chemical substances in the environment, on the job, or in consumer products -- including carcinogenic agents, lead, benzene, silica, harmful solvents, hazardous waste, and pesticides to name a few.

Most toxic tort cases have arisen either from exposure to pharmaceutical drugs or occupational exposures. Most pharmaceutical toxic injury cases are mass tort cases, because drugs are consumed by thousands of people, many of whom become ill from a toxic drug. There have also been many occupational toxic tort cases, because industrial and other workers are often chronically exposed to toxic chemicals - more so than consumers and residents. Most of the law in this area arises from asbestos exposure, but thousands of toxic chemicals are used in industry and workers in these areas can experience a variety of toxic injuries. Unlike the general population, which is exposed to trace amounts of thousands of different chemicals in the environment, industrial workers are regularly exposed to much higher levels of chemicals and therefore have a greater risk of developing disease from particular chemical exposures than the general population. The home has recently become the subject of toxic tort litigation, mostly due to mold contamination, but also due to construction materials such as formaldehyde-treated wood and carpet. Toxic tort cases also arise when people are exposed to consumer products such as pesticides and suffer injury. Lastly, people can also be injured from environmental toxins in the air or in drinking water.

Answers to toxic tort law issues in Arkansas

In certain kinds of cases, lawyers charge what is called a contingency fee. Instead of billing by the hour, the...

Because of the health problems caused by lead poisoning, the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction...

Property owners may be liable for tenant health problems caused by exposure to environmental hazards, such as...

In general, mass tort cases involve a large number of individual claimants with claims associated with a single...