Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, 20 miles (32 km) north of Iowa City and 100 miles (160 km) east of Des Moines, the largest city and state's capital. City Hall and the County Courthouse are located on Mays Island, on the Cedar River, Downtown. Cedar Rapids is one of few cities in the world with governmental offices on a municipal island. A flourishing center for arts and culture in Eastern Iowa, the city is home to the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, the Paramount Theatre, Theatre of Cedar Rapids and the Iowa Cultural Corridor Alliance. Cedar Rapids is an economic hub of the state, located in the core of the Interstate 380 Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Technology Corridor of Linn, Benton, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties. The estimated population of the three-county Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes nearby cities of Marion and Hiawatha, was 255,452 in 2008. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 128,056 in 2008. The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City corridor has an estimated population of 423,353 as of 2006. Cedar Rapids has been residence to famous figures for the United States, including American Gothic painter Grant Wood, journalist and historian William L. Shirer, writer and photographer Carl Van Vechten, and aerodynamics pioneer Dr. Alexander Lippisch. In the 1990s and 2000s, Hollywood would feature several Cedar Rapidians including actors Bobby Driscoll, Ashton Kutcher, Elijah Wood and Ron Livingston. The city is also the setting for a musical, "The Pajama Game" . The name Cedar Rapids is named for the Cedar River. Cedar Rapids is nicknamed the City of Five Seasons for the traditional four seasons and a "fifth season" which is a time to enjoy the other four. The symbol of the five seasons is the Tree of Five Seasons sculpture in downtown Cedar Rapids along the north river bank. The name "Five Seasons" and representations of the sculpture appear throughout the city in many forms.

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 Iowa

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...

Federal court opinions concerning toxic tort law in Iowa