Temple is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. It is located at the end of Maine State Route 43 (Temple Road), one of only two towns in Maine to be situated as such. The population was 572 at the 2000 census. The town contains a school (now the Temple Historical Society), a no longer in use store (Hodgkins Store, built in the early 20th century, which also houses a post office), a theatre (Temple Stream Theater; formerly the Congregational Church), a derelict baseball field, and a small fire station. What is now Maple Street was formerly named Cowturd Lane, due to "the smell of manure, fresh from cows walking in the road on their way to the barn and back, hanging in the air like swamp gas. " A Soldier's Son: An American Boyhood During World War II was written by Temple native and still part-time resident John E. Hodgkins about life in the town before, during and after the conflict. It was published in 2006 by Down East Books. Bill Roorbach, another Temple native, who wrote the foreword to Hodgkins' book, released his own book on Temple Stream, entitled Temple Stream: A Rural Odyssey, in 2006.

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 Maine

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...