Indianola is a city in Red Willow County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 642 at the 2000 census. On 27 March 2004, a fire that started in the town's only grocery store destroyed the store and the city offices. In its early days, Indianola was the county seat of Red Willow County. After the railroad opted to locate it's mid-point terminal on the Omaha to Denver route in McCook rather than in Indianola (McCook offered free land for the rail yard whereas a private citizen in Indianola requested a large sum for his land thinking it was a done deal), population shifted to McCook and after several attempts, some violent, the county offices were moved to McCook. Located in the City Park of Indianola is the grave of a Pawnee Indian woman who died of wounds received at the battle between the Sioux and Pawnee tribes at Massacre Canyon just east of Trenton, Nebraska. Originally she was buried northwest of town on a bluff overlooking Coon Creek. In the 1970s it became obvious that erosion would eventually destroy her gravesite and the citizens of Indianola financed the reburial of her remains in the City Park.

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 Nebraska

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...