Chatham, New Jersey is one of The Chathams, a term which refers to two neighboring municipalities in Morris County, New Jersey – Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The two are separate municipalities, the first municipality was settled in 1710 as a colonial English village in the Province of New Jersey. The second, more northern and more densely populated municipality was formed in 1806 as an American governmental form, a township form peculiar to the state of New Jersey, delineating a region including several communities that initially included the village dating from 1710 (from which it took its name). All except one of the communities included in the 1806 township governmental district seceded from it soon thereafter, when other forms of government became available to municipalities in the relatively new, post-revolution state of New Jersey, leaving only Green Village in an undefined rural district that experienced extensive residential development after 1960, when several farms and woodlands were sold off to developers. Two community services are shared by Chatham Borough and Chatham Township: since 1974 they have shared library services and in 1986 a joint school district was created and extended to most portions of Chatham Township for all grades. Some of the Chatham Township areas send their students to the Madison schools. Some portions of Chatham Township are provided federal post office services by the Chatham post office. Green Village, another early town like Chatham that dates to colonial times, remains partially in Chatham Township and has a separate post office and zip code. The residents of Chatham receive door-to-door delivery of mail and its post office provides rural delivery using roadside mailboxes to the portions of Chatham Township not served by Green Village.

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 New Jersey

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...