Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city, by population, in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. As of the 2000 census, Greensboro was home to 223,891 residents. As of July 1, 2009, its estimated population was 257,997. The city is located at the intersection of two major interstate highways in the Piedmont ("foot of the mountains") region of central North Carolina. In 2003, the previous Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point metropolitan statistical area (MSA) was re-defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, resulting in the formation of the Greensboro-High Point MSA and the Winston-Salem MSA. The 2008 population estimate for the Greensboro-High Point MSA was 709,751. The Greensboro - Winston-Salem - High Point combined statistical area (CSA), popularly referred to as the Piedmont Triad, had an estimated population of 1,603,101 in 2008 making it the 30th largest metropolitan area in the USA. Source: US Bureau of the Census, Annual Estimates of the Population Table CBSA-EST2007-02 In 1808, Greensborough (as was the spelling prior to 1895) was planned around a central courthouse square to succeed the nearby town of Guilford Court House as the county seat. This act moved the county courts closer to the geographical center of the county, a location more easily reached by the majority of the county's citizens. Much has changed since then. Greensboro has grown to be part of a thriving metropolitan area called the Triad, which encompasses three major cities (Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem) and more than a million people. Greensboro evolved from a small center of government to an early 1900s textile and transportation hub, and today is emerging as one of the South's up-and-coming centers for relocating businesses. Two centuries later Greensboro is still collecting accolades for its beauty and livability. In 2004 the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Greensboro with entry into the Clean Cities Hall of Fame.

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 North Carolina

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...