Schertz is a city in Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas within the San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan area. The population was 18,694 at the 2000 census. On July 16, 2007 CNNMoney. com rated Schertz: One of the Best Places to Live in the United States. In Texas, Schertz was ranked #1; Nationwide it came in at #40. Schertz is the largest city of the Randolph Metrocom, which consists of towns and cities surrounding the Randolph Air Force Base. In addition to Schertz, other Randolph Metrocom communities include Live Oak, Kirby, Converse, Marion, Cibolo, Universal City, Windcrest, Garden Ridge, and Selma. These towns are located in Comal, Bexar, and Guadalupe Counties and combined have a total of 335,000 residents and growing rapidly. Since the late 1990s, Schertz has witnessed unprecedented growth. In just over five years, from 2000–2005, the city's population jumped from 18,694 to 26,463. In 2006 alone, the population rose from 26,463 to 34,000. During that same period, the city platted 1,357 new lots and the growth shows no sign of slowdown.

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 Texas

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...