Charlottesville is an independent city geographically located in Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom. The population was 40,745 according to the 2004 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau. It is the county seat of Albemarle County though the two are separate legal entities. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Charlottesville with Albemarle County for statistical purposes, bringing the total population to 118,398. The city is the heart of the Charlottesville metropolitan area which includes Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene and Nelson counties. In 2004, Charlottesville was ranked the best place to live in the United States in the book Cities Ranked and Rated by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander. Sperling and Sander ranked the cities based on cost of living, climate, and quality of life. Charlottesville is best known as the home to three U.S. Presidents, as well as the home of the University of Virginia, which, along with Monticello is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city is also known for Jefferson's Monticello, his renowned mountain-top home which attracts approximately half a million tourists every year.

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 Virginia

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...