Inwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, located south of Martinsburg. The population was 2,084 at the 2000 census. In the late 1880s, coinciding with the arrival of the Cumberland Valley Railroad (CVRR) extension, a resort that became known as Inwood Park was established on the property of the Strong family of south Berkeley County, West Virginia. On May 5, 1890, the Inwood Post Office opened and the village grew around the Park. From 1892 - 1913, an annual event called the Inwood Fair was held at the Park. This event drew in the range of 7,000 - 12,000 people. The Cumberland Valley Railroad station in Inwood also included a grain elevator, which ensured that much of the local agricultural products would be brought to Inwood to be shipped elsewhere. Other products shipped from Inwood via the CVRR were wood products, such as bark (for tanning) and railroad ties from the area west of the town. The station at Inwood was one of the most profitable stations on the CVRR line. The town of Inwood was originally called Gerrard. There are two stories as to how the town got its name. One story is that it was named for the Park located there - Inwood Park, the park "in the woods" - therefore INWOOD park. The other story is that Inwood's name was changed when Jonathan Newton Thatcher, of Gerrard, wanted to open a post office in the town. Washington D.C. post authorities told Thatcher that he would have to rename the town of Gerrard, since it would conflict with mail going to Gerrardstown, a town 4 miles west. When Thatcher’s cousin from Inwood, California, showed him a letter with his home address on it, he decided to use the name “Inwood” for the town. He wrote to Washington D.C. to get the town’s name changed from Gerrard to Inwood and to get a post office established there. Jonathan Thatcher was the first postmaster for the new Inwood, West Virginia. In the early years of the 20th century, a local prominent citizen and politician, Gray Silver, was instrumental in establishing a co-op among the area's many orchardists. The principal crop among those orchardists was apples, because they were less likely to be damaged during shipment and the fact that they could last for long periods of time when stored properly. Through federal funds and the influence of Gray Silver, a school where various aspects of growing apples was established at Inwood. Gray Silver was also instrumental in putting together a group of investors to bring a commercial apple plant to Inwood. In 1920, the C.H. Musselman Company of Biglerville, PA, opened an apple processing plant at Inwood. This was convenient to the many apple orchards of the Shenandoah Valley and the former Cumberland Valley Railroad, by this time part of the Pennsylvania Railroad line. By the late 1920s, the Musselman plant in Inwood exclusively produced apple sauce, the first apple processing plant of its kind.

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 West Virginia

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In general, mass tort cases involve a large number of individual claimants with claims associated with a single...