Chicago, IL, August 26, 2020 – More than 600 new lawsuits were filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County last Friday against sterilization company Sterigenics, for alleged health problems including cancer that were caused by ethylene oxide emissions from its facility in Willowbrook.
Todd A. Smith, a founding partner at Smith LaCien, one of several law firms involved in the cases, said the new suits bring the total number of cases filed to about 700. Smith serves as co-lead counsel in the litigation. Smith said that Sterigenics has known of ethylene oxide’s carcinogenic effects since 1984. “They did nothing even though the area near the company is heavily populated with families, homes, schools and businesses,” he stated.
Smith LaCien is a personal injury law firm concentrating on Chicago personal injury, wrongful death, and Chicago medical malpractice cases. The firm has a track record of achieving exceptional results for clients, with more than $2 billion in verdicts and settlements and some 100 cases with results of at least $1 million.
“We anticipated the large number of individual cases filed,” said Smith. “The lawsuits are indicative of the highly toxic nature of the emissions and the large number of people whose lives have been affected physically, emotionally and financially, through no fault of their own.” “The number of cases filed shows the harm caused by Sterigenics to generations of families that have lived in the Willowbrook area since 1984,” said Brian LaCien. “Each case represents a person and/or family adversely impacted by Sterigenics conduct. However, the company continues to deny wrongdoing, even though the evidence is clear. The courts will be the final arbiter in these cases.”
Sterigenics closed its Willowbrook facility in 2019 after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in 2018, listed the town and surrounding neighborhoods as among those with the highest cancer risk in the United States. Ethylene oxide is a volatile, easily absorbed chemical added to the federal list of carcinogens in 1985. Since that time, Sterigenics has known that ethylene oxide is dangerous and a carcinogen. The EPA has concluded that exposure to even small concentrations can cause cancer.
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