Trains that are carrying toxic chemicals derail from time to time. Tankers carrying propane and natural gas tip over and leak. In both of these instances, the victims are often the people who are nearby and cannot be evacuated before the chemicals or gases reach their homes and businesses. If you happen to be one of these victims, there are certain types of compensation you can pursue under the law.
Medical Compensation
Medical compensation under personal injury law usually covers your current medical bills and health concerns, as well as any emotional or psychological trauma that will require the help of a therapist or psychiatrist. However, future medical concerns may also be covered if your personal injury attorney can prove that the substances you were exposed to will cause cancer of any type, affect your reproductive organs, or cause birth defects in any children you may have. These longer-reaching consequences of your exposure may only be proven through research reports and tox screen reports of your blood and organ tissues, so you may have to submit yourself to several tests if you intend to pursue your case.
Property Compensation
Property compensation may be a form of compensation you can pursue if your home or business was destroyed or pronounced unlivable shortly after the accident. The property compensation you may receive will help to restore your home or business to a safe, operational and/or livable place. This could include hotel expenses, relocation expenses and even losses of property inside your home if you cannot return to retrieve any belongings that matter most to you.
Lost Time and/or Lost Wages
If the gas or chemical spill you were exposed to causes you to lose time and/or wages from work, you may be able to include these in your lawsuit. There may be a limit to how many days' wages or the amount of wages you can claim, and you can only claim what you legitimately lost, not what you expect to lose in the future (unless you are disabled by the exposure incident). If you were fired from your job because you missed too many days in a row while recovering from the incident, you may be able to pursue a separate but related injury and employment suit in order to recover your job or get compensation for a situation that was out of your control and for which you should not have been fired.
Click here for a personal injury attorney or do an online search.
Share