Early Warning: Class Actions Possible From Diesel Fumes
ORLANDO, Fla. — Several lawyers involved in trucking told attendees of American Trucking Associations’ annual conference the industry may be the target of personal injury lawyers looking to file a large class-action lawsuit.
On the heels of multimillion-dollar mass tort lawsuits against the tobacco industry and pharmaceutical companies, it wouldn’t take a great imaginative leap for a lawyer to try to prove that diesel emissions have harmed great numbers of people, experts said.
The early warning signs of an attack are already present, said Michelle E. Smith, associate general counsel for Navistar International Transportation Corp. Studies of laboratory animals exposed to diesel emissions found higher rates of lung tumors, while tests of people who work around diesel engines showed increased lung cancer risks.
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Bruce R. Parker, an attorney with Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Gray in Baltimore, said trucking should “start getting its defenses ready now.”
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