Claims of injury as a result of exposure to a chemical or other substance often take many forms, ranging from single-plaintiff claims to multi-party cases, putative class actions, and government agency investigations or enforcement actions. Employers, chemical manufacturers, food suppliers, and product manufacturers can be targets. A defense team familiar with the toxic tort landscape – and immersed in both the science and the law – is essential to effectively defend against allegations that an exposure has taken place or that injury has resulted from the exposure. The attorneys at Lewis Wagner have represented a wide range of clients in these lawsuits and, as a result, have compiled a substantial arsenal of tools, experience, and information to successfully manage the defense of the most complicated toxic tort cases.

Lewis Wagner has historically been a key defense firm, both nationally and locally, in asbestos litigation. Lewis Wagner also served as local counsel in hundreds of lawsuits involving Dow Chemical’s silicone breast implants. The firm’s attorneys were involved in Indiana’s tobacco litigation, defending a large grocery retailer who sold tobacco products. Lewis Wagner attorneys have defended claims of exposure to HIV-infected blood and plasma products as well as allegedly infected needles and other medical equipment. Lewis Wagner is experienced in defending cases involving BOOP (Bronchiolitis Obliterans with Organizing Pneumonia and Cold Agglutnin Disease) allegedly acquired by employees exposed to PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone).  The firm served a local counsel in more than thirty Indiana fungal meningitis cases.  A sample of the toxic tort cases Lewis Wagner has defended dealt with alleged exposure to:

• Asbestos
• Latex
• Lead
• Mold
• PVP
• Tobacco
• Vaccines
• Volatile organic compounds

Lewis Wagner’s cases range from single-plaintiff, single-defendant, and single-product claims of personal injury to matters in which we defend the claims of hundreds to thousands of plaintiffs and dozens to hundreds of products and defendants. We also advise clients on risk management and preventative measures, including potential criminal and administrative liabilities, the avoidance of civil litigation, the adequacy of product warnings, presentation of documentation for regulatory consideration, and comments on agency policies and rules.