City Journal: The Covid-19 Lawsuit Epidemic — As America’s economy begins to rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic, the trial lawyers’ organized lobbying group threatens to derail an already delicate recovery. Plaintiffs’ law firms are aggressively recruiting clients, leveraging media and online marketing strategies similar to those launched for asbestos and pharmaceuticals litigation. These lawsuits could drive many American businesses into bankruptcy—win or lose. 

Legal Newsline: Years of legal bills before chance to defend self: ‘Just the way’ U.S. legal system is, PFAS judge says — According to South Carolina Judge Richard Gergel, who is set to rule on a major PFAS lawsuit, it’s just a fact of life that companies can get tangled up in expensive litigation that goes on for years before they can start defending themselves.

Washington Times: Cancer patients sue over emissions from Georgia plants — Cancer patients are suing the operators of two Atlanta-area medical sterilization plants over their use of ethylene oxide, blaming the chemical for their illness. Air monitoring data gathered by Georgia environmental officials show that average levels of ethylene oxide in the greater Atlanta area are about the same in areas with and without sterilization facilities.

Legal Newsline: PFAS judge made hundreds of thousands by suing his future employer – the federal government — The federal judge tasked with handling a major PFAS case in South Carolina took in hundreds of thousands of dollars from lawsuits against the federal government as a personal injury lawyer before his appointment to the bench. While in private practice, he found success filing wrongful death lawsuits against the federal government. Against the private sector, he filed cases like one that alleged a defective ladder caused a man’s fatal fall, which yielded a $700,000 settlement.

MLive: Wolverine PFAS area study finds elevated blood contaminant levels — In a report released this week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) found higher average and maximum PFAS levels in about 400 people drinking groundwater sourced by global footwear company Wolverine World Wide. The PFAS exposure assessment is a pre-requisite to a broader epidemiological study that seeks to link the contamination levels to incidence of disease. Large variability in blood PFAS levels reflects an exposed population spread across a large area that’s been drinking from wells drilled to different depths, in different amounts, and in different proximities.