A class action lawsuit has been filed against the company responsible for a toxic leak in Melvindale, MI on October 16, 2007. The suit was filed in Third Circuit Court and claims Reilly Plating was negligent in its hydrochloric acid leak. The lawsuit seeks to represent residents who were inconvenienced, and possibly sickened, by the foul-smelling leak. More than 4,000 residents, including 3,600 school children, were forced to evacuate from neighborhoods near the Reilly plant.
Oct-26-07: "We just filed the suit and are now meeting with potential victims, gathering information and hearing their stories," says lawyer David Dubin. "The more information we get, the better we can help." Dubin is seeking class action status for the residents and the school children who were evacuated.
Although the evacuated residents were back in their homes that evening, there are still a large number of unanswered questions:
- When did this chemical leak (Hydrochloric Acid) actually occur?
- What was the rationale for the evacuation zone? Some people who live next door to the facility were not while others over half mile away were evacuated
- Whether the vapors from the hydrochloric acid leak were emitted into the surrounding community
"Our law firm is a 10-minute drive from Melvindale and we are working very closely with the residents. Within the next week or so we will be holding a meeting to find out more about what the residents have to say and learn more about their experiences.
We expect compensation for the residents for the evacuation and exposure to the vapors and we also seek injunctive relief to prevent these types of accidents to occur in the future.
This is not the first time we have had a leak at Reilly Platingâ"one occurred sometime early in 2007. Reilly Plating classified this leak as 'minor' and that all their safety precautions worked as planned. However, if they worked, how could there be a leak?"
