Six Law Firms Representing Plaintiffs in Fight against Sterigenics Join Forces to Provide Unified Support to Individuals & Families Suffering from Carcinogenic Emissions Related Health Issues

Six law firms representing unique plaintiffs against the Willowbrook-based company, Sterigenics International, have joined forces to provide unified support to individuals and families who are suffering from cancer, birth defects, mutations, miscarriages and other catastrophic injuries as a result of the carcinogenic emissions being released by Sterigenics for decades. Plaintiffs and their attorneys have filed lawsuits against Sterigenics on allegations including civil battery, negligence and public nuisance for knowingly emitting the cancer-causing chemical, ethylene oxide.

The Stop Sterigenics Education Committee hosted their final community legal forum Sunday, September 30th at 4 p.m. and  invited attorneys from Romanucci & Blandin, LLC; Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge; Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.; Power Rogers & Smith, L.L.P.; The Collins Law Firm, P.C., and Tomasik Kotin Kasserman, LLC, who currently represent a multitude of area plaintiffs in their fight against Sterigenics, to speak with the community to provide crucial information regarding the legal process and recent developments surrounding Sterigenics International.

Since 1984, Sterigenics has been emitting the known carcinogen into the air from its facility located in Willowbrook, Ill. As a result, for the last 34 years, those who live and work in Willowbrook and the surrounding area have unknowingly been inhaling the carcinogen in the air they breathe on a regular basis. Individuals living in the communities surrounding Sterigenics International were not made aware they were at risk of cancer, nor that their cancer diagnoses were a result of Sterigenics’ emissions of ethylene oxide until the recent report was released from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in August 2018. 

“The potential ramifications of this revelation are catastrophic – the EPA has reported that human exposure to ethylene oxide causes cancer, and numerous other serious health risks, such as DNA mutations and birth defects,” said Antonio Romanucci, principal at partner at Romanucci & Blandin, LLC. “Romanucci & Blandin has joined forces with five law firms to create unified support for individuals who live, work, or have children attending school in and around Willowbrook, including several with cancer or with relatives who have died of cancer. It is our duty to investigate the harmful effects of this toxic exposure.  Sterigenics must be held accountable for their reckless negligence that resulted in the needless and continuous poisoning of men, women, and children.” 

Sterigenics alone is the cause of the Willowbrook census tract having the highest cancer risk in Illinois and the 19th highest in the United States. According to data from air samples taken by the EPA in 2018, the Willowbrook census tract has a cancer risk that is 64 times higher than the EPA’s acceptable limits and is in the 99.9th percentile in terms of cancer risk in the country. Only one facility in the entire country emits more ethylene oxide than the Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook.

The Stop Sterigenics Education Committee organizer Neringa Zymancius, who has led protesters to call for the shutdown of the Sterigenics facility said, “We do not have choice to buy the air we breathe. This toxic air is what we breathe and have been breathing every single day. Any amount of ethylene oxide that is released into the air is too much. We are demanding swift action to shut down the Sterigenics facility – there is far too much at risk.”

About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC:

Romanucci & Blandin has been rated as a leading civil trial practice law firm in Chicago concentering in catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, police misconduct, and bullying and hazing cases. The attorneys at the Chicago law firm represent individuals and their families in catastrophic personal injury matters, wrongful death and workers’ compensation cases. The cases that are referred to Romanucci & Blandin involve accidents or injuries which occurred due to negligence and carelessness on the part of individuals, governmental bodies and corporations of all sizes. Since its inception more than 16 years ago, Romanucci & Blandin has secured more than $500 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of their clients. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit www.rblaw.net or call (312) 458-1000.

About Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge:

Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge (“HME”) is a firm of trial lawyers specializing in mass tort and class action cases. The attorneys at HME practice on a nationwide basis in both federal and state courts and are actively involved in some of the largest and most significant mass tort and class action cases in the country. HME lawyers have particular expertise in toxic torts, carcinogen and environmental exposure, occupational and para-occupational exposure to toxins, and the fields of medical causation, oncology, and epidemiology. For more information about Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge please visit www.hmelegal.com or call (312) 955-0545.

About Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard:

Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard was established by attorney Patrick Salvi in Waukegan, Illinois in 1982. With offices in Chicago and Waukegan, the firm has 18 lawyers and is supported by more than 35 staff members. The firm represents clients in a variety of medical malpractice, personal injury and wrongful death cases. Salvi Law has recovered more than $1.3 billion in verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured clients, including 235 cases resulting in awards of $1 million or more. In 2017, the firm won the largest compensatory personal injury jury verdict in the state of Illinois, $148 million for of a dancer paralyzed by a collapsed pedestrian shelter at O’Hare International Airport. Over the past decade, the firm has been routinely listed as one of the top law firms in the state with the highest reported settlement totals in the Jury Verdict Reporter / Chicago Daily Law Bulletin's Settlement Survey.  To contact Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, please call 312-372-1227 or visit www.salvilaw.com. 

About Power Rogers & Smith L.L.P:

The attorneys at Power Rogers & Smith, L.L.P. have won more than $4 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients.  In fact, Chicago Lawyer magazine's Annual Settlement Survey has named our firm the "No. 1 Plaintiff's Law Firm" in most dollars earned for our clients eight years in a row.  We handle a wide range of cases for plaintiffs including wrongful death, product liability and class actions.  Through the tireless effort and sincere commitment of our attorneys, we have successfully obtained the life-saving compensation and justice our clients deserve, helping to provide them with the opportunity to move forward in their lives.  Not only does our work improve the lives of our clients, it can also bring about important changes in the law by forcing companies to do things the right way and for regulatory agencies to crack down on practices that pose a danger to the public.  When you need a winning attorney in your corner, call on an advocate at our firm.  For more information, please visit https://www.powerrogers.com/ or call 312-236-9381. 

About The Collins Law Firm, P.C.:

The Collins Law Firm has built a nationwide reputation for fighting for the victims of environmental contamination. Based in Naperville, Illinois, the Collins Law Firm team of experienced trial lawyers takes the fight to corporations and works to help families by making their neighborhoods safe to live in again and getting them the compensation, they deserve. The Collins Law Firm attorneys have recovered more than $102 million in settlements and judgments related to environmental issues like vapor intrusion, groundwater contamination, and landfill and soil contamination. For more information about The Collins Law Firm, please visit http://www.collinslaw.com/Environmental-Litigation/, or call (630) 687-9838.

About Tomasik Kotin Kasserman:

Tomasik Kotin Kasserman cares about our clients. The attorneys at TKK have extensive experience working with victims of chemical exposure, including victims of the Chicago Nicor Gas mercury spill and clients who contracted cancer while working at Amoco Research Center in Naperville. Following a successful case, we partner with our clients in an ongoing fight to change policies and procedures in an effort to keep others from having to endure a similar fate. Find out more by giving us a call 312-605-8800 or visiting us at TKKlaw.com. TKK: Achieving Justice, Enhancing Safety."