[oceanchild71]

I don't know if y'all would remember from the beginning of this month that there was a hazardous waste fire in Apex, NC.  My husband and I actually had to drive right past it on our way home from a NC State/Florida State Football Game (one of the few wins the Wolfpack has gotten this year - GO PACK).  This hazardous waste storage facility parallels the main highway and growth has sprung up all around this facility the past few years.  The town had to evacuate 17,000 people from Thursday night until Saturday morning over fears that a chlorine gas cloud had formed and was settling over the area. 

No sooner had the fire been put out when the lawyers who really care about your rights descended en masse.   According to reports released after the fact, public officials are now saying no chlorine gas cloud was released but they did advise people to scrub down all surfaces in their homes and to replace all filters and other precautionary measures.  While I think this EQ Hazardous Waste facility was negligent in their record keeping and probably their storage methods (from what I have been able to glean from recent reports), I am not sure that a class action lawsuit is warranted.   The ads in the newspaper for all these info sessions to get in on the lawsuit are very distasteful and smack of ambulance chasing. 

My question is, with no solid proof that any damage to property or health was done, should lawsuits like these allowed to be filed?  One gymnasium next door to the facility claims they have found toxic metal residue in their facility and they claim it was due to the fire.  But how do they know if they probably never tested before the fire?  Don't get me wrong, I am in no way defending EQ's mismanagement of their facility, but I also dislike people trying to make a dishonest buck.  I could see the town suing the company for all the manhours and equipment used to put out the fire.  Also, EQ is reimbursing people if they stayed in a hotel because they were evacuated.  But I just don't like the thought of people saying I am going to sue because this is their opportunity when there is no clearcut evidence they suffered damages.  What's your take?

[Raptor235]

I think people should be allowed to file those lawsuits... if anything it will make companies scared and make sure they're up to standards on all their safety and environmental regulations... other wise their lawyers would have a field day telling the court that it's not their fault... in the end the public is the number 1 safety