3860 West Commercial Blvd.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
(954) 981-7150

info@troplawgroup.com

Tobacco Litigation

South Florida Tobacco Litigation Lawyer

The attorneys at Trop Law Group been successfully battling the tobacco companies for years. We are proudly accepting cases on behalf of both smokers and non-smokers who have suffered serious injuries as a result of exposure to tobacco smoke.

Second Hand Smoke Exposure

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona has issued a report concluding that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent. The report finds that even brief secondhand smoke exposure can cause immediate harm. The report says the only way to protect nonsmokers from the dangerous chemicals in secondhand smoke is to eliminate smoking indoors.

The recent report also finds that exposure to secondhand smoke is a known cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), respiratory problems, ear infections, and asthma attacks in infants and children

According to Surgeon General Carmona, vice admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service. “The scientific evidence is now indisputable: secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults.” Secondhand smoke contains more than 50 cancer-causing chemicals, and is itself a known human carcinogen.

Copies of The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General and related materials are available on the Surgeon General’s Web site at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to exposure to Second Hand Smoke, please immediately contact the Law Office of The Trop Law Group today.

Florida Tobacco Litigation

The Florida Supreme Court has finally ruled on the Engle case, and has held that cigarette manufacturers were negligent and that their products are defective, unreasonably dangerous, addictive, and the cause of 16 major diseases. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the Third District Court of Appeal, and held that the cigarette manufacturers are liable for a) negligence; b) defective and unreasonably dangerous products; c) addictive products; d) strict liability; e) fraud by concealment; f) civil conspiracy-misrepresentation; g) conspiracy-concealment; h) breach of implied warranty; i) general causation.  In addition, the Court ruled that cigarette smoking causes the following diseases:  aortic aneurysm, bladder cancer, cerebrovascular disease, cervical cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, laryngeal cancer, lung cancer (specifically, adenocarinoma, large cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma), complications of pregnancy, oral cavity/tongue cancer, pancreatic cancer, peripheral vascular disease, pharyngeal cancer, and stomach cancer.

Each of these findings on liability need not be proven at trial by class members who file individual claims in Florida within the year (res judicata). At trial, individual members of the class will need to prove that they smoked a defendant’s product, that the smoking caused their specific case of whichever disease is at issue, and that they relied on a defendant’s fraudulent claims (but only if fraud is alleged in the complaint and it need not be). While the companies can defend these cases, they cannot claim that they were not negligent, that their products are not defective or unreasonably dangerous and addictive, that smoking does not cause the 16 aforementioned diseases, or otherwise deny any of the other findings that the Court determined were binding on these subsequent cases.

The decision is available at http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2006/sc03-1856.pdf

South Florida Tobacco Litigation Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of smoking cigarretes, please immediately contact the Law Office of The Trop Law Group today.

Important Tobacco Articles

Nicotine Manipulation Confirmed
Tobacco Explained, The truth about the tobacco industry …in its own words
ACS :: Teens Take on Big Tobacco With the Truth
Tobacco; Company Marketing to Kids
Tobacco Industry Tactics for Resisting Public Policy On Health
Justice Department Civil Lawsuit
Affirmed: Tobacco Companies are Racketeers

Important Tobacco Links

Tobacco Documents Online
Legacy Tobacco Documents Library
Roswell Park Cancer Institute Tobacco Document Collections and Resources
TobaccoArchives.com Minnesota Document Archives