Fifth Circuit Revives Petrochemical Emissions Health Case

The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reinstated a widower’s lawsuit over the cause of his late wife’s breast cancer, rejecting trial court’s analysis of when he should’ve known the cancer could’ve been caused by emissions from a nearby petrochemical manufacturing facility.

The facility in Reserve, La., has allegedly emitted dangerous levels of a chemical called Ethylene Oxide for decades, the opinion said. The chemical companies allegedly became aware of the danger in 1977 but residents didn’t know about it until 2020 when a law firm advertised potential lawsuits.

Ervin Jack, Jr., who’s wife died of breast cancer ...