Toxic Exposure Lawsuits: Who Can Sue & How

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In short

Where the exposure happened decides the claim. At work, workers' comp is usually your only claim against your employer in Michigan, with narrow exceptions for an intentional tort or an employer without the required coverage (MCL 418.131(1), 418.641(2)). You can also sue others who are legally responsible, such as the maker or supplier of a chemical (MCL 418.827(1)).
At home or in your community, a claim may be possible against the business that released a chemical, a landlord or a product's maker. In Michigan, government agencies are immune from tort claims arising from their government functions, except as the law provides (MCL 691.1407(1)), and an injury claim against the State needs a claim or notice filed within 6 months after the event that gives rise to it (MCL 600.6431(4)).
You must prove exposure and causation, which can mean showing both that the substance can cause your disease (general causation) and that it caused yours (specific causation). That commonly takes experts, whose testimony must meet the rule Michigan and federal courts now share (MRE 702; Fed. R. Evid. 702).
Michigan generally allows 3 years to sue, including for product claims, counted from when you were harmed rather than when you learned the cause (MCL 600.5805(2), (12), 600.5827; Trentadue, 2007). For an injury from a hazardous substance released into the environment from a facility, federal law starts the clock no earlier than when you knew or reasonably should have known the cause (42 U.S.C. § 9658).
Mass exposures can be handled through individual suits, multidistrict litigation, class actions or settlement programs (28 U.S.C. § 1407; Fed. R. Civ. P. 23). In the Flint water cases, a federal court approved a $626.25 million partial settlement on November 10, 2021 that covered class members and people with their own lawyers, paid by category and allocated 79.5% of the net funds to people who were minors when first exposed.

You breathed fumes at work for years, a letter said your tap water tested high for a chemical you’d never heard of, or a product made you sick. Now you’re wondering whether it’s connected, and whether anyone is responsible. If you’re not sure where to start, that’s normal.

Here’s the plain answer. A toxic exposure claim, or toxic tort, says that a harmful substance reached you because of someone else’s conduct or product and caused your illness. Who can be responsible depends on where it happened. At work, workers’ comp is usually your only claim against your employer, but you may be able to sue the companies that made or supplied the chemical or equipment. At home or in your community, a claim may be possible against the business that released the chemical, a landlord or, under special rules, a government agency. For a product, it’s a product liability claim. In Michigan, most of these lawsuits must be filed within three years (MCL 600.5805(2), (12)).

What usually makes these cases hard is the claims process: you have to prove what reached you, how much, and that it, not something else, caused your illness, which takes records, tests and experts; the companies on the other side handle these claims every day; and deadlines run while you’re still getting a diagnosis. Michigan’s rules, current as of September 2026, are in the boxes marked “In Michigan.”

Sick after an exposure at work, at home or from a product? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

Where did the exposure happen, and who could be responsible?

A toxic tort is an injury claim over exposure to a toxic substance, and many are brought as product liability claims (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). The setting decides who can be responsible:

Where it happened	Who may be responsible	The usual route
At work	Your employer, usually only through workers’ comp; the makers and suppliers of the chemicals or equipment; other companies at the site	A comp claim, plus a lawsuit against anyone else legally responsible (in Michigan, MCL 418.131(1), 418.827(1))
At home or in your community	The business that released the chemical; a landlord; a water system or other government agency, under special rules	A lawsuit, sometimes resolved through a class action or settlement program
From a product	The maker, distributors and sellers	A product liability lawsuit (in Michigan, MCL 600.2945(h))

If you’re still deciding whether you have a claim at all, start with whether you can sue for chemical exposure.

If you were exposed at work

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act doesn’t change how work injuries are compensated: nothing in it “shall be construed to supersede or in any manner affect any workmen’s compensation law” (29 U.S.C. § 653(b)(4)). Work injuries and work-related diseases are usually paid for through your state’s workers’ compensation system; see how workers’ compensation works. Your employer usually can’t be sued, but others who are legally responsible can be, such as the companies that made or supplied the chemical or equipment.

In Michigan:

Your employer: workers' comp is "the employee's exclusive remedy against the employer for a personal injury or occupational disease." The law goes on: "The only exception to this exclusive remedy is an intentional tort. An intentional tort shall exist only when an employee is injured as a result of a deliberate act of the employer and the employer specifically intended an injury. An employer shall be deemed to have intended to injure if the employer had actual knowledge that an injury was certain to occur and willfully disregarded that knowledge" (MCL 418.131(1)). You can also sue an employer that failed to carry the required comp coverage (MCL 418.611, 418.641(2)).
Everyone else: taking comp doesn't stop you from suing someone other than your employer or a coworker who is legally responsible (MCL 418.827(1)). From that recovery, the costs of getting it come off first, then your employer or its insurer is repaid the comp paid or owed to date (MCL 418.827(5)). A chemical maker may argue it isn't liable for failing to warn because the product was provided for use by a "sophisticated user," one expected to know its hazards; the law says an employee who doesn't actually know of the hazard isn't a sophisticated user, and the defense doesn't apply to the extent a statute or regulation requires a warning (MCL 600.2945(j), 600.2947(4)).
Diseases caused by work are covered if they're "due to causes and conditions that are characteristic of and peculiar to the business of the employer" and arise out of and in the course of the employment, but not "an ordinary disease of life to which the public is generally exposed outside of the employment" (MCL 418.401(2)(b)). The claim goes against the last employer in the work that caused the disease (MCL 418.435), within 2 years after you knew, reasonably believed or could have discovered that it was work related (MCL 418.441(2)).

See Michigan workers' compensation and when you can sue after a workplace injury.

Three examples from the workplace:

Butter flavorings. In 2000, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigated a Missouri microwave popcorn plant where former workers had developed bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare lung disease. NIOSH has concluded that investigations of workers exposed to the flavoring chemical diacetyl “have provided substantial evidence of a causal relationship” with the disease (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA).
Lead and mercury. Renovating older homes, construction, smelting, mining and auto repair can expose workers to lead, which they can carry home on their clothes and shoes. Mercury is a neurotoxin; metallic mercury harms mainly when its vapor is breathed in (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA).
Pesticides. Their health effects depend on the type: some affect the nervous system, others may irritate the skin or eyes, and some may be carcinogens (EPA).

If you were exposed at home or in your community

Chemicals can reach a home through tap water, a private well, soil, the air or a faulty appliance.

Drinking water and PFAS

PFAS are a large group of man-made chemicals used in manufacturing, firefighting foam and many household products. They don’t break down, can build up in the body and move easily through the ground, where they can get into groundwater and wells (Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, or MPART). The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) says studies suggest links between higher exposure to certain PFAS and higher cholesterol, lower antibody response to some vaccines, changes in liver enzymes, high blood pressure and preeclampsia in pregnancy, small decreases in birth weight, and kidney and testicular cancer (for PFOA), with risk depending on the dose, the length of exposure and individual factors (ATSDR, July 22, 2025).

In April 2024, the EPA set drinking water limits for six PFAS, including 4.0 parts per trillion each for PFOA and PFOS. On May 18, 2026, it announced proposals to keep those two limits, with an option for water systems to ask for two more years, to 2031, to comply, and to rescind the others (EPA). A community water system must send customers an annual Consumer Confidence Report by July 1 that tells you what’s in your water (EPA; MPART).

Lead

The EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree there is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood. The most common U.S. source is dust from lead-based paint used before 1978 in older homes. In tap water, the usual sources are lead pipes, faucets and fixtures, and where a lead service line connects the home to the water main, it’s typically the biggest source; testing is the only sure way to know. CDC recommends testing children’s blood at 12 and 24 months (EPA). In Flint, exposure to lead and other contaminants in the city’s water led to thousands of claims; the partial settlement that resolved many of them is below.

Soil, air and carbon monoxide

Contamination from a nearby plant, landfill or spill can reach soil and air as well as water. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, toxic gas that can come from furnaces, water heaters and fireplaces that back-draft, poorly maintained appliances and blocked flues, and it can cause flu-like symptoms that clear up when you leave home (EPA). If an appliance was the source, the question is what went wrong: a defect, the way it was installed or serviced, or upkeep a landlord owed you.

In Michigan:

Neighbors: trespass requires "an unauthorized direct or immediate intrusion of a physical, tangible object" onto your land. For "ambient dust, smoke, soot, or fumes," the remedy is normally nuisance, where you "must prove significant harm resulting from the defendant's unreasonable interference with the use or enjoyment of the property" (Adams v Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Co, 1999).
Landlords: in every residential lease, the landlord promises that the home and common areas are "fit for the use intended by the parties," and to keep the home in reasonable repair and comply with health and safety laws, except where the tenant's willful or irresponsible conduct caused the disrepair or violation. The parties to a lease of a year or more can modify those promises (MCL 554.139).
Government: agencies are immune from tort claims, such as injury claims, when carrying out a government function, except as the law provides (MCL 691.1407(1)). An injury claim against the State needs a written claim or notice filed with the Court of Claims within 6 months after the event that gives rise to the claim (MCL 600.6431(1), (4)).

If a product exposed you

A product that exposes you to something harmful, such as a household chemical or an appliance that leaks carbon monoxide, can be the basis of a product liability claim against its maker and sellers; see how product liability claims work.

Pesticide labels are different. Federal law bars states from imposing labeling requirements “in addition to or different from” the federal ones (7 U.S.C. § 136v(b)). In June 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that this bars a state-law failure-to-warn claim that would require a cancer warning the EPA had decided a pesticide’s label didn’t need, because federal law requires the maker to use the EPA-approved label (Monsanto Co. v. Durnell). Claims that don’t depend on the label, such as defective design or manufacture, aren’t barred by that clause (Bates v. Dow Agrosciences LLC, 2005).

How do you prove the exposure made you sick?

In general, you must show that you were exposed to a disease-causing substance, that the defendant is legally responsible for the exposure, that you were harmed and that the exposure caused it. Causation can have two parts, and some courts require proof of both:

General causation: can this substance cause this disease in people?
Specific causation: did it cause yours?

Because the science is technical, expert testimony is common and sometimes required (Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute). See how causation is proved.

Dose matters: to judge a pesticide’s risk, the EPA weighs its toxicity together with the likelihood of exposure. Tests help, within limits. A child’s blood lead level at or above 3.5 micrograms per deciliter, CDC’s reference value, means more lead than most children have (EPA). A PFAS blood test shows your levels, but it won’t identify a current or future health problem, and nearly everyone in the U.S. has some PFAS in their blood (ATSDR, November 12, 2024). Flavoring-related lung disease can show up as abnormal spirometry, a lung function test (OSHA).

In Michigan: Michigan's rule on expert testimony, as amended effective May 1, 2024, reads the same as the federal rule. An expert may testify only "if the proponent demonstrates to the court that it is more likely than not that" the expert's knowledge will help the jury, "the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data," "the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods," and "the expert's opinion reflects a reliable application of the principles and methods to the facts of the case" (MRE 702; Fed. R. Evid. 702). Under an earlier version of the rule, the Court of Appeals upheld barring a woman's experts from testifying that ethylene oxide, a sterilizing gas, caused her liver disease: no study of exposed people had found a statistically significant link, and the animal studies were inconclusive. That question, the court said, "is scientific in nature, and it is to the scientific community that the law must look for the answer" (Nelson v American Sterilizer Co (On Remand), 1997).

Not sure which rules fit your exposure? Get a free case review. Four quick questions, no cost, no obligation.

How long do you have to file a toxic exposure lawsuit?

Every state sets its own deadline, called a statute of limitations, and its own rule for when the clock starts; see injury deadlines in every state.

Federal law changes the start date in one kind of case. When an injury is caused by a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant “released into the environment from a facility,” such as a landfill or pipeline, a state’s deadline starts no earlier than “the date the plaintiff knew (or reasonably should have known)” that the substance caused or contributed to it (42 U.S.C. § 9658). That leaves out, among other things, exposures solely inside a workplace, for claims against your employer, and consumer products in use (42 U.S.C. § 9601(9), (22)). It doesn’t override a statute of repose, a separate cutoff counted from the defendant’s last act (CTS Corp. v. Waldburger, 2014).

In Michigan:

The period: 3 years for most injury and property damage lawsuits and for product liability actions (MCL 600.5805(2), (12)).
When it starts: a claim accrues "at the time the wrong upon which the claim is based was done regardless of the time when damage results" (MCL 600.5827), and "the wrong is done when the plaintiff is harmed rather than when the defendant acted." Courts can't use a broad common-law discovery rule to delay the start (Trentadue v Buckler Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Co, 2007).
Diseases that appear years later: for asbestos diseases, a 1986 decision started the clock when the person knew or should have known of the disease (Larson v Johns-Manville Sales Corp), and whether that rule survived Trentadue is unsettled (Falk v All Acquisition Corp, 2011, unpublished); see how asbestos deadlines work. Don't count on having three years from your diagnosis.
Hidden claims: if someone liable fraudulently concealed the claim, you have 2 years from when you discovered it, or should have (MCL 600.5855).
Children: someone under 18 when the claim accrued has until 1 year after turning 18, if that's later (MCL 600.5851(1)).
Workers' comp and the State: a work-disease comp claim has 2 years from when you knew, reasonably believed or could have discovered that it was work related (MCL 418.441(2)); an injury claim against the State needs a claim or notice filed within 6 months after the event that gives rise to it (MCL 600.6431(4)).

See every Michigan injury deadline in one place.

Are toxic exposure cases class actions?

Sometimes. Courts can handle mass exposures in three ways; see how class actions and mass torts differ.

Individual lawsuits, in which each person proves their own exposure, illness and damages.
Multidistrict litigation (MDL): similar federal cases filed in different districts can be sent to one court for “coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings,” then returned to their home courts unless they’ve ended (28 U.S.C. § 1407(a)).
Class actions, in which a few people sue for a whole group. A class under the federal rule’s (b)(3) category needs, among other things, common questions that predominate over individual ones, and its members must be told how to ask to be excluded (Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a), (b)(3), (c)(2)(B)). Michigan’s rule is similar (MCR 3.501).

Injury claims are hard to fit into a class: the committee note to the 1966 version of the federal rule says a “mass accident” injuring many people “is ordinarily not appropriate for a class action,” because liability, defenses and damages can differ person to person (Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, advisory committee note).

Some community cases end in a settlement program that pays by category. On November 10, 2021, the federal court in the Flint water cases gave final approval to a $626.25 million partial settlement for people exposed to “lead, legionella, and other contaminants” from Flint’s water system. It resolved thousands of claims in three courts and covered class members and people with their own lawyers under one compensation program; the State of Michigan agreed to pay $600 million, and the City of Flint and the other City defendants $20 million. Awards follow categories with required proofs, such as lead levels in blood or bone; 79.5% of the net funds go to people who were minors when first exposed; and each claimant’s liens come off their award (In re Flint Water Cases, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan). See who gets paid from your settlement.

What if the exposure was fatal?

The family may have a wrongful death claim, and dependents may have a workers’ comp claim if the disease was work related. See how wrongful death claims work.

What should you gather?

Toxic exposure cases turn on records, and some are kept only for a limited time:

Medical records: the diagnosis, test results, treatment and bills. Tell each doctor what you were exposed to, where and for how long.
Your exposure history: jobs, sites and years; the chemicals and products involved; where you lived and where your water came from; and others who were exposed too.
Workplace records:
- safety data sheets, which employers must keep readily accessible to workers during each shift (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200(g)(8));
- your exposure and medical records, which you have a right to see and copy, with the first copy generally free. Employers generally must keep medical records for your employment plus 30 years, and exposure records for at least 30 years (29 C.F.R. § 1910.1020(d), (e)). Michigan adopts both federal rules (MIOSHA Part 92, R 408.19202; Part 470, R 325.3451);
- blood lead results. In Michigan, general-industry employers must offer blood lead testing at least every 6 months to workers exposed above the action level for more than 30 days a year (MIOSHA Part 310, R 325.51933);
- on a farm, pesticide application records, including the safety data sheet, product and dates, which the employer must keep for 2 years after the restricted-entry interval and give you within 15 days of a request (40 C.F.R. § 170.311(b)).
Home and community records: water tests, your Consumer Confidence Report, notices from the utility or health department and letters about a nearby site. After carbon monoxide exposure, the fire department’s or utility’s readings, emergency room records and appliance service records.
The product, if one was involved, with its container, label, receipt and lot number, out of use and unrepaired (how to preserve evidence).
Money: medical bills, pay stubs and a note of every day missed from work.

Ask any lawyer about the fee. A contingency fee is a share of what you recover by settlement or judgment, and depending on the agreement, you may also owe case costs. In a Michigan injury or wrongful death case, it can’t be more than one-third of the recovery after those costs, and the agreement must be in writing, with a copy for you (MCR 8.121). See how injury lawyers get paid.

A woman in a dark suit shows a binder of papers to a man in a gray suit seated at a desk, with an American flag and bookshelves behind them

What to do next

Get medical care, and tell your doctors about the exposure: what it was, where, when and for how long.
Write down your exposure history and work through the checklist above, starting with records kept only for a limited time.
If it happened at work, report it and make a comp claim. In Michigan, report a problem caused by exposures over time as soon as you’re aware it might be work related, and if your employer isn’t filing a claim, file Form WC-117 yourself (Workers’ Disability Compensation Agency).
Check your deadlines. In Michigan: generally 3 years for a lawsuit, 2 years for a work-disease comp claim and 6 months for an injury claim against the State (MCL 600.5805, 418.441(2), 600.6431(4)).
Get a free case review. A lawyer can check who may be responsible, what proof and experts your case needs and how much time is left. Get a free case review, or, if you were exposed in Michigan, compare Michigan injury lawyers.

What waiting can cost

Your right to sue. In Michigan, generally 3 years from when you were harmed, not when you learned the cause, with some exceptions (MCL 600.5805, 600.5827), and 6 months for an injury claim against the State (MCL 600.6431(4)).
Workers’ comp. A late occupational disease claim isn’t valid, and back benefits generally can’t be paid for more than 2 years before you apply for a hearing (MCL 418.441(2), 418.381(2)).
Evidence. Samples and products get lost, and farm pesticide records need be kept only 2 years (40 C.F.R. § 170.311(b)(6)).

What a good outcome looks like

Your health comes first, and the legal work runs alongside it. Your exposure is documented, qualified experts can explain why the substance caused your illness, and every claim that fits, from workers’ comp and a suit against a chemical maker to a settlement-program claim, is filed on time. Those responsible pay your medical bills and lost income and compensate you for what you’ve been through, and before you sign anything, you know what you’ll take home after fees, costs and liens. From wondering whether your illness is connected to what you were exposed to, to knowing what the evidence shows, who may be responsible and how long you have to act.

For more on defective products and toxic exposure, browse the defective product and toxic exposure guides, or see asbestos and mesothelioma claims.

Frequently asked questions

Can you sue your employer for toxic exposure at work?

Usually not in Michigan. Workers' comp is 'the employee's exclusive remedy against the employer for a personal injury or occupational disease.' The only exception that section names is an intentional tort, which exists 'only when an employee is injured as a result of a deliberate act of the employer and the employer specifically intended an injury. An employer shall be deemed to have intended to injure if the employer had actual knowledge that an injury was certain to occur and willfully disregarded that knowledge' (MCL 418.131(1)). Another section lets you sue an employer that failed to carry the required comp coverage (MCL 418.641(2)). Taking comp doesn't stop you from suing others who are legally responsible, such as the maker or supplier of the chemical (MCL 418.827(1)).

Who can be held responsible for toxic exposure?

It depends on where it happened. At work, your employer is usually reached only through workers' comp, but you may be able to sue the makers and suppliers of the chemical or equipment and others legally responsible (MCL 418.131(1), 418.827(1)). At home or in your community, a claim may be possible against the business that released the chemical; a landlord, who in Michigan promises in every residential lease that the home is fit for its intended use and to keep it in reasonable repair (MCL 554.139); or a government agency, though in Michigan agencies are immune from tort claims arising from their government functions except as the law provides (MCL 691.1407(1)). For a product, the maker and sellers can be responsible, though in Michigan a seller that didn't make it is liable only for its own lack of reasonable care, including breach of an implied warranty, or a broken express warranty (MCL 600.2947(6)).

How do you prove a chemical caused your illness?

You generally have to show that you were exposed, that the defendant is legally responsible for the exposure, that you were harmed and that the exposure caused the harm. Causation can have two parts, general causation (the substance can cause the disease in people) and specific causation (it caused yours), and expert testimony is common and sometimes required (Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute). In Michigan and federal courts, an expert may testify only if the judge finds it more likely than not that the testimony will help the jury, rests on sufficient facts or data and reliable methods, and reliably applies them to the case (MRE 702; Fed. R. Evid. 702). Records of what you were exposed to, how much and for how long are the foundation.

How long do you have to file a toxic exposure lawsuit in Michigan?

Generally 3 years, including for product liability claims (MCL 600.5805(2), (12)). The clock usually starts when you were harmed, not when you learned the cause: a claim accrues when the wrong was done 'regardless of the time when damage results' (MCL 600.5827), and courts can't use a broad common-law discovery rule to delay that (Trentadue v Buckler Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Co, 2007). For asbestos diseases, whether an older discovery-based rule survives is unsettled (Larson v Johns-Manville Sales Corp, 1986; Falk v All Acquisition Corp, 2011, unpublished). If the injury came from a hazardous substance or pollutant released into the environment from a facility, federal law starts the deadline no earlier than when you knew or reasonably should have known the substance caused it (42 U.S.C. § 9658). A work-disease comp claim has 2 years from when you knew, reasonably believed or could have discovered it was work related (MCL 418.441(2)), and an injury claim against the State needs a claim or notice filed with the Court of Claims within 6 months after the event that gives rise to it (MCL 600.6431(4)).

Can you sue over PFAS in your drinking water?

Possibly, but these claims turn on proof: where the PFAS came from, how much reached you and whether it caused your illness. ATSDR says studies suggest links between higher exposure to certain PFAS and higher cholesterol, lower antibody response to some vaccines, changes in liver enzymes, high blood pressure and preeclampsia in pregnancy, small decreases in birth weight, and kidney and testicular cancer (for PFOA), with risk depending on the dose and length of exposure (ATSDR, July 22, 2025). A PFAS blood test shows your levels but won't identify a current or future health problem (ATSDR, November 12, 2024). In Michigan, MPART's map dated September 21, 2026 shows 353 PFAS sites and 41 areas of interest, and MPART says to call the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services at 800-648-6942 if you live near a known or possible source.

Is a toxic exposure case a class action?

Sometimes, but often not for personal injuries. Similar federal cases can be sent to one court for pretrial proceedings in multidistrict litigation and then returned to their home courts if they haven't ended (28 U.S.C. § 1407(a)). A class under the federal rule's (b)(3) category needs common questions that predominate over individual ones (Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3); Michigan's rule is similar, MCR 3.501), and the committee note to the 1966 version of the rule says a 'mass accident' injuring many people 'is ordinarily not appropriate for a class action.' Some community cases end in court-approved settlement programs: in the Flint water cases, a federal court gave final approval on November 10, 2021 to a $626.25 million partial settlement that covered both class members and people with their own lawyers (In re Flint Water Cases).

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MCL 418.441, Occupational disease claims; time limit · Michigan Legislature
MCL 418.611, Securing payment of compensation · Michigan Legislature
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MCL 418.827, Third-party liability · Michigan Legislature
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MCL 600.5851, Claims of minors; year of grace · Michigan Legislature
MCL 600.5852, Death before the period of limitations has run · Michigan Legislature
MCL 600.5855, Fraudulent concealment of a claim · Michigan Legislature
MCL 600.2922, Wrongful death actions · Michigan Legislature
28 U.S.C. § 1407, Multidistrict litigation · Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of Representatives
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, Class Actions (with the 1966 advisory committee note) · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
Michigan Court Rules (updated July 31, 2026): MCR 3.501 and 8.121 · Michigan Supreme Court
In re Flint Water Cases, No. 5:16-cv-10444: opinion and order granting final approval of a partial settlement (ECF No. 2008, November 10, 2021) · U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
29 C.F.R. § 1910.1020, Access to employee exposure and medical records · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register
29 C.F.R. § 1910.1200, Hazard communication · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register
General Industry Standard Part 92, Hazard Communication (as amended August 5, 2025; published with Parts 42 and 430): R 408.19202 · Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA)
General Industry and Construction Standard Part 470, Employee Medical Records and Trade Secrets (as amended December 12, 2018): R 325.3451 · Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA)
General Industry Standard Part 310, Lead in General Industry (as amended April 13, 2021): R 325.51933 · Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA)
40 C.F.R. § 170.311, Display requirements for pesticide safety information and pesticide application and hazard information (Worker Protection Standard) · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Office of the Federal Register

Updated September 28, 2026

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and laws change. For advice about your situation, talk to a lawyer licensed in your state. Reading this page or contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Toxic Exposure Lawsuits

Where did the exposure happen, and who could be responsible?

If you were exposed at work

If you were exposed at home or in your community

Drinking water and PFAS

Lead

Soil, air and carbon monoxide

If a product exposed you

How do you prove the exposure made you sick?

How long do you have to file a toxic exposure lawsuit?

Are toxic exposure cases class actions?

What if the exposure was fatal?

What should you gather?

What to do next

What waiting can cost

What a good outcome looks like

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Related guides

Complete Product Liability Guide

Complete Asbestos Exposure Guide

Complete Class Action & Mass Tort Guide

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