Update - Recent Legal Developments
This is an update on recent developments in the GKN chemical tank litigation, including our legal efforts.
First, thank you to everyone who has submitted information, signed a Retainer Agreement, or shared how the evacuation and chemical incident affected your household, family, business, or property. Those details show the real world impact this incident had on the community.
Recent reporting has raised serious questions about GKN’s safety practices, prior incidents, regulatory history, and public communications after the event. Among other things, recent reports have described:
Officials reportedly walked back earlier statements suggesting there was “no leak,” and did not dispute that vapors were released from the pressurized tank;
A former GKN employee reportedly recalled workers discussing the risk internally: “What if (the tanks) blow up? Would we have time to run? Am I going to have time to duck and cover? All these years we talked about it and it might actually happen.”
A former GKN employee reportedly saying that, when complaints were made, it felt like they were “brushed off,” and that the company would try to stay open rather than fix the problem;
Prior reported spills, leakages, fires, citations, and stormwater/wastewater issues involving the facility;
Reports of a separate post-incident water spill into a storm drain, with testing underway to determine whether the water contained toxic chemicals;
Community concern is building. Our view is that GKN knew—or should have known—the risks of its own operations and had a duty to protect the surrounding community. We continue to investigate:
What GKN knew before the incident;
Prior complaints, spills, citations, fires, violations, or corrective actions at the facility;
Maintenance and safety practices involving the tanks and cooling systems; and
What was released, when it was released, and what information was provided to the public.
If you know any former GKN employees, contractors, vendors, or others with relevant information about the facility, its chemicals, its tanks, its maintenance practices, or its safety culture, please have them contact us immediately.
We also encourage you to share this update with neighbors, family members, coworkers, business owners, renters, landlords, or others who were affected and may not yet have signed up. We will continue providing relevant updates as we develop the facts, pursue evidence, and move the case forward.
Thank you again and we look forward to standing up for you.