Cancer Alley residents won EPA 2024 rule cutting emissions 96%. Fifth Ward Houston: asthma rates 4x higher due to concrete plants. Your lungs are evidence—industrial air pollution has value.
Assess whether you qualify for compensation or injunctive relief
Tell us about your air pollution exposure
⚠️ Important: Air pollution claims require proof of causation (medical expert linking exposure to illness) and identifying the polluter. Clean Air Act citizen suits can force EPA enforcement even without personal damages. Consult environmental attorney for case evaluation.
Clean Air Act regulates 187 hazardous air pollutants. When facilities exceed emission limits or fail to get permits, you can sue—even if EPA won't act. Cancer Alley residents forced EPA 2024 rule cutting emissions 96% at 200+ chemical plants. That's $23,700 tons/year of toxic VOCs stopped.
Two types of claims: (1) Personal injury (you got sick from air pollution), (2) Citizen suit to enforce Clean Air Act (force facility to stop polluting, doesn't require personal illness). Personal injury is harder—need expert testimony linking exposure to disease. Citizen suits just need proof of ongoing violations.
Key distinction: Odor complaints alone rarely win unless you prove health impacts. But visible emissions (black smoke, flares), exceedances of permit limits, or failure to install required pollution controls all trigger Clean Air Act liability. Document everything: photos, air monitor readings, facility inspection reports (public records via FOIA).
Personal injury claims need causation proof. Clean Air Act citizen suits just need ongoing violations.
Clean Air Act citizen suits: Don't need to prove personal health damage. Just prove facility is violating emission limits. Relief: Injunction forcing compliance, civil penalties to U.S. Treasury, attorney fees. No personal compensation for health damages in citizen suits.
Personal injury lawsuits: Sue for health damages (medical bills, pain/suffering, lost wages). Must prove pollution caused your specific illness via expert testimony. Can combine with citizen suit: Force facility to stop polluting AND get compensated for damages. Most toxic tort lawyers work on contingency (33-40%).
Citizen suits get injunctive relief (stop pollution) but no personal damages. Personal injury claims: $50K-$1M+ depending on illness severity.
Court orders facility to stop polluting, install controls, comply with Clean Air Act. Civil penalties go to U.S. Treasury ($37,500-$55,000 per day of violation). You get attorney fees if you win. Benefit: Stop pollution even without proving personal harm.
Asthma, COPD, chronic bronchitis caused by air pollution. Includes past/future medical costs, lost wages, pain/suffering. Requires expert linking pollution to disease. Property devaluation (10-30%) often included.
Lung cancer, leukemia, lymphoma linked to air toxics (benzene, chloroprene, ethylene oxide). Lifetime medical care, lost earning capacity, wrongful death. Punitive damages if defendant knew pollution was dangerous. Hardest to prove causation—latency period (10-30 years) complicates timeline.
Two paths: Citizen suit (stop pollution) or personal injury lawsuit (get compensated). Many do both.
You need to prove WHO is polluting and WHAT they're emitting.
For personal injury claims, connect pollution to medical problems.
This creates official record and may prompt EPA enforcement.
Clean Air Act requires notice to EPA, state, and polluter before filing.
Citizen suit forces compliance. Personal injury gets damages. Do both if you're sick.
Scientific evidence of exposure strengthens both citizen suits and personal injury claims.
Expert testimony required to prove pollution caused your specific illness.
Violations strengthen your case and provide targets for citizen suits.
Collective action multiplies impact and shares costs.
Most air pollution cases settle. Understand leverage points.
Obtain facility's internal documents about pollution and health risks.
Air pollution litigation takes years. Document everything from day one.
Clean Air Act has no statute—can sue for ongoing violations anytime. Personal injury claims: 2-6 years from discovery.
Shortest personal injury statute in nation. File fast. Clean Air Act citizen suits have no time limit for ongoing violations.
Clock starts when you discover (or should have discovered) illness and its cause. Silicosis from concrete dust = 2 years from diagnosis.
Discovery rule applies. If pollution caused cancer 20 years later, 2 years from when doctor links cancer to exposure.
Norfolk Southern vinyl chloride burn: Clock started Feb 2023. Residents have until Feb 2025 unless injury manifests later.
Shortest statute for environmental claims. Miss deadline and you get nothing no matter how strong your case.
For latent diseases (cancer), statute starts when plaintiff knew or should have known of injury and cause.
⚠️ File Clean Air Act citizen suit ASAP—no statute of limitations for ongoing violations. Personal injury: File EPA complaint immediately to create violation record, even if symptoms haven't developed yet.
💡 Air pollution causes latent diseases (cancer, COPD) that develop years later. File citizen suit now to stop exposure even if you're not sick yet. Protects statute of limitations for future personal injury claims.
Common questions about filing Clean Air Act citizen suits and toxic air pollution lawsuits
Air pollution cases require EPA records, air monitoring data, and expert medical testimony. We connect you with environmental attorneys who handle Clean Air Act citizen suits and toxic tort claims on contingency.