Ringwood Illinois Cancer Cases

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McCullom Lake, Illinois Brain Cancer Cluster

Three men. Three homes side by side in a small lakeside community of McCullom Lake in Northern Illinois. Three cases of malignant brain cancer, all diagnosed in less than a year.

In 2006, Partner Aaron Freiwald led a team of lawyers, staff and scientific experts to investigate and determined that chemical contamination from two manufacturing sites a mile away had migrated in the groundwater and in the air toward McCullom Lake. One of the sites, a major chemical manufacturing operation once operated by Morton Chemical and now owned by Rohm and Haas, was the primary contributor based on documents indicating a massive, 8-acre former waste lagoon had leaked chemical waste for years. Modine Manufacturing, a Wisconsin-based maker of heating and cooling equipment, also contributed some chemical waste to the environment from its waste disposal practices over the years.

In April 2006, Partner Aaron Freiwald filed suit against Rohm and Haas, its predecessor Morton Chemical Company, and Modine on behalf of the three men and their families. The firm also filed a federal class action on behalf of members of the community who did not have brain cancer seeking benefits for medical monitoring and relief for property devaluation. Since then, the number of individual brain cancer and brain tumor cases has increased to more than 20.

We believe this is one of, if not the largest brain tumor clusters ever documented.

In 2008, Modine agreed to settle all claims in this case. In the federal class action, Modine agreed to pay $2 million, most of which was to go toward providing medical screening benefits to residents of McCullom Lake. The U.S. District Court in Philadelphia has given final approval to the Modine settlement and, as of early December 2008, medical screening vouchers are being distributed to residents of the community.

Meanwhile, the litigation continues against Rohm and Haas. In mid-2008, Dow Chemical announced the acquisition of Rohm and Haas for more than $15 billion. The deal will become final in early 2009.

To view documents and get more information on this ongoing litigation, please click here.