Top Philadelphia Law Firms Handle Aftermath

The aftermath of Three Mile Island would take more than 17 years and the dedicated efforts of the best law firms in Philadelphia to rectify. After the main accident, Metropolitan Edison, would illegally vent 43,000 curies of radioactive Krypton-85 and other radioactive gases into the environment without having scrubbers in place. Then United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia would rule that the krypton venting (June-July, 1980) was illegal. These events opened the gates for legal action by the top Philadelphia law firms.

By 1996, the plant's owners, codefendants and insurers paid more than $80 million in health, economic and evacuation claims, including a $1.1 million settlement for a baby born with Down's Syndrome. A summary of individual events and significant claims awarded through the efforts of Philadelphia trial lawyers are highlighted below:
  • February, 1981: A $20 million fund was set up to pay more than 15,000 claims for affected area residents and business within the 25-mile radius of site. Another $5 million was set up to establish a Public Health Fund thanks to the tireless efforts of top Philadelphia law firms.
  • March, 1982: The American Journal of Public Health reported: “During the first two quarters of 1978, the neonatal mortality rate within a ten-mile radius of Three Mile Island was 8.6 and 7.6 per 1,000 live births, respectively. During the first quarter of 1979, following the startup of accident prone Unit 2, the rate jumped to 17.2; it increased to 19.3 in the quarter following the accident at TMI and returned to 7.8 and 9.3, respectively, in the last two quarters of 1979.” (Dr. Gordon MacLeod, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Health)
  • February, 1983: 11,000 claims for lost wages and evacuation expenses were settled by Philadelphia trial lawyers for $2.35 million.
  • 1985: Site owners and builders paid more than $14 million for out-of-court settlements of personal injury lawsuits brought by the top Philadelphia law firms.
  • June, 1991: Columbia University’s Health Study (Susser-Hatch) published results of their findings in the American Journal of Public Health and provided them as ammunition to top Philadelphia law firms. The study actually showed a more than doubling of all observed cancers after the accident at TMI-2, including: lymphoma, leukemia, colon and the hormonal category of breast, endometrium, ovary, prostate and testis. For leukemia and lung cancers in the six to 12 km distance, the number observed was almost four times greater. In the 0-six km range, colon cancer was four times greater.

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