The Florida Supreme Court has issued an opinion in the Engle case holding that cigarette smoking causes or substantially aggravates the following medical conditions:
aortic aneurysm, bladder cancer, cerebrovascular disease, cervical cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, laryngeal cancer, lung cancer (specifically, adenocarinoma, large cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma), complications of pregnancy, oral cavity/tongue cancer, pancreatic cancer, peripheral vascular disease, pharyngeal cancer, and stomach cancer…
In addition, the Court has opened the courthouse door for individual lawsuits against the tobacco companies. Cases for injuries or death which would otherwise be difficult to prove or even barred by the statute of limitations now have a reasonable chance of achieving compensatory and even punitive damages.
Our law firm and others have prepared questions in order to screen potential claims in a short telephone or office conference. If a potential lawsuit has merit we are willing to gather and review medical and other records.
All of these steps must be taken within the next few months, however. The window of opportunity for Florida residents will close in 2007.
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