Lawsuits by those who are sick and injured by pollution play a critical role in enforcing environmental laws and regulations. Today's environmental agencies, which lack resources and are often captured by the industries they are supposed to regulate, do not adequately monitor polluters. They rely heavily on self-reporting by industry, a situation that less responsible businesses can exploit to their advantage. Also, some sources of pollution have always escaped control. Lawsuits by the sick and injured play a critical role in filling in these enforcement gaps by holding polluters accountable for harm.
