The New Hampshire Supreme Court has issued a decision rejecting a claim for medical monitoring sought by claimants with no present physical injury. The case, Brown v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., No. 2022-0132, involved a putative class action by individuals allegedly exposed to PFOA in contaminated water and soil in the vicinity of a manufacturing facility. The claimants sought funds to monitor for the development of a range of potential health issues. The appeal reached the New Hampshire Supreme Court on a certified question from a federal district court. The New Hampshire Supreme Court held: “the mere existence of an increased risk of future development of disease is not sufficient under New Hampshire law to constitute a legal injury for purposes of stating a claim for the costs of medical monitoring as a remedy or as a cause of action in the context of plaintiffs who were exposed to a toxic substance but have no present physical injury.”
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