Start Your Free Review
Answer 2-3 quick questions to review your potential case.
Ethylene Oxide Statistics in Smyrna
$363M (2025)
Kamuda Verdict Amount
Sterigenics International
Facility Operator
18,000+
Residents in Elevated Risk Zone
$35M+ (batch settlement)
Total GA EtO Settlements to Date
Courts in Smyrna, Georgia
Cobb County Superior Court
70 Haynes St, Marietta, GA 30090
U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia
75 Ted Turner Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30303
Hospitals & Trauma Centers in Smyrna
WellStar Kennestone Hospital — Cancer Center
677 Church St NE, Marietta, GA 30060
Emory Winship Cancer Institute
1365 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322
Liability Considerations in Smyrna
The Kamuda Verdict: The Trial That Changed EtO Litigation
The August 2025 Kamuda verdict in Cobb County Superior Court was the first ethylene oxide personal injury case to reach a jury anywhere in the United States. The $363 million award — including substantial punitive damages — sent shockwaves through the sterilization industry and established a litigation template that plaintiffs' attorneys are now applying in jurisdictions across the country. The verdict validated the scientific consensus linking EtO exposure to cancer and demonstrated that juries would accept the EPA's 2016 IRIS assessment as credible evidence of causation.
The Kamuda trial also revealed internal Sterigenics documents showing that the company was aware of elevated cancer risks to nearby communities but chose to continue operating without installing additional emission controls. This evidence of corporate knowledge is now being cited in EtO cases in other states as proof of industry-wide awareness of the hazard.
Community Organizing and Ongoing Litigation
The Smyrna community's response to EtO contamination has been one of the most organized grassroots environmental justice campaigns in the Southeast. Local advocacy groups worked with state legislators to pass Georgia's 2020 Sterilization Emissions Act, which imposed stricter emission limits and monitoring requirements on EtO facilities. The Sterigenics Smyrna facility has been subject to enhanced monitoring under this law.
Beyond the Kamuda verdict, a $35 million batch settlement has resolved a group of Georgia EtO cases, and a March 2026 trial date is scheduled for additional Smyrna-area claims. Plaintiffs' attorneys estimate that the total Georgia EtO docket exceeds 700 individual cases, with new filings continuing as community cancer screenings identify additional victims. Georgia's two-year statute of limitations for personal injury runs from the date of diagnosis or when the plaintiff knew or should have known of the connection between their cancer and EtO exposure.