Articles Posted in Asbestos Exposure

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In recent years, we have been seeing more and more cases of malignant mesothelioma where the victim did not necessarily have direct contact with traditional sources of asbestos but did have contact with talcum powder.  It is believed the talcum powder contained asbestos, and this is due to a variety of sources.

anthophyllite-with-talc-and-do-1539018As discussed in a recent news feature from the Montgomery Advertiser, natural talcum powder has been shown to contain asbestos in some cases.  Talc is a mineral that is made up of magnesium, silicon, hydrogen, and oxygen.  While many people think asbestos is man-made, it is also a mineral and is also made up largely of silica.  It also formed in the Earth in the same conditions and locations as talc and vermiculite.  Vermiculite has also been shown to contain detectable and dangerous levels of asbestos. Continue reading

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The highest court in the State of New York has just upheld a $3 million verdict, according to a recent news article from The Buffalo News.  In this case, a former employee who worked as a pipe fitter for General Motors Company at one of their engine plants had died in 2011 when he was 77-years-old.  This was before the verdict was ultimately upheld by the New York Court of Appeals. Once the plaintiff had died, his surviving spouse continued the lawsuit in his name, as is often the case due the deadly nature of mesothelioma.

sparks1He actually died just three months before the jury returned a verdict finding several named defendants failed to adequately warn him of the risks of asbestos. Jurors awarded him $3 million in damages, which will now go to his legal heirs, including his surviving spouse and children. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from the Patriot Ledger, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has finally approved an asbestos abatement plan for a church that is slated to be demolished in Quincy.  This is after a month-long shut down on the project so an asbestos abatement plan could be reviewed and approved.

tower-in-the-sky-1148256-mThe plan that was ultimately approved was drafted by a licensed asbestos abatement firm in Boston.  The need for this shutdown, or freeze as they called it, came as result of concerns that asbestos was being removed or otherwise handled in an unsafe manner. Continue reading

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In recent years, there have been a number of sizable mesothelioma lawsuit damage awards. This has prompted oft-repeated refrains for tort reform, questions about how jurors could ever conclude such a sum was justified and lamenting that such awards drive up various costs (taxes, insurance, product prices, etc.) for the rest of us. hospitalroom

Certainly, our mesothelioma attorneys know that these damage awards sound like an awful lot. After all, how many of us ever dreamed of winning $11 million or more?

But what is often misunderstood is that these damage awards are not windfalls. They are compensation for actual irreversible harms – up to and including death. Yes, punitive damages – intended to punish defendants for egregious wrongs – are sometimes factored in. But plaintiffs have to meet a certain proof burden before they can even seek punitive damages and they are only ever awarded in the most serious of cases.  Continue reading

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When we think about exposure to asbestos and the risk of mesothelioma, we might think the most at risk are those who work in the trades: The construction workers, the painters, the ship builders, the auto mechanics. openpitmine

Certainly, those groups see higher rates than others, particularly when they worked in the 50s, 60s and 70s, when asbestos was still commonplace in so many building materials and products. But as a new study has shown, the group with the highest rate of mesothelioma deaths in the world is in West Australia. Specifically, indigenous West Australians have the highest mortality rate for malignant mesothelioma in the world.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive and terminal type of cancer that develops years after exposure to asbestos fibers, breathed into the lungs and scarring the delicate tissue lining of either the lungs or stomach. In most cases, illness and diagnosis occur many years – even decades – after exposure.  Continue reading

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Asbestos is a deadly substance. When a person ingests or inhales the fibers that escape into the air or a source of drinking water, they can become lodged in a layer of tissue known as the mesothelium where they can cause malignant mesothelioma.  Once the American public became fully aware of the dangers of asbestos, there was a push for Congress to outlaw the deadly substance.  By the late 1970s, a bill had made its way through congress and the mining, manufacture, and importation of asbestos was banned in the U.S.

ussupremecourt2Those in the asbestos industry fought this tooth and nail.  Even though there was not much of a market for asbestos material in the U.S., they still wanted to manufacture asbestos products and export them for use in the developing nations that did not have environmental control agencies or a large concern for public health.  In other words, since these companies could no longer make millions of dollars killing American workers and their families, they would try to make money poisoning people oversees. Continue reading

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During much of the industrial revolution in the United States and Western Europe, companies mined asbestos and companies that processed asbestos into manufactured goods were well aware of the dangers their product was causing to tens of thousands of workers and their families each year.  There was no question about the dangers of asbestos by the early 20th century.

senateHowever, these companies not only knew that asbestos caused cancer, later named mesothelioma, but they also learned that it would take between 20 and 50 years for a person to develop symptoms of the disease and go to a doctor for a diagnosis.  Once a person is diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma or any other type of mesothelioma, they normally have less than two years to live, even with the most aggressive treatment plan available.  Continue reading

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A landowner looking to renovate a building or demolish a structure must first weigh the risk of asbestos danger. If there is any reason to suspect the structure contains asbestos, demolition work  absolutely cannot start without taken action to limit the risk. A professional asbestos abatement contractor must be called to determine the presence of asbestos.

warning-icon-45-1023139-mThe contractor will take a sample and carefully package that material so it can be taken to an approved material science testing lab to look at the material under a microscope and confirm the presence of the of asbestos fibers. Continue reading

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According to a recent news report from the Times Free Press, a community that was ravaged by a series of powerful tornadoes is now facing a serious problem as result of deadly asbestos-laden debris.

vermiculiteThe tornadoes ripped through the small southern town in late April of 2011.  It was dark and people were screaming as their homes were being torn apart.  Power lines were down as were utility poles, and people were covered in destroyed plaster walls, ceiling tiles, and all types of other construction debris. Continue reading

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According to a recent news feature from New Hampshire Public Radio, state and federal investigators were given a tip from a confidential informant regarding large piles of debris containing asbestos dumped outside a building in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The building is owned by one of the largest real estate developers in the state of New Hampshire.

whistle-1505616-300x225These regulators included personnel from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDep), who were told the material was from construction or demolition projects in New Hampshire that was illegally transported across the border into the Commonwealth. This real estate developer is now believed to be the target of a criminal investigation, though reporters were told, “No comment,” by MassDep when they asked for confirmation of an ongoing probe. Continue reading

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