Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

July 3, 2015

Historic New England Jail to Become Museum if Asbestos Abatement Occurs

An historic New England jail might become a tourist attraction if money can be allocated to handle the much-needed renovations, which include a large-scale asbestos abatement project.

This particular jail, with its stone walls, has housed a variety of prisoners throughout its long history. For example, a tavern owner was sentenced to 60 days in prison for violating the Volstead Act in 1922, according to recent news feature from CT Now. For those who study history, or used to watch Boardwalk Empire on HBO, you will remember the Volstead Act as the federal law preventing the sale of alcohol and better known as Prohibition. Continue reading

June 27, 2015

Illegal Asbestos Removal Job Leads to Three-Year Sentence

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from The Courier Post Online, a man was just sentenced to three years in prison for his alleged conduct during a recycling project where highly dangerous asbestos waste material was left all over the site of a former hospital campus.

Prosecutors say the 57-year-old defendant used untrained and unlicensed day laborers, some of whom were inmates living at a halfway house, to conduct an asbestos abatement operation and did not even provide them with the correct equipment to do the job. They are alleged to have illegally buried asbestos-laden titles and dumped large contractor-size trash bags full of asbestos in the floor of the boiler room at one of the buildings in the old hospital campus. Continue reading

June 22, 2015

Asbestos in Massachusetts Famed Nightclub Town Aims to Foreclose

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news feature from Mass Live, the town of Wilbraham, Massachusetts plans to foreclose on the old Belli’s nightclub, which has been closed for more than 15 years. The building on the site was first constructed in 1920 and has housed various restaurants over the years, but it is most famous to local residents as the site of a nightclub that featured dancing women.

The property in its current state is valued at around $190,000, but the current owner owes more than $70,000 in back taxes. The town administrator has announced his desire to proceed with a long rumored foreclosure and tax sale of the property. Continue reading

June 17, 2015

Asbestos Illness Beyond Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When we think of asbestos and asbestos-related illness, we primarily think of mesothelioma and asbestosis. However, asbestos exposure has been linked to other forms of cancer and respiratory illness besides mesothelioma. Many of these medical conditions are often deadly too.

According to a recent article from Outbreak News Today, asbestos exposure can also cause victims to develop lung cancer, bowel cancer, ovarian cancer and laryngeal cancer. While lung cancer is typically linked to smoking, credible research has proven long-term exposure to asbestos has been demonstrated to cause lung cancer. What may be more surprising is that, worldwide, more cases of lung cancer resulting in fatalities are linked to asbestos exposure than cigarette smoking.
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June 14, 2015

Old New England Furniture Store to Become Tire Store After Asbestos Abatement

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In New England, we are fortunate to have a rich history and many older structures to connect us to it. Some of these buildings have been extensively remodeled and re-purposed for modern usage, but others must unfortunately be razed to make way for new construction. One of the problems with many of these old buildings is they were constructed during a time in which asbestos was heavily used in virtually all aspects of the residential, commercial and industrial construction process.

In order to rehabilitate an aging building, or even demolish it, it is first necessary to remove (abate) all of the asbestos in a safe manner, so as not to expose workers, neighbors and the community in general to any unnecessary risk.

However, proper asbestos abatement is not a quick and easy job, and it is by no means cheap, so many of these beautiful old buildings are allowed to deteriorate into a complete state of crumbling disrepair, where they can no longer be used or repaired, and demolition is the only viable option – once they can find someone willing to foot the bill for asbestos abatement.
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June 11, 2015

Mesothelioma Lawsuits over Asbestos-Free Products

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from the Legal Intelligencer, while companies are not strictly (automatically) liable for mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illness caused by products they did not manufacture, they may still be liable under a traditional negligence cause of action with proof of duty, breach, and causation being required.

This is according to a recent ruling by a federal judge in Pennsylvania. While this is not United States Supreme Court precedence, many industry experts believe it may be foreshadowing a similar ruling from the high court. In Tincher v. Omega Fox, the case over which the federal judge presided, plaintiff had worked as a propeller mechanic on airplane engines manufactured by defendant.

While defendant manufactured the airplane engines, many of these engines contained aftermarket insulation made by other companies and installed in the engines.
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June 9, 2015

New Treatment may Change Standard of Care for Mesothelioma Patients

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When a patient is diagnosed with mesothelioma, he or she is often told they have a short time left to live. There are treatment options available, but they require cutting away cancerous organ tissues and applying chemotherapy wash directly to the site of the cancer. Sometimes, a patient will have an entire lung and portion of the other lung removed, and even with these invasive and painful treatments, a patient many have his or life extended by a matter of months to a few years.

According to a recent article from Lauderdale Dailey News, a new treatment for mesothelioma patients may actually change the standard of care for many patients. Bevacizumab is a drug that was developed to treat cancer patients by restricting growth of new blood vessels inside tumors. Attendees at a recent conference on cancer treatment believe this drug, with a brand name of Avastin, should be added to the traditional combination of mesothelioma drugs consisting of pemetrexed and cisplatin chemotherapy products. Avastin is currently being used for patients with colorectal cancer and some forms of lung cancer and may have promise in treating mesothelioma patients, according to researchers. Continue reading

June 8, 2015

Senators: Permanent Asbestos Ban Needed

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Today, most everyone is aware of the dangers of asbestos to people who inhale the deadly asbestos fibers. While they may not know the exact manner in which people get sick or the difference between mesothelioma and lung cancer, people know inhaling this toxic substance can be fatal.

Most people are aware asbestos and all asbestos-containing products were entirely banned in the United States at some point in the 1970s. What they may not know is the ban on asbestos products was actually found unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) and is no longer in effect.
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June 4, 2015

Abutahoun v. Dow Chemical Co.: Mesothelioma Cases Involving Employees

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Abutahoun v. Dow Chemical Co., a case from the Supreme Court of Texas, involved respondent chemical company, which entered into a contract with victim’s employer to install insulated pipes at respondent’s Texas factory.

Claimant worked on the pipe insulation installation between from 1967 to 1968, and the project involved insulation of thousands of pipes. The pipes on which victim worked contained asbestos-laden insulation material. The pipes also carried acid and vented steam. Victim alleged that, during the course of his employment, he was exposed to deadly asbestos dust. Some of this exposure was a result of respondent’s workers, who were sawing and cutting the pipes in his vicinity. He was also exposed due to his work involving the pipe insulation materials.

During a trial, one witness, a former coworker of victim, testified he was constantly sawing the pipes and that workers who were within 20 feet of his location were in the “asbestos dust area.”
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May 31, 2015

Amherst State School Redeveloped After Asbestos Abatement

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Asbestos is no longer used in the vast majority of construction projects in the United States due to environmental regulations. While efforts to entirely ban the substance proved unsuccessful decades ago, when a congressional ban was repealed, the use of asbestos was largely discontinued.

However, many old buildings across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts still contain large amounts of the toxic material as they were constructed and renovated prior to the ban in the 1970s. Asbestos was heavily used due to its cheap cost to mine and manufacture and its natural ability to resist fire, heat, electricity and caustic chemicals.

As these old and sometimes historic buildings crumble into a state of disrepair, the asbestos once contained in siding materials, roofing materials, insulation products, and flooring material is allowed to literally turn to dust. That dust is highly toxic, as, when the fibers are inhaled, they can become lodged in a layer of tissue known as the mesothelium. When asbestos is in a crumbling state where it can be crushed by the pressure of a human hand, it is known as friable asbestos. This is the most deadly form of asbestos other than pure asbestos powder. Asbestos powder did not have many industrial or commercial applications, but it was used in the past for rather unfortunate purposes, such as fake snow on Christmas ornaments.
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