Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

June 11, 2015

Mesothelioma Lawsuits over Asbestos-Free Products

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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May 28, 2015

Study: Firefighters at Heightened Risk of Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Firefighting is a dangerous job. Each year, many firefighters are seriously injured or killed. Major causes of injuries include smoke inhalation, structural collapse and burns. However, according to a recent news article in the Orlando Sentinel, firefighters are at much higher risk for many different types of cancer (pancreatic cancer is extremely prevalent) and studies have determined they are two times more likely to die of malignant mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure than those who have never worked as firefighters.

There are a variety of reasons firefighters are more likely to develop malignant mesothelioma than non-firefighters. First, it should be noted, the results in the study were compared to a control group of non-firefighters, and the data stood up to this comparison.
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May 25, 2015

Skin Cancer Drug Shows Promise for Mesothelioma Victims

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

As it stands, there is no effective treatment or cure for mesothelioma. Yes, there are drugs and radical surgical procedures, which may slightly extend a patient’s life or ease the pain and suffering to some extent. However, there is little doctors can do to really treat or cure the deadly disease.

But researchers are not giving up. They are constantly working on new mesothelioma treatments and trying existing drugs developed for other cancers on mesothelioma victims as part of various studies. According to a recent article from the National Law Review, a skin cancer treatment drug may help those suffering from mesothelioma.

The drug researchers are hoping works for mesothelioma patients is known as Pembrolizumab and is marketed under the brand name Keytruda. While most cancer treatments involve use of chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of both, a new type of treatment has emerged known as immunotherapy. Immunothearpy has been shown to have fewer side effects than traditional treatments, which often involve destruction of healthy tissue and cells in addition to the cancer cells.
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May 22, 2015

$13 Million in Talcum Powder Asbestos Lawsuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

For many years, talcum powder (talc) was used on a daily basis in barbershops and homes. While people still use the term talcum powder today, they are really referring to a product now called baby powder, which is primarily made from corn starch instead of actual talc. The product is used as an astringent to prevent or treat skin rashes and as a deodorant. Barbers brush it on customers after using a razor or electric clippers without a guard to prevent minor skin irritation.

Natural talc has the potential to be dangerous to humans for various reasons. Talc itself is properly called magnesium silicate and has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. However, the larger danger is that talc is a silica compound, which forms in a deep ore environment similar to other silica compounds, such as the six silica compounds that form what we know as asbestos.
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May 19, 2015

Asbestos Found in Nature Can be Deadly

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Many people think of asbestos as a man-made poison. While it is toxic, and nearly every case of mesothelioma was due to asbestos exposure caused by the negligence of reckless people and companies, asbestos itself a substance found in nature.

For thousands of years, humans have mined asbestos in one or more of its various forms and used it as an insulator from heat and fire. Researchers have found asbestos fibers in pottery made in Finland dating to back to 2,500 B.C. In the 1600s, Russians used chrysotile asbestos fibers to make paper. The asbestos they used was traced to the Ural Mountains.

As it turns out, it is also an effective insulator from many corrosive chemicals and electricity. It was during the Industrial Revolution in North America and Western Europe when companies began to mine large quantities of the silica-based mineral and refine it into all types of industrial, commercial, and consumer products – to the point where asbestos products filled many aspects of people’s lives.
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May 16, 2015

Asbestos in Space Flight Programs

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When we think about all the amazing inventions and discoveries associated with NASA over the last half century, it’s impossible not to wonder what the future holds. Even though the shuttle program is over, and the only place to see a NASA-manned vehicle is a museum, engineers are hard at work designing a new rocket system designed to send astronauts to Mars.

One thing that may come as a surprise is, despite all of the cutting-edge technology, asbestos has played a major a role in spaceflight, and, to some extent, still does. As discussed in a feature from NASA Spaceflight.com, asbestos-containing material has been heavily used in various aspects of rocket design and heat shielding technology.

One the one hand, it is easy to see why asbestos was, and still is, a somewhat favored material. It is a naturally occurring element, which is easy to mine, and cheap to refine into manufactured products. It an excellent insulator from heat, caustic chemicals, electricity, and fire, and it can also be spun into extremely lightweight textiles. Weight reduction is a major goal in spaceflight, as these machines have to reach speeds of around 20,000 MPH to clear Earth’s atmosphere and get into space.
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