Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

November 2, 2017

Study Finds Nanotubes May Cause Mesothelioma

For the past decade, so-called nanotechnology has been all the rage in the manufacturing community as well as in marketing to consumers. Nanotechnology is a manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular and supramolecular scale. Nanotubes are a type of nanoparticle that can be used as an electrical conductor or insulator and can be large enough to create piping through which other nanoparticles can be channeled.

A recent study from Cell press published in Science Daily, has found that some of these nanotubes can cause mesothelioma in mice. This is significant because mesothelioma is a very rare cancer that is currently believed to be caused virtually exclusively by exposure to deadly asbestos fibers. This could be a major public health crisis because while asbestos is being used and less, the nanotechnology industry is exploding.

While the popular science fiction movies of the 1990s commonly depicted nanotechnology as involving tiny robots that perform all sorts of functions at a microscopic level, real science is nowhere near that level sophistication. Current nanotechnology involves the use of materials that are so small they are measured using a nanoscale, and we are talking about microscopic materials. Continue reading

October 26, 2017

EPA To Ease Asbestos Regulations

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Asbestos has not been produced in the United States for decades, and while it is still being imported in small quantities, the real danger lies in the asbestos that fills many of the older buildings in Boston and the rest of the nation.

According to a recent news article from the Boston Herald, the current presidential administration is attempting to step back from the mandated review of asbestos and other toxic chemicals that was established by U.S. Congress and the Obama administration. This includes a review of the dangers posed by what is estimated at millions of tons of asbestos in buildings across the county.

When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can become trapped in a layer of tissue called the mesothelium that serves as a protective membrane from most of the internal organs in the human body. Once these fibers become trapped, they can metastasize into the deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma. Continue reading

October 12, 2017

$6.8M Jury Verdict in Boston Area Mesothelioma Case

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In the span of two weeks, two juries in Massachusetts have rendered multi-million dollar verdicts in favor of plaintiffs in mesothelioma lawsuits. According to a recent news article form EHS Today, in the second of the two cases, the plaintiff started working as an insulator part-time when he was in high school.

Following high school, plaintiff got a job repairing boilers. Insulation was very commonly made entirely out of asbestos products. The deadly fibers were either spun into sheets like we see with fiberglass insulation, or it was kept lose and spaying into the walls by construction crews on the job. Continue reading

September 29, 2017

Damages for Boston Asbestos Exposure Violations

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In the summer 2017, the news headlines were filed with information about what has become known as the Marco Polo fire. The fire occurred in Hawaii in the 36-story Marco Polo condominium on the Big Island. When the blaze erupted, four people died and 13 more were injured in the efforts to suppress the fire and evacuate the building including one firefighter.

While the fire was a massive tragedy, the damage did not end with the loss of the $100 million building. The condo building was built in 1971 at a time when asbestos was used in most aspects of construction and manufacturing. Continue reading

September 20, 2017

Boston Area Demolition Causes Asbestos Scare

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from CBS Boston, a construction crew in Wilmington were tearing down a home that was filled with asbestos. Authorities allege there were no abatement permits or proper protocol being followed and the demolition work resulted in a cloud of asbestos filling the air putting many lives in jeopardy.

Town officials did give a permit for the demolition, but admitted they allowed the firm to make a good faith statement that they had handled the asbestos issues and were not requiring any showing of proof. Continue reading

September 4, 2017

Asbestos in Boston Area Colleges

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While this far from a problem that only affects the greater Boston area, many college campuses have buildings that were constructed at a time when asbestos was used heavily in the construction process. This not only includes classroom buildings and research laboratories, but also dorm rooms.

Generally speaking, if there is a asbestos in floor or ceiling tiles, which is very common for buildings constructed during the last half of the 20th century, it does not pose much of a risk to students because the deadly asbestos fibers are sealed into tiles. Continue reading

September 2, 2017

Asbestos Exposure Dangers in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

This year millions of people have displaced from their homes due to hurricanes, forest fires and other natural disasters. While many think of the obvious problems such as loss of life, property, and personal injury, there is another danger in the form of asbestos exposure. This is not only true in the South and Southwestern United States, but also in areas such as Boston with many older buildings that were constructed at a time when asbestos was used in just about every aspect of construction.

Asbestos was use heavily from the 1800s through the early 1980s. It is actually a naturally occurring mineral made up of six silica elements, and has been used by humans for thousands of years, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that it was used so heavily. The reason it was used so heavily at first, was because it has the somewhat remarkable ability to resist heat, fire, caustic chemicals, and electricity. It was then discovered the inert nature of asbestos could also make it seemingly perfect to use a bonding agent in glues and other construction adhesives and joining compounds. It is seemingly perfect and not actually perfect because the fibers are deadly if inhaled or ingested. Continue reading

August 22, 2017

$417M Jury Verdict in Talc – Asbestos Suit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from The New York Times, a jury has just awarded $417 million to plaintiff after she became stricken with ovarian cancer linked to talc in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. In this case, the jury found a link between the talc in baby powder and ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson presented evidence that there is no such link between talc and cancer, but a great deal of scientific and empirical evidence seems to indicate that such as link does exist and they believed this to be the case as well. Continue reading

August 13, 2017

Reservations Lead to Asbestos Risks in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

With a population shift favoring urban habitation, parts of the city that people had little desire to move to are suddenly becoming expensive places to rent or buy. Because of this demand, older homes and structures are constantly being renovated. This redevelopment has been good for the city, but has also resulted in serious asbestos exposure risks for Boston construction workers.

Old, rundown residential buildings being gutted to the frames and completely renovated into luxury apartments of condominiums. Land developers are purchasing abandoned factories and warehouses and converting them into high-end residential units. Some buildings are simply too far gone, so the land development firms will simply purchase them so they can be razed with new mixed use buildings constructed in their place. Mixed use has become a big thing these days where there are retail shops, restaurants, and supermarkets on the lower levels and apartments on the top floors. There are even some buildings with bars and restaurants on the roof.

Asbestos in building materials was common during the era in which these older buildings were initially constructed.

August 5, 2017

Calculating Damages in Asbestos Injury Lawsuits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston mesothelioma lawsuits can be considerably more complicated than other types of personal injury lawsuits. One reason is there often multiple defendants, and all the defendants may be large corporations or asbestos bankruptcy trusts of formerly large corporations with the resources and expertise to fight a plaintiff fiercely. This is true even when they are clearly in the wrong and responsible for plaintiff’s malignant mesothelioma.

Boston Asbestos Lawsuit

Calculating damages in a case with multiple defendants can be a complex and drawn-out process. Settlements and verdicts tend to depend on:

Claimant’s medical history;
Proof of negligence;
Where the claim is filed;
Lost wages/ medical bills;
Number of defendants.

Courts aim to assign proportionate liability. That is, each defendant is responsible to pay their own share for damages inflicted. Calculating these percentages can be a complex task.