Big Verdicts

County Sues Untilty for Improper Asbestos Removal

In Lemon Grove an area in San Diego, California a Utility has been sued for stripping asbestos containing from a 16 acre facility.  Alledgedly, the County is seeking about a half of million in damages.

It "didn't comply with the law," she said. "It stripped this material off and turned it into dust. We are talking tons."

Sempra spokesman Peter Hidalgo said the lawsuit against the utility has no merit.

"The Encanto site is safe today and has been safe since the excavation work began in the year 2000," he said.

Advocate Mines, Ltd. Hit For 1.25 Million

According to this press release Brayton Purcell just won a 1.25 million verdict against Advocate Mines, Ltd. for selling transite asbestos pipe without a warning.  A San Francisco jury unanimously awarded a pipe fitter for his on the job contact with the transite asbestos pipe.  The release also indicates that Advocate Mines acted with "malice or oppression" in is manufacture, marketing or sale of the product.

Taking Stock in Abestos Companies

MSN Money features an interesting article on the effect asbestos lawsuits and the rumor of the trust passing has had on stock prices.  This author feels that the trust has only a 50/50 chance of passing this year.  Read more. . .

Surprise . . . Suuprise

The Houston Chronicle Reports:

President Bush called Friday for federal curbs on asbestos lawsuits, which he said are driving businesses into bankruptcy and denying some victims swift compensation.

"It's not fair to those who are getting sued, and it's not fair for those who justly deserve compensation," said Bush, appearing at a performing arts center just north of Detroit. "These asbestos suits have bankrupted a lot of companies, and that affects the workers here in Michigan and around the country."

Asbestos Featured On The History Channel’s “Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 11- Asbestos” Program

Mainstream media is not recognizing the potential problems with asbestos.  Lets hope the showcase some of the fraudulent claims that are put forth every year. 

DALLAS, TX (PRWEB) October 26, 2004 -- Baron & Budd, P.C. Managing Shareholder Russell Budd will discuss the deadly history of asbestos and the industry that chose to place profits over people during a program airing nationwide tonight at 10 p.m. ET on the cable television network THE HISTORY CHANNEL®. “Modern Marvels: Engineering Disasters 11 - Asbestos” will examine the "miracle mineral" that proved to be an invisible killer, causing diseases such as mesothelioma.

“Sadly, the asbestos tragedy could have been avoided had the companies that manufactured asbestos-containing products protected workers and the public from the risks. The History Channel® is to be commended for helping to increase awareness about the risks of asbestos exposure and the diseases, such as mesothelioma, that it causes,” said Russell Budd.

Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. has not banned asbestos. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently estimated that at least 10,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer. Asbestos has been used in as many as 3,000 different products in the United States.

About THE HISTORY CHANNEL®
Launched in 1995, THE HISTORY CHANNEL® features historical documentaries, signature weekly series, epic miniseries, and special movie presentations. The range and quality of the programming has made the network one of the most watched in cable television. For more information, visit www.historychannel.com.

About Baron & Budd, P.C.
Since 1977, the law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. has championed the rights of people and communities harmed by corporate misconduct. With over 70 attorneys and offices in Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Louisiana, and New York, Baron & Budd enjoys a national reputation as a leader of the plaintiffs’ bar. The firm represents individuals with mesothelioma and other diseases caused by asbestos; leukemia caused by benzene; injuries caused by other toxic substances and unsafe pharmaceuticals; water authorities seeking clean-up costs for drinking water contamination; securities investors defrauded by corporate wrongdoing; and consumers in class actions. For more information on the firm, call 1-800-222-2766 or visit www.baronandbudd.com. For information on mesothelioma, visit www.mesotheliomanews.com.

Family Suffers after W.R. Grace Exposes Them To Asbestos

A Montanna Newspaper reports how W.R. Grace plans to compensate a family who has already lost two to asbestos and it about to lose another.

1.153 million asbestos award upheld by Florida Appeals Court

Mary McLachlin A Palm Beach Post Staff Writer reports the following:
Dennis Kavanaugh, a West Palm Beach carpenter sucessfully alleged that he inhaled asbestos fibers in drywall joint compound during the 1970s which led to stomach cancer 30 years later. At the age of 61 he died of mesothelioma, a malignancy of the linings of major organs which is normally caused by asbestos exposure.

Union Carbide was found 100% liable even though they did not make the drywall joint compound rather they supplied the asbestos for the compound. Apparenty Union Carbide's argument that it had fulfilled its duty by putting warning labels on bags of raw asbestos sold to manufacturers and that it had no way of warning "ultimate users" not to breathe drywall dust did not hold water.

Asbestos Reform Passes In Ohio

The saying that the "court house doors swing wide open" no longer applies to Ohio. Depite a last minute TV ad campaign aming to place faces with the asbestos reform bill, House Bill 292 passed on May 26, 2004.

The effects of the asbestos reform bill as quoted from Ohio Alliance for Civil Justice press release are as follows:

H.B. 292 establishes clear medical criteria for making claims of injury
from exposure to asbestos. By doing so, the bill:
- Allows people with mesothelioma and other serious asbestos-related illnesses to get fair & timely compensation;
- Allows people who become sick in the future to seek compensation at that time;
- Unburdens Ohio court dockets of thousands of claims by people who are not sick;
- Saves Ohio jobs, pensions and investments by keeping businesses out of bankruptcy.

Sure there is a problem, but was this the right solution? I wonder if this is just the tip of the iceberg?

Asbestos Deal Still Possible Says Daschle

Although they are moving "at a snail's pace," Daschle and Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist are still seeking a bipartisan consensus on setting up a national fund to pay asbestos victims' claims.

A spokeswoman for Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said staff-level discussions on asbestos were continuing.

"Senator Frist also feels strongly that we should continue working on a deal, and hopefully, for the good of the American people, and for the good of those suffering with asbestos, we can come to an agreement so they can be compensated," spokeswoman Amy Call said.

"We aren't going to give up until its absolutely clear that there is no possibility of achieving agreement," Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, told reporters outside the Senate.

"We still have time, and if it's a bipartisan agreement that Senator Frist and I feel comfortable proposing to our caucus, I think we can pass it in a reasonable period of time and get it over to the House (of Representatives)." Daschle said.

Asbestos was widely used for fireproofing and insulation until the 1970s. Scientists say inhaled fibers are linked to cancer and other diseases.

Companies have paid an estimated $70 billion on some 730,000 asbestos personal injury claims, making it the most expensive type of litigation in U.S. history, according to the RAND Institute for Civil Justice.

Many companies facing asbestos claims have filed for bankruptcy; among those that have done so in recent years are building materials company Owens Corning and auto parts supplier Federal-Mogul Corp .

9/11: tons of dust + no mask + symptoms = asbestos lawsuit

Could 9/11 spur another wave of asbestos lawsuits? Maybe so according the Newsweek. John Graham spent nine months in and around the 9/11 clean up site. According to the story his health has rapidly deteriorated since working on the site. A report indicates that as many as one third of the workers at the site began to develop chronic coughs, increased phlegm production, and wheezing.

“One problem is that no one was insisting that workers wear respirators,” says Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, chair of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine and director of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and principal author of the recently published study. “I wouldn’t fault anyone in the first 48 hours during the immediate response,” he adds, “but for months afterward most workers at Ground Zero were still not wearing respirators and, in my mind, that is a terrible failure in regulation and it’s going to result in a lot of diseases that could have been prevented.”

If lawsuits are filed, duty and causation can easily be established by 1) submitting the air sampling reports that indicate an abnormally high amount of asbestos in the air which were taken on a regular basis by some federal agency and 2) noting that no-one was told to wear a respirator. An additional factor which could lead to litigation is that most if not all of the workers at the clean up site were union men and women. We have all seen how easy it is to round up former and current union members who worked at chemical plants and refineries for asbestos screenings.