Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Updates

Here are some of the mesothelioma and asbestos news stories that we are currently following:

Firefighters reach settlement with city in asbestos lawsuit (January 20, 2012): A group of Washington firefighters have reached an agreement with the city of Everett after filing a $9 million asbestos lawsuit. Under the agreement, the city will pay for any medical tests the firefighters could require as a result of asbestos exposure that may have occurred during a training program run by the city.

Shipyard worker wins Washington mesothelioma lawsuit (January 19, 2012): A Washington ship worker has won his mesothelioma lawsuit against his former employer. Roger Hammet was awarded $1.45 million after a jury found that Sea-Land Service Inc. was responsible for the mesothelioma diagnosis Hammet received after working on the company’s ship.

New York woman files asbestos lawsuit after husband’s death (January 14, 2012): A New York woman has filed an asbestos lawsuit against her husband’s former employers after he died from lung cancer. Carolina Malone alleges in her lawsuit that Alcoa Inc. exposed her husband to asbestos while he worked for the company, which caused him to develop cancer.

Environmental agency files asbestos lawsuit against contractor (January 11, 2012): The U.S. Department of Environment Protection (DEP) has filed an asbestos lawsuit against a Pennsylvania contractor. The lawsuit alleges that Lovett Contracting improperly removed nearly 3,000 feet of asbestos insulation from a commercial building and failed to properly dispose of the materials.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Updates

Asbestos and Mesothelioma Lawsuits

  • Tough choice looms for people suing over 9/11 health claims: to apply for gov’t aid or not (December 25, 2011): More than 1,600 people who filed lawsuits claiming that their health was ruined by dust and smoke from the collapsed World Trade Center must decide by Jan. 2 whether to keep fighting in court, or drop the litigation and apply for benefits from a government compensation fund. Although the fund would cover ailments such as asthma, scarred lungs and other respiratory system problems, patients who develop mesothelioma or other forms of cancer are not eligible for compensation.
  • Asbestos victim awarded $2M in mesothelioma lawsuit (December 21, 2011): A New York man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in December 2010 was awarded $2 million in a mesothelioma lawsuit filed against his former employer. Gerald Failing received the verdict after a jury found a materials company for responsible for exposing him to cancerous asbestos fibers.
  • Settlement reached in Missouri mesothelioma lawsuit (December 15, 2011): A mesothelioma lawsuit filed against U.S. Engineering Co. in Missouri has been settled for $10 million. Nancy Lopez filed the lawsuit alleging that the company failed to follow proper procedures in removing asbestos from the courthouse where she worked.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Updates

Asbestos exposure alleged at British university in Lincoln

  • Former worker alleges asbestos safety violations by companies (November 22, 2011): A Montgomery College student has alleged that asbestos safety violations were commtted by several asbestos abatement companies where he worked. Ernest Ojito alleges six companies throughout Marlyand, Washington D.C. and Virginia put workers at risk by exposing them to asbestos while ignoring federal safety requirements.
  • British university fined for alleged asbestos exposure (November 17, 2011): The University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom has been fined for failing to take adequate steps to remove asbestos from four of its buildings. The British Health Service Executive fined the university more than £22,000 after it was discovered that officials at the university took four years before ordering asbestos removal from the buildings.
  • Asbestos victim awarded $2M in mesothelioma lawsuit (November 8, 2011): An Australian man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma was awarded more than $2 million in his asbestos lawsuit. The Australian Supreme Court awarded Simon Lowes the sum after he alleged that he was exposed to asbestos as a young child at an orphanage.
  • High rates of mesothelioma found among Iron Range workers (November 3, 2011): An ongoing study has found 82 deaths from mesothelioma in the Iron Range of Minnesota, up from the 63 previously reported in 2010. Lead researchers for the study have found the mesothelioma rate is considerably higher than it should be for the region.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Updates

Here are some of the mesothelioma and asbestos stories that we are currently following:

Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Updates

Here are some of the mesothelioma and asbestos stories that we are currently following:

Mesothelioma lawsuits numbers continue to rise in U.S.

According to a new report published by Reuters news service, the number of mesothelioma lawsuits filed in the U.S. has continued to rise in recent years. According to one estimate, the total liability for the asbestos industry could eventually stretch to $75 billion in damages and settlements to victims of asbestos-related diseases.

Although some have reported that the number of new cases of malignant mesothelioma have fallen in recent years, projections by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Center for Health Statistics show the number of deaths from mesothelioma and asbestosis continuing to rise through at least 2016.

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Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Updates

Libby woodchip contamination reignites asbestos fears

Here are some of the latests mesothelioma and asbestos stories that we are currently following:

Some mesothelioma cases may be misdiagnosed as ovarian cancer (July 18, 2011): A new study has uncovered evidence that some women who were suffering from mesothelioma may have been wrongly diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The study is one of the first pieces of evidence that some ovarian cancer cases may have actually been misdiagnosed cases of mesothelioma.

Libby woodchip contamination reignites asbestos fears (July 15, 2011): An investigation by the Associated Press has revealed that officials with the Environmental Protection Agency have known about the existence of asbestos-contaminated woodchip piles in the town of Libby, Montana for at least three years, but failed to notify residents about their potential danger.

West Virginia couple names 85 companies in mesothelioma lawsuit (July 6, 2011): A West Virginia couple filed a mesothelioma lawsuit against 85 companies alleging that the man received a mesothelioma diagnosis due to workplace asbestos exposure. Vincent and Antoinette Scriptunas filed the suit in Kanawha County in June 2008.

New tests may aid in early detection of mesothelioma (July 6, 2011): U.S. researchers have discovered significant biological differences, or biomarkers, that distinguished blood samples of patients diagnosed with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is most commonly detected at an advanced stage, leaving the possibility of a cure minimal.

Mesothelioma and Asbestos News Updates

Here are some of the latest mesothelioma and asbestos stories that we are currently following:

Navy scraps plans to sink four of five retired asbestos ships (April 25, 2011): Environmental officials recently announced that the U.S. Navy has scrapped plans to sink four retired warships off the coast of Maryland, rather than recycling the retired vessels. The Delaware officials say that the decision will not affect plans to sink a fifth ship.

US Navy Asbestos DestroyerAsbestos worker’s family awarded $9M in mesothelioma lawsuit (April 20, 2011): A jury in Texas has awarded a $9 million verdict to the family of a former asbestos worker who died of mesothelioma. Jurors found that Robert Henderson was exposed to asbestos while working at a Dow Chemical plant in Midland, Michigan.

NJ Supreme Court upholds $7M mesothelioma lawsuit verdict (April 14, 2011): The New Jersey Supreme Court has upheld a $7 million verdict in a mesothelioma lawsuit filed by the wife of a former asbestos worker. Bonnie Anderson’s lawsuit alleged that she was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2001 as a result of exposure to asbestos fibers brought home on her husband’s work clothes.

Asbestos firms Bondex and Garlock file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

Two companies facing thousands of asbestos lawsuits, Garlock Sealing Technologies and Bondex International, have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to recent articles in the Wall Street Journal and Reuters. More than 100,000 lawsuits have been filed against the two companies by plaintiffs who allege that they developed mesothelioma or other illnesses after using the companies’ asbestos products.

Garlock, which is owned by parent company EnPro Industries, has manufactured gaskets, hydraulic components, metal seals and other sealing products for more than 100 years. According to its bankruptcy filing, Garlock states that it is spending $100 million per year to settle and defend asbestos lawsuits filed against the company.

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Calif. court rules that U.S. Navy can be apportioned 'fault' in mesothelioma lawsuits

On June 3, the California 1st District Court of Appeals ruled that the United States Navy could be allocated a share of “fault” when apportioning fault between defendants in a mesothelioma lawsuit.

The case, Collins v. Plant Insulation Co. [PDF], was filed by family members of former Navy shipyard asbestos worker Ulysses Collins, who died in May 2005 from mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure.

Over a period of nearly 35 years, Collins was employed at several jobs that required him to work extensively with asbestos. These included four years as a boilermaker welder at a Standard Oil refinery and more than 30 years at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard and Mare Island Naval Shipyard, where he also worked as a welder.

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