After a lengthy four year long legal battle, a mining company has settled hazardous product liability claims with the government for a record $1.79 billion. The hazardous waste pollution occurred across 19 states. The settlement was announced by federal agencies last week.
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Relatives of a California man who wrongfully died from mesothelioma lung cancer after exposure to asbestos has been awarded $3.4 million in wrongful death damages. The wrongful death lawsuit accused the defendant mining company of negligence, products liability design defect, and products liability failure to warn.
To read more about the mesothelioma jury award.
Less than half of asbestos workers diagnosed with mesothelioma file claims for workers’ compensation. More interestingly, according to a recent Canadian study, is that those who do file claims do receive compensation. Canadian workers’ compensation is similar to the U.S. in that it covers medical costs for workers injured on the job.
To read more about the unreported mesothelioma cases.
Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency declared a public health emergency in a small western town. It found that a mine there had blanketed the town with asbestos.
To read more about the asbestos health emergency declaration.
Asbestos-injury plaintiffs are saying that the government-backed plan to sell GM may be unconstitutional since they were left out of negotiations. The toxic tort plaintiffs have asked for an official committee in the bankruptcy case and argue that they cannot be bound by a reorganization of which they were not participants.
To read more about the toxic tort victims’ claims.
The family of asbestos wrongful death victim have filed an asbestos lawsuit alleging that their father was not warning adequately about working around asbestos. The wrongful death victim worked around asbestos for most of his life as a laborer and operator. Thirty three companies are named as defendants in the asbestos lawsuit.
To read more about the asbestos lawsuit.
In a rare victory for personal injury trial attorneys in the South, a state Senate recently passed legislation making the recovery of damages easier after people are exposed to asbestos. The bill would apply strictly to mesothelioma lawsuits.
To read more about the asbestos bill.
Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court decided in favor of manufacturers of asbestos-containing products who had been sued for harming workers. The Illinois Court struck down Illinois legal precedent unique to Illinois that prohibits defendants from introducing evidence to a jury of another source of asbestos exposure.
To read more about the Illinois asbestos decision.
The government’s toxic tort lawsuit against W.R. Grace & Company is continuing. The government’s lawsuit claims that the company conspired to violate the Clean Air act and obstruct justice. The government attorneys are arguing that the company’s violations have led to more than 200 asbestos-related deaths and thousands of asbestos-related illnesses.
To read more about the asbestos lawsuit.
About a year ago, a Smithsonian museum held an informational session on asbestos safety. A 53 year-old lighting specialist who had worked in the building for 27 years, learned that there was asbestos in the museum walls. Within weeks, the worker filed federal workplace safety complaints because he’d been experiencing shortness of breath and was later diagnosed with asbestosis.
To read more about the absestos complaint.
A jury awarded $2.6 million to an Illinois woman who died as a result of an asbestos-related ailment. The large Illinois personal injury verdict involved a wrongful death in 2006 stemming from mesothelioma. According to the records, the personal injury victim was exposed to asbestos when she laundered clothes belonging to her husband who worked at UNARCO Industries in the 1960’s.
To read more about the Illinois asbestos verdict.
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to rule that courts should open their doors for out-of-state visitors with asbestos lawsuits. This is an appeal of a dismissal of toxic tort lawsuits of more than 1,000 railroad workers.
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An asbestos injury plaintiff who lived in Maine and contracted mesothelioma there was told that he cannot file the product liability lawsuit in Texas in an effort to recover damages more quickly. The injured plaintiff must instead file in Maine.
For the full article.
In recent cases dealing with asbestos-related illness, a court ruled that a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn about the hazards of someone else’s product. This limits the class of defendants subject to product liability lawsuits.
For the full article.
A company recently agreed to pay up to $140 million to settle a personal injury lawsuit stemming from its use of attic-insulating product that contained asbestos. The company will pay $30 million cash into a trust fund, an additional $30 million cash after three years, and make up to 10 additional annual payments of $8 million if certain conditions are met to resolve the asbestos personal injury claims.
For the full article.
Personal injury litigation related to asbestos is expected to reach $140-200 Billion in coming years, according to comments before an EPA panel. Preventable diseases related to asbestos have climbed in recent years with staggering numbers. However, the EPA is considering lowering its standards for what types and amounts of asbestos and asbestos containing products are acceptable. In response, doctors, scientists, and public health advocates are lobbying to keep the current standards. Opposition comes from corporations that still use or market asbestos containing products. Experts have suggested that defendant corporations have gone to great lengths to reshape the literature on asbestos in an effort to minimize their liability for personal injuries inflicted by their products.
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WR Grace & Co., Inc. has reached a proposed settlement of all current and future asbestos-related personal injury lawsuits against the company in a move the chemical company hopes will allow it to emerge from bankruptcy.
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The historic Fen-Phen settlement is now valued at $7.5 billion according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys managing the settlement payout. Fen-Phen was a popular diet drug and is the most notable of any prescription drug liability and injury suit. Fen-Phen is actually a combination of two drugs, fenfluramine (Pondimin) and Phentermine. Phentermine is still available today and is sold under several different brand names.
The Fen-Phen class action is unique because it offered a three-tiered system of initial opt-outs, intermediate opt-outs, and preserved a back-end option for injured plaintiffs to sue if they develop heart valve disease by as late as 2015, among other new ideas. This new system was designed to avoid the pitfalls seen in previous asbestos and GM Truck class action suits.
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A new group of mesothelioma victims are claiming that second hand exposure to asbestos caused their illness. Lawsuits have arisen as victims and their families have begun to realize that asbestos at a workplace can be transferred into the home. A man has claimed that his wife died of mesothelioma because she regularly washed his work clothes which were carrying asbestos. The man was awarded $3 million. Other courts have produced mixed results as this new category of personal injury lawsuits is formed.
A crew of six New York prison inmates and two corrections officers were exposed to asbestos, a carcinogen, during a construction job requiring them to tear up floor tiles. After the crew and officers had been exposed to the asbestos for over a year, the construction site's environmental engineer warned of the danger. The tiles were tested and found to contain four times the amount of allowable asbestos at a construction site without requiring special removal teams. The officers are taking the city to court and the inmates are also considering suing for damages. Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is almost always tied to asbestos exposure and occurs in the membrane lining of the lungs or abdomen. The symptoms of Mesothelioma do not typically appear until decades after the initial exposure.
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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.
