December 1, 2008
A Trans World News article reports that W.R. Grace last week said that they have reached an agreement to settle property damage claims from homeowners and business owners who used Zonolite, an insulation manufactured by Grace. The Zonolite contained vermiculite asbestos. Exposure to the asbestos can lead to mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer which is usually fatal because it is diagnosed after the cancer has progressed so far that treatment is usually palliative. Many have died from mesothelioma, sometimes also called asbestos cancer.
The settlement is said to be worth about $60 Million dollars to be put into a twenty-year trust. Grace will deposit $30 million the first year, $30 million the third year. After that $8 million will be put into the trust each year if the trust funds go below $10 million. The settlement reportedly will pay each home or business owner 55% of the damages that was claimed in the initial lawsuit filed by each owner; however, the Securities and Exchange Commission has stated that no one would receive more than $4,125.
According to the article, lawsuits could be filed until the Trust runs out. Previously, as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, it had been determined that the filing deadline for property damage was October 31, 2008.
No Comments » | 
Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits | Tagged: WR Grace, Asbestos cancer bankruptcy court, Mesothelioma, Asbestosis, Zonolite, vermiculite, asbestos cancer | 
Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
October 30, 2008
About 2 weeks ago we posted about the Ohio Supreme Court decision that a 2004 law that imposed stricter rules on asbestos-related lawsuits could be imposed retroactively on cases already filed. Today we see some of the results of that decision.
The law requires that plaintiffs provide testimony from medical experts at trial who personally treated the claimant. In addition, the law only allows cases to proceed if there is specific medical evidence that asbestos exposure has caused mesothelioma or another serious health problem.
Thousands of asbestos lawsuits were filed before the law was passed on September 2, 2004. Since the supreme court decision, over 30,000 of these lawsuits have been dismissed by the county courts. The dismissed lawsuits involve cases where the plaintiffs had not been diagnosed with an asbestos-related injury such as mesothelioma or asbestosis.
Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that is caused by asbestos exposure either directly, usually from work exposure, or indirectly when a worker carries the asbestos home at the end of the day. Cancer cells develop in the mesothelium which is a protective lining around most of the body’s internal organs. The most common area for this to occur is the lining around the lungs. Unfortunately, usually by the time it is discovered the patient’s cancer has developed too much and, for most people, a cure isn’t possible.
It should be noted that these lawsuits dismissed under the supreme court ruling can be refiled if the plaintiffs have symptoms of an asbestos-related disease that can be established under the 2004 law.
No Comments » | 
Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits | Tagged: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, asbestos exposure, Asbestosis, "asbestos health dangers", mesothelium, Asbestos Litigation, Ohio Supreme Court | 
Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
October 28, 2008
The federal criminal trial against W.R. Grace has been scheduled for February of 2009. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula said Friday he wants jury selection in the case to begin Feb. 19, with the trial starting the following Monday.
He said that now that pretrial motions have been dealt with, he wants to get to trial and has told the attorneys to be ready. He is planning on the trial taking about 3 months with breaks in the schedule for holidays and a March hearing on Grace’s bankruptcy case.
This trial involves public exposure to vermiculite which was mined by Grace in Libby, Montana. In separate earlier agreements, Grace had agreed to put aside between 1.8 and 3 billion dollars into a trust that will be used to settle lawsuits for individuals who have suffered from asbestosis and/or mesothelioma from using the Grace products.
Mesothelioma is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos either directly or indirectly through family members who worked with the material. A mesothelioma cancer diagnosis can be made years after a family member carried home asbestos dust or fibers on their clothing, shoes, skin or in their hair. Usually by the time mesothelioma is diagnosed, the patient has only a short time to live, 12 to 18 months average. Because it takes so long after exposure to be diagnosed, many mesothelioma attorneys expect that mesothelioma lawsuits will continue for many years to come.
Another agreement approved in June requires Grace to pay another 250 million dollars to settle lawsuits brought to clean up Libby, Montana where asbestos was mined by Grace. At the peak of production, the mine produced 500,000 pounds of asbestos a day through the mill and released as much as 24,000 pounds a day of dust from the mill stack. About 1900 men worked at the mine and x-rays of those who had been there 21 plus years showed that 92% of them had signs of lung disease.
No Comments » | 
Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits | Tagged: Asbestos, WR Grace, Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Asbestosis, Libby Montana, mesothelioma lawsuit, Mesothelioma Lawyer, vermiculite | 
Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
October 16, 2008
The Ohio Supreme Court this week has ruled that a 2004 law that imposed stricter rules on asbestos-related claims can be applied retroactively to those cases filed before the law was passed.
The state Supreme Court said Wednesday the law was valid because the changes were “remedial and procedural” and not in violation of the Ohio Constitution, which bars retroactive laws that change the nature or substance of a law.
The law in question, passed in September of 2004, requires the medical expert to actually treat the claimant instead of merely reading the medical records and the claimant is required to offer specific medical evidence that their condition was caused by asbestos exposure.
In Ohio there are about 40,000 cases that had been filed prior to law being passed and many of those are likely to be dismissed as a result of this week’s ruling.
Linda Ackison had filed a wrongful death suit in May of 2004 against Dayton Malleable and others claiming that long-term exposure to asbestos at work had contributed to the illness and death of her husband, Danny.
Richard Schuster, an attorney for Dayton Malleable called the ruling significant for the economy of Ohio as well as for the companies involved in the suit.
“For the businesses located here in Ohio, it will allow the cases to come off their books and allow them to focus on doing business and, hopefully, hiring people here in Ohio,” he said. “It really focuses the attention on those people who are ill, who have a real disease, and allows those cases to move through the courts, which have been clogged up by people who weren’t sick.”
Vin Green, an attorney for Ackison, condemned the ruling saying that the decision was a ruling on the side of big business and against the well-being of Ohio citizens who have been injured by asbestos exposure. He also called it “completely and totally inaccurate” to say that those filing asbestos claims weren’t sick. “If you have damage to the lining of your lungs, you are sick,” he said.
In Georgia, the retroactive portion a similar law was overturned and the legislature then passed a new law. Kansas has a similar law not yet challenged and a similar Florida law is being challenged in the courts.
No Comments » | Asbestos, Court, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits | Tagged: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, Lung Cancer, Asbestosis, Ohio Supreme Court, Dayton Malleable, Georgia Supreme Court | Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
September 24, 2008
October 30, 2008 has been set by the federal bankruptcy court for United States property owners to file claims related to Zonolite attic insulation, Grace’s asbestos-based insulation. It’s a loose-fill insulation sold in the United States for about 60 years ending in 1984. It’s been used in millions of homes and businesses but could be a health risk because of the large amounts of asbestos fibers it releases. Removal of this contamination could cost home owners up to $40,000 so submitting a claim through the bankruptcy proceedings could help owners recoup some of that cost.
As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, the court has established October 31, 2008 as the bar date for filing Zonolite Attic Insulation claims relating to diminution of property value, cost of abatement or removal and other economic losses associated with the product. If a proof of claim is not filed before this date at www.GraceClaims.com, property owners may lose their right to assert such damages in the future.
In a separate agreement worth between 1.8 billion and 3 billion dollars, Grace agreed to put the money, over the next 25 years, into a trust established to resolve lawsuits for individuals who have suffered with diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma from use of their products.
Mesothelioma is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos either directly or indirectly through family members who worked with the material. A mesothelioma cancer diagnosis can be made years after a family member carried home asbestos dust or fibers on their clothing, shoes, skin or in their hair. Usually by the time mesothelioma is diagnosed, the patient has only a short time to live, 12 to 18 months average. Because it takes so long after exposure to be diagnosed, many mesothelioma attorneys expect that mesothelioma lawsuits will continue for many years to come.
Another agreement approved in June requires Grace to pay another 250 million dollars to settle lawsuits brought to clean up Libby, Montana where asbestos was mined by Grace. At the peak of production, the mine produced 500,000 pounds of asbestos a day through the mill and released as much as 24,000 pounds a day of dust from the mill stack. When the wind blew the right way the town could be covered in a layer of dust with children drawing in the layer of dust on cars and clothes on the line covered as well. About 1900 men worked at the mine and x-rays of those who had been there 21 plus years showed that 92% of them had signs of lung disease.
No Comments » | Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits | Tagged: Asbestos, Asbestosis, Libby Montana, Lung Cancer, meso, Mesothelioma, Mesothelioma Lawyer, WR Grace, Zonolite | Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
September 19, 2008
A recent decision by the Tennessee Supreme Court has allowed a second hand asbestos exposure case to go on to trial. The court ruled that the company, Alcoa, had a duty of care that extended to family members.
The lawsuit was filed in 2003 against Alcoa but a trial judge dismissed it arguing Alcoa’s liability did not extend to family members. The supreme court’s decision reverses that earlier decision and allows the lawsuit to go to trial. Doug Satterfield filed the suit after his daughter was diagnosed with mesothelioma and died from it. He had worked for Alcoa where he was routinely exposed to asbestos and carried the fibers home on his work clothes.
Now the case will go back to the lower court where the process will begin to set a trial date and begin depositions.
No Comments » | Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits | Tagged: Mesothelioma, second hand exposure to asbestos, "mesothelioma cancer", mesothelioma lawsuit, Tennessee Supreme Court, Alcoa | Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
September 10, 2008
Heather Von St. James has been free of mesothelioma for two and a half years since her radical treatment at a Boston Hospital. Von James believes that her mesothelioma was caused by her being exposed to her father’s work clothes when he worked at Ainsworth-Benning as a construction laborer. Many of the products he worked with contained asbestos. She would often get into his boots and coat to go outside and feed the rabbits.
Von James learned she was pregnant in 2004. She didn’t gain much weight, was short of breath and felt pressure under the left breast but figured this was part of being pregnant. After her daughter was born in 2005, she went back to work part-time but was exhausted. She attributed her exhaustion to being a new mother combined with going back to work. When she returned to full-time work, the pain in her chest was “like a truck was parked on my chest.” Her doctor ordered x-rays and blood work that showed fluid around her left lung.
She was sent to United Hospital in St. Paul where the fluid was drained and a CT scan was done. They found a mass the size of an orange so she had a needle biopsy done and, on November 21, 2005, she was told she had mesothelioma. Her options were 1) to do nothing and live for perhaps 15 months; 2) try radiation and chemotherapy or 3) go to Boston to see Dr. Sugarbaker at Brighams and Women’s Hospital.
She went to Boston and had radical surgery on February 2, 2006. The surgery removed her left lung, several lymph nodes, a rib, half her diaphragm and some of her heart lining. When she returned home in May she started chemotherapy every 3 weeks for 12 weeks. It’s been 2 years since she ended treatment except for periodic scans. So far she has been mesothelioma free.
Dr. David Sugarbaker, who heads the International Mesothelioma Program at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, said Von St. James is a shining example of the progress he is beginning to see in the fight against a disease that traditionally carried a maximum survival of 12 to 18 months.
Von St. James claims she is cured and that she is a poster child that says there is hope even after such a diagnosis. Dr. Sugarbaker only will say that “right now in this present moment she is disease-free.”
Von St. James has filed a lawsuit against Ainsworth-Benning and others and is waiting for the court to set a trial date.
No Comments » | Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, Treatment, lawsuits | Tagged: Mesothelioma, mesothelioma treatment, mesothelioma lawsuit, Brigham and Womens Hospital, United Hospital, International Mesothelioma Program | Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
August 13, 2008
Marvin Penn was diagnosed with mesothelioma and, in June, was awarded a 16 million dollar verdict in an asbestos-related lawsuit. This is believed to the first asbestos lawsuit that named a dental tape manufacturer as a defendant.
Marvin was a postal carrier who was thinking of changing jobs in the 1960’s so he enrolled in a dental technician school. There he was exposed to asbestos in making dental castings because the dental tape used contained asbestos.
Initially, there were two dental tape manufacturers named in the suit but one, Dentsply, settled before the verdict. Twenty percent of the liability was assigned to Dentsply; another twenty percent was assigned to Kerr Corporation, the other dental tape manufacturer.
Penn also worked at a post office near the World Trade Center and was there at a time when the building was being sprayed with an asbestos spray. The jury attributed 40 percent of the liability to the spray.
The remaining 20 percent of the liability was assigned to Todd Shipyards where Penn’s father had worked as a steamfitter. Therefore, Penn had risk of secondary asbestos exposure.
Interesting case and verdict. Who would have thought that dental tape contained asbestos? Another point made in this decision is how even the secondary asbestos exposure can lead to lung disease such as mesothelioma and asbestosis.
No Comments » | Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits, verdict | Tagged: asbestos exposure, Asbestos Litigation, Asbestosis, dental tape, Mesothelioma, mesothelioma treatment, secondary asbestos exposure | Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
June 3, 2008
A three-judge panel of the New Jersey Superior Court has determined that Spanish citizens who worked on U.S. Navy warships while docked in Spain can bring suit in the U.S. for the illnesses brought on by their asbestos exposure.
The plaintiffs, 15 Spanish citizens, contend that their illnesses developed because they worked on the navy vessels between 1950 and 1998. Suit is being brought against Owens-Illinois which manufactured the asbestos-based insulation in 2 plants in New Jersey.
Lawyers for Owens-Corning had argued that the case should be heard in a Spanish court and apparently had received a decision in their favor. This current ruling overturns that and sends the case back to Superior Court for trial.
In overturning the earlier ruling, the judges found that, wherever they are docked, Navy warships are considered U.S. territory and liability for the plaintiffs’ exposure should therefore be heard in a U.S. court, not a Spanish one.
This is significant and if the ruling sticks could mean many more mesothelioma lawsuits brought by foreign citizens in our courts.
No Comments » | Asbestos, Court, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits | Tagged: asbestos illness, Asbestosis, Mesothelioma, mesothelioma lawsuit, navy ships, New Jersey Superior Court, overseas asbestos exposure, owens-corning | Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
May 31, 2008
Having received a jury verdict of twelve million dollars, James Grumley has settled with Garlock Sealing Technologies for a confidential amount. Grumley was diagnosed with malignant pleura mesothelioma in 2006 after having worked for decades as a boiler mechanic at a Johnsonburg paper mill. For all those years he was exposed to asbestos on the boilers as well as the asbestos gaskets and rope packing.
“Jim Grumley’s cancer was entirely preventable. Asbestos was just too
profitable for Garlock. The worst thing about it is that instead of
promptly eliminating asbestos from their gaskets and packing once they knew
what asbestos could do, Garlock chose to spend decades devising ways to
cover up the cancers its asbestos products cause,” said
attorney John Langdoc.
“It breaks my heart because he did everything right,” said his son Bob.
“He raised us, he educated us, he labored for us. He did everything right
and he shouldn’t have to go through what he’s going through. No man, no
person should have to go through what’s facing him.”
No Comments » | Asbestos, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, lawsuits, verdict | Tagged: asbestos boiler insulation, Lung Cancer, Mesothelioma, mesothelioma lawsuit, mesothelioma verdict | Permalink
Posted by Dave Austin
