Settlement Archive

Asbestos News Roundup: 3.15.13 – Who’s At Risk for Asbestos Disease?

March 15th, 2013. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Exposure—Who’s at Risk?

This week, a $7.5 million asbestos lawsuit settlement concerning a construction worker who developed a highly aggressive cancer after his exposure to asbestos, made the news. The plaintiff, who was not named, brought the lawsuit against several of the companies that manufactured the materials.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the plaintiff was a construction worker helping install underground water and sewer lines beneath the Sacramento Valley city of Chico. His job involved working with pipes made from a concrete-asbestos compound, which he would cut with a gasoline-powered saw. The cutting generated an enormous amount of cement-asbestos dust, which left the plaintiff covered head to toe by the end of the day. The plaintiff was later diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer, also rare except where attributable to asbestos exposure.

But construction workers aren’t the only trades at increased risk for asbestos disease. According to information posted by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), workers in the following areas can be exposed to asbestos:

• Brake repair mechanic

• Carpenter

• Demolition worker

• Dry wall finisher

• Electrician

• Insulation installer

• Miner

• Pipe or steam fitter

• Plumber

• Roofer

• Shipyard worker

• Vermiculite processing plant worker

• Welder

Additionally, the ATSDR states that outdoor workers, such as construction workers, landscapers, and excavators might be exposed to naturally occurring asbestos found above the ground through activities that crush asbestos-containing rock or stir up dust in soils that contain asbestos.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Fonda, NY: The family of a recently deceased man who spent part of his career as a plumber has filed an asbestos lawsuit against a local plumbing company, alleging the company is responsible for his death from asbestos mesothelioma resulting from his repeated contact with asbestos.

Josephine Jaworski, the widow of Joseph Jaworski, filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and her late husband’s estate. The defendant is A. Mormile Plumbing & Heating of Amsterdam. Among the claims in the lawsuit are wrongful death, negligence and loss of consortium.

According to a report in the LeaderHerald.com, “This is the second lawsuit Josephine Jaworski has filed against the company. A similar lawsuit claiming negligence filed in state Supreme Court in Johnstown in June 2011 named more than 100 other defendants, including CBS, Ford, General Electric, Goodyear and Sears, but the case was disposed before coming to trial, according to court records.

According to his obituary, Joseph Jaworski was 83 years old when he died July 17, 2011—less than a month after the first lawsuit was filed.

Neither lawsuit specifies when Jaworski was employed by A. Mormile Plumbing & Heating. The 2011 lawsuit says “for a period of many years” Jaworski was exposed to asbestos “while working in various shipyards, steel mills, refineries, paper mills, chemical plants, industrial sites and other facilities” or was exposed through normal use of asbestos products.” (leaderherald.com)

Charleston, WV: 70 companies have been named as defendants in an asbestos lawsuit filed by James E. Preston and his wife, Nancy J. Preston. The Prestons claim that the defendants are responsible for Mr. Preston’s diagnosis of asbestosis. He was diagnosed on June 27, 2011.

The lawsuit states that during his employment as a laborer and instrument maintenance worker from 1953 until 1997, Mr. Preston was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products.

The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the lawsuit.

The 70 defendants named in the suit include: 3M Company; 4520 Corporation, Inc.; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Allied Chemical Corporation; A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; American Electric Power; American Electric Power Service Corporation; Appalachian Power Company; and Aurora Pump Company.

Charleston, WV: 73 companies are being sued in an asbestos lawsuit filed by John William Taylor, who alleges the defendants are responsible for his lung injury.

Taylor was diagnosed with a lung injury on July 24, 2012. Taylor and his wife Carol allege the defendants exposed him to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during his career as a laborer, maintenance worker and electrician from 1955 until 1988.

The Taylors claim the defendants are being sued for negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentations and post-sale duty to warn.

Certain defendants are also being sued as premises owners and as John Taylor’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the suit.

The 73 defendants include: A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; 3M Company; Allegheny Energy Service Corporation; American Electric Power Company, Inc.; American Electric Power Service Corporation; Appalachian Power Company; Aurora Pump Company; Beazer East; and Borg-Warner Corporation.

Asbestos Settlements

Los Angeles, CA: A construction worker who developed a highly aggressive cancer after his exposure to asbestos, has resolved his asbestos lawsuit against the defendant companies for $7.5 million prior to trial. The plaintiff brought suit against several of the companies that manufactured the materials. The defendants severally denied liability.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the plaintiff was a construction worker helping install underground water and sewer lines beneath the Sacramento Valley city of Chico. His job involved working with pipes made from a concrete-asbestos compound, which he would cut with a gasoline-powered saw. The cutting generated an enormous amount of cement-asbestos dust, which left the plaintiff covered head to toe by the end of the day. The plaintiff was later diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive form of cancer, also rare except where attributable to asbestos exposure.

The plaintiff filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, seeking damages on a defective product liability action. The plaintiff sought recovery of medical expenses, lost wages, and non-economic recovery. The defendants named were several companies who manufactured, sold or delivered the asbestos-containing pipes the plaintiff worked with, including Parex USA, Westburne Supply, John K. Bice Co., Los Angeles Rubber, Hajoca Corp., Hanson Permanente Cement, Keenan, Properties, J-M Manufacturing, Certainteed Corp., Ferguson Enterprises, Grinnell Corp., Amcord, Ameron International and Calportland.

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos law, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 3.8.13 – Second-Hand Asbestos Risk

March 8th, 2013. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Disease Risk for Family Members

The recent case of a woman in her 70s who died from mesothelioma has highlighted how asbestos dust represented a danger not just to those who worked in heavy industry, but also to their wives and children.

The 78-year old women succumbed to asbestos mesothelioma which she developed as a result of having breathed in second-hand asbestos fibers as she shook out the work clothes of her husband and son, who worked at a power station.

There are many cases of family members developing asbestos disease as a result of secondary asbestos exposure—secondary exposure caused, for example, by wives beating their husband’s dusty overalls as they hung on a washing line, or shaking them off in a doorway before putting them in a washing machine. Their husbands worked in industries such as mining, ship-building, construction, plumbing and electrical.

Children and even grandchildren have also been put at risk, running up to a returning parent to give them a hug as they return from work, or sitting on their knee as they wear their dusty work clothes. The risk of loved ones being accidentally exposed is unfortunate and just adds to the tragic legacy of asbestos. But as this latest case shows, it is something that family members need to be made aware of.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: A couple from Kentucky has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 57 companies they allege are responsible for Arthur Benjamin Jr.’s recent diagnosis of asbestosis.

Mr. Benjamin Jr. was diagnosed with asbestosis on August 20, 2012.

Benjamin and his wife, Jackie L. Benjamin, allege the defendants exposed Mr. Benjamin to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products during his career as a laborer from 1968 until 2001.

The defendants are being sued based upon the theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn. Certain defendants are also being sued as premises owners and as Arthur Benjamin’s employers for deliberate intent/ intentional tort, according to the lawsuit.

The 57 defendants in the suit include: 3M Company; A.K. Steel Corporation; Ashland, Inc.; A.W. Chesterton Company; Amdura Corporation; Bucyrus International, Inc.; CBS Corporation; Caterpillar, Inc.; Clark Equipment Company; and Certainteed Corporation

Asbestos Settlements

New York, NY: A $35 million settlement has been reached in an asbestos personal injury lawsuit brought by Ivo John Peraica, an asbestos removal worker who died in December from cancer caused by asbestos. The New York Supreme Court jury that heard Peraica’s case returned its verdict Friday, awarding the multi-million dollar settlement to the Croatian-born worker.

Peraica, of Queens, worked for eight years for New York-area contractors removing asbestos insulation from boilers, pumps, and other equipment. He died from complications related to Mesothelioma, a cancer whose only known cause is exposure to toxic asbestos fibers.

Peraica was represented by mass tort and personal injury lawyers Jerry Kristal, Adam Cooper, and Danny R. Kraft, Jr. of the firm Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C. The lawsuit claimed that Peraica’s disease was caused by years of inhaling the asbestos dust stirred up each time he stripped asbestos insulation from the equipment at his jobsites—equipment which, according to testimony, was devoid of any warnings about the dangers of asbestos.

The sole defendant at the time of the verdict—industrial products manufacturer Crane Co—argued that other companies and even Peraica himself were responsible for his exposure to asbestos, but the jury ultimately heaped blame on the Stamford, CN-based company, saying it had acted with reckless disregard for consumers’ safety.

Peraica, a Local 12 Heat and Frost Insulators union member, worked removing asbestos for almost a decade: from the week he moved his family to New York from Croatia in 1978 until he stopped doing asbestos removal work in 1986. Peraica’s widow, Milica, survives him, as do three daughters, one of whom testified at trial to her father’s pain and suffering.

Peraica was unable to testify in person, but before he died on December 28, provided four days’ worth of deposition testimony that Weitz & Luxenberg’s trial team was able to read into evidence.

By the time Peraica’s trial was underway, he was too sick to take part in it. Kraft, a lawyer in Weitz & Luxenberg’s asbestos unit, told the jury Peraica was “a fighter” who would do anything it took to testify in his trial, but likely would be unable to as he quickly deteriorated under medical care.

“This verdict is important because it shows we reached the jury,” Kraft said. “We were able to impress upon them how important it is to hold companies accountable for failing to protect workers like Mr. Peraica. Companies like Crane Co. made millions knowing that workers handling their products would come in contact with asbestos, but never provided warnings. What’s even more alarming is that Crane Co. admitted at trial to having knowledge about the dangers of asbestos that dates to the 1930s. Weitz & Luxenberg isn’t comfortable with that fact, and I don’t think the jury was either.”

Peraica’s case began as a consolidated trial of seven plaintiffs against a number of large corporate defendants. By the time the jury began deliberations, the other plaintiffs and defendants had resolved their cases, leaving only Peraica and his claim against Crane Co.

The trial was held in New York State Supreme Court before Justice Martin Schulman.

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos law, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 2.7.13 – Storm Damage Asbestos Problems

February 7th, 2013. By LucyC

This week’s asbestos news roundup includes all the recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Storm Damage and Asbestos Risk

This week, the US House completed a $60.2 billion aid plan to rebuild communities damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The measure includes $17 billion to meet the immediate needs of Sandy victims in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and $33.5 billion for long-term reconstruction.

Hurricane Sandy destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of homes and businesses on the Eastern seaboard when it struck on October 29, 2012. Many of those structures were old enough to contain asbestos, and this poses a significant danger to clean-up and remediation crews, as well as homeowners who may attempt repairs on their own.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns that asbestos may be found in a wide variety of construction items, and states that cleanup at homes and businesses after a natural disaster can cause people to be exposed to asbestos containing materials found in:

• Boiler/pipe insulation

• Fireproofing

• Floor tiles

• Roofing shingles and tiles

• Transite boards used in laboratory tabletops and in acoustic panels in auditoriums, music rooms and phone booths.

Asbestos Settlements

Seattle, WA: An 89-year-old woman has been awarded $1.1 million settlement after a jury agreed that exposure to asbestos from her husband’s work clothes caused her to contract a rare form of cancer that will likely lead to her death.

Phyllis Granville brought the case against 13 defendants, claiming they negligently manufactured and sold floor tiles that were unsafe because they contained asbestos. According to court documents, her husband, Donald Granville, a floor tile installer, was exposed to asbestos from the defendants’ products while at work, which he in turn brought home on his clothes and exposed his wife of 70 years to.

“This was an extraordinarily difficult case to bring to trial, and we are very pleased we were able to provide the Granvilles some measure of financial security while they fight the effects of this horrible disease,” Matthew Bergman, the Granvilles’ attorney, said. “In most cases, mesothelioma victims had direct exposure to asbestos. While the science is clear that people like Donald can bring it home on clothes and transmit it through hugging his wife, or having her wash his clothes, these concepts are much more difficult to illustrate to a jury.”

According to Bergman, the asbestos-related mesothelioma has had a devastating effect on Phyllis, rendering her unable to breathe without oxygen, leaving her homebound. Her physicians expect that the disease, which surrounds and ultimately obliterates the lung, will be fatal.

“I never imagined Donald’s work would ever end up giving me cancer,” said Phyllis. “The manufacturers didn’t warn him about the risk of bringing asbestos home with him. It’s hard enough for us to start battling my mesothelioma, but now Donald is afraid he’s going to contract it too. We’re so thankful Bergman Draper Ladenburg helped us to get the verdict.”

The case was filed with the Seattle King County Court in September 2012, where the case spent four weeks at trial throughout January 2013. After careful deliberation, the jury reached a final verdict of $1.1 million to be paid to Granville and her husband.

According to Bergman, the verdict represents a crucial development in asbestos litigation. “The jury recognized that demonstrable harm has been done to asbestos victims,” said Bergman. “But more importantly, the verdict shows that asbestos exposure has significantly impacted people who were not present at contaminated work sites at all. We believe that the sites had a present imperative to warn their employees about the risk of asbestos contact and also subsequent dispersion.” (fortmilltimes.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Redondo Beach, CA: A landmark on the Redondo beach waterfront, instantly recognizable by its octagon shape, is slated for demolition because it contains asbestos. Built on the beach waterfront 34 years ago, the City Council voted to tear it down recently, citing storm damage and corrosive ocean air rendering the building unusable.

The council acted Tuesday night on a recommendation by Public Works Director Michael Witzansky, who reported that the city-owned building, which has been boarded up for years, was in imminent danger of falling down.

The building’s condition worsened significantly after recent wind storms, Witzansky reported. “The wind storms tore off some wood paneling that we had put it place a few years ago and that gave us a look at what was going on inside and it was not good,” he said.

City building inspectors determined that the condition of the building posed significant danger to the public and surrounding structures, he said. The demolition will include disposal of a small amount of asbestos, Witzansky said. “The building will come down quickly, but the removal of the debris will take some time,” he said. The building has been empty for at least eight years. (dailybreeze.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos law, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 1.31.13 – Construction Materials & Asbestos Risk

January 31st, 2013. By LucyC

This week’s asbestos news roundup includes all the recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Construction Materials and Asbestos Risk

Many of the materials used in construction, including welding, pipefitting, and millwright work, contained, or in some cases still contain asbestos. By the mid-20th century asbestos was being used in fire retardant coatings, concrete, bricks, pipes and fireplace cement, heat, fire, and acid resistant gaskets, pipe insulation, ceiling insulation, fireproof drywall, flooring, roofing, lawn furniture, and drywall joint compound.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the knowledge of the dangers of asbestos exposure and related asbestos disease became more widely known amongst the general public. Consequently, millions of men and women likely worked on or around asbestos without any protection for decades.

It would not be uncommon for people to work with asbestos-containing products, either installing or removing them, which would send asbestos fibers into the air. The fibers are inhaled, and settle on people’s clothing—and that’s how asbestos disease begins. People who become ill from asbestos are usually exposed to it on a regular basis, hence the hundreds of asbestos lawsuits we are seeing now.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Jefferson County, TX: Union Pacific Railroad Co, is facing an asbestos lawsuit filed by employees who allege they developed asbestos-related lung disease due to decades’ worth of work-related exposure.

The plaintiffs, Henry J. Buckley, Gilbert A. Curtis, Ronald Morale, Jesse Sasser Jr. and Walter Williams III were employed as track laborers by Union Pacific from various times starting from 1969 to approximately 2012. In their lawsuit, the men claim that during their employment they were exposed to asbestos and asbestos-containing materials and have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related lung disease.

The defendant is accused of negligence for using asbestos-containing materials for decades after Union Pacific became aware of the harmful and/or hazardous nature of these materials; failing to inspect and remove its cars and equipment for the presence of asbestos; failing to warn the plaintiffs regarding the presence of asbestos or of the synergistic effect between smoking and asbestos exposure; failing to properly train the plaintiffs, failing to provide proper respirators or to conduct air monitoring to determine the levels of asbestos; failing to provide comprehensive medical examinations; and failing to medically monitor plaintiffs for asbestos-related conditions.

The plaintiffs are seeking an award of damages for medical expenses, mental anguish, physical pain and suffering, fear of cancer, physical impairment, interest and court costs. (setexasrecord.com)

Baton Rouge, LA: Melvin Toups has filed an asbestos lawsuit against his former employer, Ethyl Corporation, as well as manufacturers Anco Insulations, Inc., Eagle, Inc., Georgia Pacific Corporation, The McCarty Corporation, Reilly-Benton Co., Inc., Taylor-Seindenbach, Inc. and Union Carbide Corporation. Toups alleges he was exposed to the asbestos between the 1950s-70s while he worked as a boiler tender, operator and construction contractor, and it was this asbestos exposure that caused his lung cancer.

According to the lawsuit, each defendant named has allegedly engaged in the mining, processing, manufacturing, installation, maintenance, sale, use and/or distribution of asbestos and asbestos-containing products or machinery requiring or calling for the use of asbestos.

Toups alleges he was exposed to asbestos on numerous occasions and inhaled great quantities of asbestos fibers.

The defendants allegedly failed to warn Toups in a timely and adequate fashion about the dangerous health hazards associated with asbestos exposure. Further, the lawsuit claims the defendants failed to provide Toups with adequate information and reasonably safe and sufficient wearing apparel and proper protective equipment and appliances.

Additionally, the lawsuit states the defendants failed to take reasonable precautions or exercise reasonable care to publish, adopt or enforce a safety plan of handling and installing asbestos; failed to develop and utilize a substance material to eliminate asbestos fibers in the asbestos-containing products; failed to properly design and manufacture asbestos; failed to properly test products; and failed to recall and/remove asbestos-containing products from the stream of commerce.

The plaintiff’s employers and employers’ executive officers and directors are accused of failing to provide and ensure a safe workplace for their employees, failing to inspect, approve and supervise the work of the plaintiff, failing to make health and hygiene decision on any questions regarding the use of respiratory protection devices, failing to provide adequate warnings, physical examinations, safety equipment, ventilation and breathing apparatus, failing to properly hire and train their employees and failing to comply with applicable state and federal regulations regarding workplace asbestos exposure.

Toups alleges Ethyl Corporation specifically negligently failed to disclose, warn or reveal critical medical and safety information regarding asbestos to the plaintiff; failed to remove asbestos hazards from the work place; failed to properly supervise or monitor work areas for compliance with safety regulation; and failed to provide a safe and suitable means of eliminating the amount of asbestos dust in the air.

Toups is alleging negligence, fault, strict liability and willful misconduct of the defendants has resulted in his asbestos-related disease.

Toups is seeking an unspecified amount in damages for physical pain, mental anguish, medical expenses, pharmaceutical expenses, asbestos-related lung cancer, loss of earning capacity, lost earnings, loss of consortium, love affection, services and society and loss of quality of life. (louisianarecord.com)

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos law, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 1.10.13 – Second Hand Asbestos

January 10th, 2013. By LucyC

This week’s asbestos news roundup includes all the recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Second-Hand or Take Home Asbestos Exposure

Recently, it has become apparent that people can be affected by asbestos-caused diseases through secondary or passive exposure.

Also known as second-hand asbestos exposure or “take home” asbestos exposure, passive asbestos exposure refers to exposure to asbestos fibers that become embedded on a person’s clothing or in their hair—from either another person who has been in direct contact with asbestos or from indirect circumstantial exposure to asbestos.

For example, cases of second-hand asbestos exposure were recently reported by wives and children of men who worked in the shipyards in World War II. The workers were exposed to large amounts of damaged or “friable” asbestos while on the job, and their wives became came ill following exposure to asbestos fibers that had become lodged in the workers’ clothing. Over the years, the constant inhalation of these fibers resulted in the development of asbestos-related diseases. Case in point, the recently filed asbestos lawsuit concerning Gladys W. Williams, highlighted below.

And there have been asbestos lawsuits filed by children of men who worked around asbestos, and who developed asbestos-related illnesses.

Secondary asbestos exposure is also possible by living in a community or area located near an asbestos mine or a company that manufactures asbestos or products containing asbestos. Many older buildings may also contain asbestos insulation, including schools.

Asbestos Lawsuit

Jefferson County, TX: Roger Young, representing the estate of Melissa Young, has filed an asbestos lawsuit alleging Ms. Young was routinely exposed to asbestos due to her father’s employment at area facilities. The lawsuit names Chevron USA and Owens-Illinois as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, Melissa’s father worked as welder at the Chevron refinery, where he was exposed to asbestos. He then brought the asbestos home on his work clothes, exposing his daughter.

The lawsuit alleges Chevron was negligent in exposing workers to asbestos and failing to warn them of the health dangers. Young also claims Owens-Illinois was negligently manufacturing and selling asbestos products, and therefore alleges the defendants acted with malice, entitling him to exemplary damages.

St. Clair County, IL: Michael Dithmart has filed an asbestos lawsuit against 64 defendant corporations which, he alleges caused his recently deceased mother, Pauline Dithmart, to develop lung cancer after her exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout her career. Mrs. Dithmart died September 17, 2011, according the lawsuit states.

According to the lawsuit, Pauline Dithmart worked as a presser at The Garment Company from 1962 until 1970, as a laborer at Northwest Fabric Store in the late 1960s, as a bender at Collis Company from the late 1960s until the early 1970s and as a seed counter at Burpee’s Seed Company from the late 1970s until the early 1980.

The lawsuit also states that Dithmart was also secondarily exposed to asbestos fibers through her husband, Dale Dithmart, who worked as an engineer and fireman in the US Navy from 1944 until 1946, as a farm hand at Tom Anderson’s farm in 1944, as an apprentice machinist and a lathe operator at Climax Engineering company from in 1946, as an apprentice brick mason at Don Herring Construction Company from 1946 until 1950, as a member of the Bricklayers, Masons and Plasters International Union of America from 1946 until 1985, as a brick mason and foreman for Clinton Corn from 1955 until 1982 and as a security officer at Wells Fargo from 1983 until 1989.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for the plaintiff’s safety.

As a result of her asbestos-related disease, Pauline Dithmart incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the complaint says. In addition, she became prevented from pursuing her normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued to her, her son claims.

In his complaint, Michael Dithmart is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, economic damages of more than $200,000, compensatory damages of more than $100,000, punitive and exemplary damages of more than $100,000 and punitive damages in an amount sufficient to punish various defendants for their wrongdoing.

Asbestos Hot Spots

Berea, OH: A criminal investigation has been launched against a small religious school following reports that several dozen teenage students and others volunteered over several weekends to gut a building containing asbestos.

Some of the students involved were as young as 13. They reportedly removed asbestos-filled materials without any protective gear at the former YWCA on Smith Road in Middleburg Heights, said Cleveland Commissioner of Air Quality George Baker, who also works with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

According to Baker, state regulations require that asbestos be removed from a building owner by certified asbestos removal contractors.

Darren Clink, who lives next door to the former YWCA, shot video footage of the illegal removal. The video shows a large cloud of dust dispersing in the air after debris was dropped into a dumpster.

“The entire site was contaminated with asbestos and the people who were doing it were all children,” said Clink. “The kids were loaded with it.”

Sterling Education, the company that oversees the school, runs 35 schools nationwide.

The Ohio EPA began investigating after receiving a complaint in early December, said Ron Fodo, an Ohio EPA criminal investigator who declined further comment because the case was in its early stages.

When regulators visited the site on Dec. 13, they found three dumpsters filled with debris believed to contain asbestos, as well as potentially contaminated material strewn about the property, according to Ohio EPA inspection reports. (wkyc.com)

 

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos law, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma
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