Asbestos News Roundup: 6.18.10

June 18th, 2010. By LucyC

A roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Charleston, WV:  The executrix of the estate of man who was diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma and subsequently died of it has filed a lawsuit naming 60 defendant companies as contributing to her husband’s untimely death.  

Doris Hunt is the wife of George F. Hunt, who died Feb. 19, 2010. Mr. Hunt was employed by Union Carbide from 1947 until 1987 as a laborer, according to the complaint, which also states that on September 29, 2009, Mr. Hunt was diagnosed with mesothelioma.

The defendants are being sued for negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn, according to the suit. (westvirginiarecord.com)

 

Madison County, IL: A total of 14 new asbestos cases were filed in Madison County between May 24 and 28, 2010. Among the suits is a complaint filed by Raymond and Carolyn Haske of Michigan who allege that Raymond developed mesothelioma after his work from 1971 to 2007 as a laborer, heavy equipment operator, pipefitter and mechanic helper.

Marty J. Keay of Illinois, is also among the people who have filed suits. He was self-employed as a home repairer and remodeler from 1965 until 1971; a field worker for the Booneville State Training School Read the rest of this entry »

BP Oil Spill Fix #13 – Psychological Warfare?

June 17th, 2010. By AbiK

Here’s an idea on how to fix the BP Oil Spill: hit ’em where it hurts. It’s like some sort of psychological warfare tactic whereby winning the war comes not by committing excessive force on the ground (or in this case, in the water) but by playing mind games—finding your opponent’s mental weak spot. Though this one lacks the imagery conjured up by, say, being forced to listen to non-stop bagpipe music, I’m sure many of you would enjoy seeing it none the less. Robert P. seems pretty confident he’s found the solution—and I tend to agree with him. Here’s what he has to say:

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #13

“Start charging the management of BP personally one million dollars a day. If this was charged to them today it would be fixed tomorrow morning.”

Short, sweet and effective. Exemplary use of emotional intelligence. And, not only preemptive but also highly punitive. A two-birds-with-one-stone kind of solution.

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Thanks Robert P.!

BP Oil Spill Fix #12 – Expanding Sealant

June 17th, 2010. By AbiK

This one’s sort of like a virtual brainstorming session. Scott P. sent in a follow-up idea on how to fix the mess in the Gulf by adding onto a previously submitted idea (Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #7, to be precise). As a refresher, this was what Caleb had said then:

“I believe that capping the well permanently is a very viable idea. In Geotechnical Engineering a technique for oceanic foundations design utilizes Suction Piles. They are very large cylinders which are floated to locations, filled with water, sunken into place, water is pumped out, and they are “sucked” down into the ocean bottom. They are large cylinders which could be used to cap the area which is discharging excessive volumes of crude oil into the gulf. This is a relatively expensive process, but with the bounds that have been made and the relatively low success rate, I think that some sort of Suction Pile retrofit would be a possible solution.”

This is what Scott P. now adds for consideration as a fix for the BP Oil Spill disaster…

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #12

“The other option is to maintain the cap size, retro fit them with quick connect couplers, just like you see on air guns. Possibly suck some of the water out of the caps. Through the quick connect couplers inject urethane grout. It is water activated, expands like “Stuff” that you use in your home to seal air gaps. Same concept. The thought is it would expand and eventually into the leak itself (path of least resistance once the cap was filled). The cap would obviously have to be permanent.
 
Possible drawbacks, at 5000 feet would the water temp be so cold that the urethane may not activate? Another unknown is the effect of the oily water on urethane. In my applications the water source was always natural groundwater that we would try to prevent from leaking. But just a idea, a expert in urethane could answer those questions and along with a engineer on site could decide if this even has a chance of working.”

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Thanks Scott P.!

Flip Side of Bad Faith Insurance: Gravy Train Claims

June 17th, 2010. By Hunter West

Everybody likes to beat up on insurance companies for denying legitimate claims. And they should be taken to task for such behavior. Americans buy insurance policies in an effort to do the right thing, so as not to leave their families vulnerable in the event they are injured or incapacitated in some way. They pay their premiums faithfully, according to the tenets outlined in the policy. 

When they get hurt, it is their right by law and contract to receive what they have paid for. Shame on any insurer that attempts to pull the rug out from under honest, law-abiding policyholders. Unum, notably, has in the past been accused of grievous examples of bad faith practices—allegations that in some cases have borne out to become fact. 

But it goes the other way too, ya know. There are those who attempt to take the insurance companies to the cleaners. While a wary eye cast for the n’er-do-well should not result in ill treatment of legitimate claimants, you would be amazed at what some people will do to pull a fast one on the insurers, rather than the other way around. 

Take the case of Wanda Podgurski aka Wanda Lee Ann Plager of Manhattan Beach, California. According to an investigation carried out by the California Department of Insurance (CDI), Podgurski took out no fewer than six insurance policies with six different carriers. 

Long-term care polices were purchased from Prudential Group Insurance, Kanawha Insurance, Unum Life Insurance Co. and Metropolitan Insurance Co. 

She didn’t stop there. Podgurski also took out disability income policies with Balboa Insurance Read the rest of this entry »

Whatever Happened to that Zicam Securities Lawsuit?

June 16th, 2010. By AbiK

Wrong time of year to be thinking about Zicam, but hey, legal decisions happen when they happen. And so it was for Zicam earlier this week when the US Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to consider the challenge Zicam-maker Matrixx Initiatives Inc. is bringing against the lawsuit that claimed Matrixx had failed to inform investors of its little loss-of-smell issue.

The Zicam securities lawsuit, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, has been going on now since 2005—it was first thrown out and then just last year (when it became a hot news topic again) it was reinstated by an appeals court.

But this isn’t about noses that can no longer smell—well, sort of. It’s about the fact that even though Matrixx apparently knew of some “adverse event” reports (i.e., 12 reports between 1999 and 2003 of folks who claimed to have lost their sense of smell after Zicam use), the company still marketed the over-the-counter sniffle reliever in a positive light—no hint of any potential problems regarding ability to smell. And, the plaintiffs have gone as far as to claim that the marketing statements made by Matrixx were false and misleading and—here’s what’s at the crux of this—inflated the stock price of the company.

So, as you can see, for these plaintiffs, it’s not about personal injury; it’s about securities.

Needless to say, Matrixx is countering the above allegations saying that the adverse event reports were not statistically significant enough, and that no true causal relationship had been established, so what’s the beef? (beef being my word, not thatof Matrixx, of course). The petition Matrixx submitted to the Supreme Court also states Matrixx’s position that reinstating this lawsuit “would have immense consequences for the pharmaceutical industry, potentially making companies liable for securities violations if they didn’t disclose even small numbers of adverse-incident reports.”

So that’s the latest, and now that the Court has agreed to consider Matrixx’s challenge, WSJreports that oral arguments will most likely begin in the fall. Hmm, just in time for cold season…