Posts Tagged ‘ asbestos lawsuit ’

Asbestos News Roundup: 1.27.12

January 27th, 2012. 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 Lawsuits

St. Clair County, IL: Betty Ruth Rhodes, who has been diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer, has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 65 corporations as defendants. Rhodes claims in her lawsuit that the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for the plaintiff’s safety.

In her lawsuit, Rhodes alleges the defendant companies caused her to develop lung cancer after her exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout her career. According to the complaint, Rhodes worked as a laborer from 1958 until 1990 at Borg Warner in Illinois, at Speedway Manufacturing in Illinois and at Rhodes Camper Sale.

Rhodes further claims she was secondarily exposed to asbestos fibers through her father and husband, who would bring them home on his clothes after work. Rhodes’s father worked as a laborer at International Harvester in Illinois while her husband worked as a millwright from 1956 until 1970 at Reynolds Metal Company, as a millwright at ITT from 1970 until 1972 and as a millwright at Alcoa from 1972 until 1992, according to the lawsuit.

As a result of her asbestos-related disease, Rhodes became disabled and disfigured, incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the complaint says. Furthermore, 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, she alleges.

In her nine-count complaint, Rhodes is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000, compensatory damages of more than $100,000, economic damages of more than $150,000 and punitive and exemplary damages of more than $150,000, plus other relief the court deems just. (Madisonrecord.com)

Jefferson County, TX: An asbestos lawsuit has been filed by the family of the late Robert Marze against Chevron and Texaco, alleging the companies exposed him to the carcinogen throughout his career, and that exposure resulted in his untimely death.

In their lawsuit, Doris Marze and her children claim Robert Marze was employed by Texaco in Port Arthur, where he was allegedly exposed to asbestos.

As the result of his alleged exposure, Robert Marze developed pulmonary asbestosis, which caused his death on August 20.

The suit alleges the defendants knew for decades that asbestos caused cancer but still exposed employees to the substance without warning them. (SETexasrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: 190 companies have been named as defendants in eight separate asbestos lawsuits filed by 15 defendants.

George E. Bickerstaff and Carolyn Bickerstaff; Melva J. Devore, executrix of the Estate of Melvin E. Carpenter; Barbara Ford, executrix of the Estate of James Fife; David T. Gorrell Jr. and Mary J. Gorrell; Paul R. Groves and Mary Ellen Groves; Eulonda Haley; David K. Harris and Linda Harris; George W. Kokos and Maryann Kokos; and Michael Tennant and Cheryl Tennant are suing the 190 defendants for lung injuries caused by exposure to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing materials, according to the complaints.

The plaintiffs claim the defendants are responsible for asbestosis and lung cancer sustained by Bickerstaff, Carpenter, Fife, David Gorrell, Paul Groves, Haley and David Harris, and asbestosis sustained by George Kokos and Michael Tennant.

The suit alleges the defendants failed to warn the plaintiffs of the dangers of the asbestos products when they knew or should have known that exposure to asbestos-containing products would cause disease and injury.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants also failed to exercise reasonable care to warn them and inform the plaintiffs of safe and sufficient apparel for a person exposed to asbestos to wear or use.

The 190 defendants named in the suit are: 20th Century Glove Corporation of Texas; 4520 Corp., Inc.; Air & Liquid Systems Corporation; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Alliance Machine Company; Allied Glove Corporation; Ametek, Inc.; Anderson Greenwood & Co.; Andritz, Inc.; Armstrong International, Inc.; Armstrong Pumps, Inc.; Ashland, Inc.; Atlas Industries, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Bayer Corporation; Bayer Cropscience, Lp; Beazer East, Inc.; Bechtel Corporation; Borg-Warner Corporation; Bp Amoco Chemical Company; Bp Products North America, Inc.; Brand Insulations, Inc.; Burnham Holdings, Inc.; Cabot Corporation; Cameron International Corporation; Canadianoxy Offshore Production Company; Cashco, Inc.; Catalytic Construction Company; CBS Corporation; Century Aluminum Company; Certainteed Corporation; Chevron U.S.A., Inc.; the Cincinnati Gasket, Packing & Mfc, Inc.; Cleaver-Brooks, Inc.; Columbian Chemicals Company; Columbus McKinnon Corporation; Cooper Industries, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Coppus Turbines; Corbesco, Inc.; Crane Company, Inc.; Dana Corporation; Degussa Corporation; Dezurik, Inc.; Dow Chemical Company; Dravo Corporation; E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Company; Eaton Corporation; Eichleay Corporation; F.B. Wright Company; the Fairbanks Company; Fairmont Supply Company; Flowserve U.S., Inc., and its Byron Jackson Pump Division; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve Fsd Corporation, F/K/A/ Durametallic Corp.; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve FSD Corporation, as successor to Edward Valves, Inc.; Flowserve U.S., Inc., F/K/A Flowserve FSD Corporation, as successor to Valtek International; Flsmidth Inc.; Flsmidth Dorr-Oliver Eimco, Inc.; Flsmidth Salt Lake City, Inc.; Fluor Constructors International; FMC Corporation; Foseco, Inc.; Foster Wheeler, LLC; Fuller Company; the Gage Company; Gardner Denver, Inc.; General Electric Company; General Refractories Company; General Technologies, Inc.; Gentex Corporation; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Graybar Electric Company, Inc.; Greene Tweed & Co.; Grinnell LLC; Gulf Oil Corporation; H.E. Neumann Company; Hercules Chemical Company, Inc.; Hinchliffe & Keener, Inc.; Hoechst Celanese Chemical Group, Inc.; Honeywell International, Inc.; Howden North America, Inc.; Hunter Sales Corporation; Huntsman International LLC; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Industrial Rubber Products; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Insul Company, Inc.; International Systems and Controls Corporation; ITT Corporation; J.H. France Refractories Company; Jabo Supply Corporation; Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc.; Jno J. Disch Company; John Crane, Inc.; Joseph T. Ryerson & Son, Inc.; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Katy Industries, Inc.; Kelly Moore Paint Company; Kentile Floors, Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; M.S. Jacobs & Associates, Inc.; Magnetek, Inc.; Mallinckrodt LLC; Manitowoc Company, Inc.; McCarls, Inc.; McJunkin Redman Corporation; Meadwestvaco Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mine Safety Appliance, Inc.; Minnotte Contracting Corporation; Mobil Corporation; Monongahela Power Company; Morgan Engineering Systems, Inc.; Mueller Steam Specialty; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; National Services Industries, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Occidental Chemical Corporation; Oglebay Norton Company; Osram Sylvania, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Parker-Hannifin Corp.; Parker-Hannifin Corporation; Peerless Industries, Inc.; Pennzoil-Quaker State Company; Pharmacia Corporation; Plotkin Brothers Supply, LLP; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Potomac Edison Company; Power Piping Company; PPG Industries, Inc.; Premier Refractories, Inc.; Reading Crane; Research-Cottrell, Inc.; Rhone-Poulenc Ag Company, Inc.; Riley Power, Inc.; Robinson Fans, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Roper Pump Company; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Safety First Industries, Inc.; the Sager Corporation; Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Seco/Warwick Corporation; Shell Oil Company; Simakas Company, Inc.; S.P. Kinney Engineers, Inc.; Spirax Sarco, Inc.; SPX Cooling Technologies, Inc.; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Sullair Corporation; Sunbeam Products, Inc.; Sundyne Corporation; SVI Corporation; Taco, Inc.; Tasco Insulation, Inc.; Team Industrial Services, Inc.; Townsend & Bottom, Inc.; Trane U.S., Inc.; Trans-Pumps, Inc.; Trans-Pumps, Inc. of Pittsburgh; UB West Virginia, Inc.; Unifrax Corporation; Union Carbide Corporation; United Conveyor Corporation; United States Steel Corporation; Universal Refractories Corporation; Viacom Inc.; Viking Pump, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; Washington Group International; Waste Management, Inc.; Watson McDaniel Company; Weil-McLain Company; West Penn Power Company; Whiting Corporation; the William Powell Company; WTI Rust Holdings, Inc.; Wyeth Holdings Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC.

Charleston, WV: The daughter of a man who died from asbestos-related illness is suing 62 companies she claims are responsible for her father’s death.

Carl Richard Butler Sr., was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on January 7, 2010, and subsequently died on April 18, 2011, according to the lawsuit. Butler worked as a machinist, laborer and pipefitter and it was during this time that Deidra G. Hill claims the defendants exposed her father to asbestos and/or asbestos-containing products. She further alleges that the defendants knew or should have known of the dangers of asbestos and failed to warn Butler.

The 62 defendants named in the suit are: A.W. Chesterton Company; Allied Chemical Corporation; Armstrong International, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Brand Insulations, Inc.; BWIP, Inc.; Catalytic Construction Company; Certainteed Corporation; Chicago Pump Company; Cleaver-Brooks, Inc.; Columbus McKinnon Corporation; Crane Co.; Crown Cork & Seal USA, Inc.; Dezurik, Inc.; Dravo Corporation; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Foseco, Inc.; Gordon Gasket & Packing; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Greene Tweed & Company; Grinnell, LLC; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Industrial Supply Solutions; Ingersoll-Rand Company; Insul Company, Inc.; ITT Corporation; Kentucky Power Company; Lockheed Martin Corporation; McJunkin Corporation; Morgan Engineering Systems, Inc.; Mueller Steam Specialty; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Oglebay Norton Company; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Premiere Refractories, Inc.; Reading Crane; Riley Power, Inc.; Roper Pump Company; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Spirax Sarco, Inc.; State Electric Supply; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; the Alliance Machine Company; the F.D. Lawrence Electric Company; the William Powell Company; UB West Virginia, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors; Viking Pump, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Warren Pumps, Inc.; West Virginia Electric Supply; WT/HRC Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, Inc.

Asbestos Settlements

Los Angeles, CA: A California construction worker who developed a highly aggressive form of cancer after exposure to asbestos has received $7.5 million in settlement of legal claims against six companies that manufactured or distributed asbestos-cement pipe.

The 57-year old man, whose identity and current city of residence are withheld at his request, sued last August after he was diagnosed less than one year earlier with mesothelioma

The man was a construction worker who, in the 1970s and 1980s, helped install underground water and sewer lines. These pipes—6 to 48 inches in diameter—were made of a concrete-asbestos composite material for strength but also for ease of fabrication. The defendants made, sold or delivered them, according to the man’s attorney.

The plaintiff’s job in part was to cut asbestos-concrete pipes so they could be properly laid and connected beneath public and private streets in and around the Sacramento Valley city of Chico.

However, according to the court filing, the task of cutting this particular type of pipe posed extreme health risks. The cuts generated an enormous amount of cement-asbestos dust, which flew in every direction from the saw’s whirring blades and engine exhaust blast. This snowstorm of asbestos dust was at times so thick you couldn’t see the person standing three feet away. By the end of each workday, the plaintiff was covered from head to toe in a thick layer of asbestos dust. (SFGate.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma
Posted in Asbestos Mesothelioma, Class Action, lawsuits, Settlement | 4 Comments »

Asbestos News Roundup: 1.19.12

January 20th, 2012. 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 Settlements

Manitoba, Canada: Several Manitoba property owners received class action settlement monies this week totalling nearly $5 million. The payments are part of a legal settlement between Pinchin Environmental Ltd. and asbestos manufacturer Federal Mogul that was more than eight years long.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the plaintiffs owned buildings that contained a type of asbestos fireproofing material called Limpet. Limpet was used extensively in Canadian buildings in the latter half of the last century. The largest award – $700,000 – went to Winnipeg Airports Authority, which is in the process of demolishing an old terminal. The Canadian Wheat Board was another large award recipient, getting $198,000 as compensation. Its Main Street head offices underwent extensive renovation over the past decade, including expensive asbestos abatement, the Winnipeg Free Press writes. The WFP also states “The Canadian involvement in the U.S. settlement is unique in a few ways. Pinchin officials say the legal claims would likely have failed had they been presented in Canadian court. The Canadian participation was not instigated by the property owners, but by Pinchin’s own efforts. About 70 percent of the $32-million eventual settlement will go to Canadian building owners. And of that Canadian component, about 25 percent will be distributed to Manitoba claimants.” (Winnipegfreepress.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Former Workers at the Silico and Southwest Vermiculite Co Plants at Risk for Asbestos-related Diseases.

Albuquerque, NM: Federal contractors began removing asbestos-contaminated soil at two sites in Albuquerque this week, where fireproof insulation was manufactured for decades. Dressed in protective suits and using heavy equipment, the men are scraping up the contaminated soil. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must remove some 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the former Silico Inc. plant located at 5119 Edith NE. Soil removal is also underway at a smaller site located at 1822 First NE. The site was used by the Southwest Vermiculite Co. The popular fireproof insulation was sold under the brand names Zonalite and Texas Vermiculite, and was distributed across New Mexico to insulate attics and walls.

But along with the soil removal come questions about the health of former employees at the plants, as well as the location of some 68,000 tons of asbestos-tainted vermiculite imported to New Mexico from 1967 to 1988 for use in making the insulation.

The vermiculite came from the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana, which shipped tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite by rail to plants across the country. The mine closed in 1990. The employees who worked in the plants and loaded and unloaded the vermiculite ore would have been at greatest risk for asbestos exposure, said Mike McAteer, the EPA’s on-site coordinator. “I have no doubt there would have been fiber getting kicked up during this loading operation,” McAteer said. He recommended anyone who believes he or she may have been exposed to asbestos to contact a health provider.

According to the report in the Albuquerque Journal, Bernalillo County environmental health officials plan to identify employees who worked at the plants and notify them about potential health risks, Kitty Richards, an agency program manager, said at a public meeting Tuesday. (Albuquerquejournal.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, libby montana, mesothelioma, WR Grace
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Asbestos News Roundup: 1.12.12

January 12th, 2012. 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 Lawsuits

Houston, TX: Union Pacific is facing more asbestos lawsuits filed by several trackmen who worked for the company. The trackmen allege that they developed asbestos-related lung diseases as a result of workplace exposure to asbestos-containing products.

Howard Taylor, Will S. Donald, Harrold Gregory, Dale E. Haynes and Rennie L. Hance filed suit. Details of the complaints state that Taylor was employed by Union Pacific from 1968 until 2002, Donald was employed from 1976 to 2002, Gregory was employed from 1978 until 1984, Haynes was employed by Union Pacific from 1980 until 1990 and Hance was employed by the defendant from 1969 until 1998.

The lawsuits claim Union Pacific is negligent under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act for using asbestos-containing materials for decades after becoming aware of hazardous nature of the materials; for failing to inspect equipment for the presence of asbestos-containing material; and for failing to remove asbestos-containing material from its equipment.

The trackmen also claim that Union Pacific is negligent in that it failed to warn them of the presence of asbestos-containing materia; failed to warn of the synergistic effect between smoking and asbestos exposure; failed to properly train employees; failed to provide proper respirators; failed to conduct air monitoring; failed to provide comprehensive asbestos medical examinations; failed to medically monitor the plaintiffs; and finally, that the company violated its own policies regarding the materials.

The plaintiffs are asking for an award of damages for medical expenses, mental anguish, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma
Posted in Asbestos Mesothelioma, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Asbestos News Roundup: 1.5.12

January 5th, 2012. 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 Lawsuits

Charleston, WV: Steven D. Westfall has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 199 companies as defendants. According to the lawsuit, the companies are responsible for Westfall’s father’s asbestosis, asbestos mesothelioma and resulting death.

According to the complaint, Larry D. Westfall was a member of the Laborers Union Local No. 639 and worked throughout West Virginia and elsewhere. During this time he was exposed asbestos-containing materials. Steven Westfall alleges that the defendants failed to exercise reasonable care to warn his father of the danger to which he was exposed by use of the asbestos-containing products.

Steven Westfall further alleges that the defendants failed to inform his father of what would be appropriate clothing and protective apparel for a person who was exposed to or used asbestos-containing products. And, the lawsuit claims that the defendants also failed to inform Larry Westfall of what would be safe and proper methods of handling and using the asbestos-containing products.

The 199 defendants named in the suit are: 20th Century Glove Corporation of Texas; 4520 Corp., Inc.; Air & Liquid Systems Corporation; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; AK Steel Corporation; Alliance Machine Company; Allied Glove Corporation; American Optical Corporation; Ametek, Inc.; Anderson Greenwood & Co.; Aristech Chemical Corporation; Armstrong

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 12.29.11

December 29th, 2011. 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 Settlements

Everett, WA: A group of firefighters from Everett who filed a lawsuit alleging they were exposed to asbestos during their training, have won a major victory. As settlement of the lawsuit, the firefighters will receive specialized health monitoring, something they have sought for years.

Firefighter Eric Coston told , “We risk our lives for the citizens. We don’t ask any special treatment, we just want to be taken care of.”

The firefighters became concerned about asbestos exposure when, in 2007, during routine training, they went into old building that was scheduled for demolition, and which may have contained asbestos. “They went in there with their chainsaws and their axes, they cut up these buildings, pretending that they were on fire,” Coston said. He raised the firefighters’ concerns with the City of Everett but was surprised by the lack of concern from the city. “We expect the city would have our back, and in this case, they didn’t,” he says. “We had to push the issue just to take care of these members that were exposed.”

So the firefighters filed a $9 million claim, but recently the city agreed to set up a health monitoring program, as originally requested by the firefighters, so the lawsuit was dropped.

“The agreement addresses the issues raised by the firefighters,” a city spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “The city is always interested in the well-being of its employees. The city feels the settlement is fair.”

Under the agreement, the firefighters will be able to get the medical tests needed for the rest of their lives. That’s an important detail, they say, because symptoms of asbestos mesothelioma can take decades to manifest. “This has been a 4 1/2-year marathon to get this taken care of,” Coston said. The agreement only covers firefighters in the original complaint. (komonews.com)

Asbestos Hot Spots

Little Rock, AR: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently held a community meeting with residents of North Little Rock to advise them of possible asbestos contamination in the city park and their homes.

The EPA reportedly said that they are testing Conley Park and the Former North Little Rock Auto Salvage yard for asbestos. The salvage yard has not been in operation since 1989, but between 1953 and 1989 it was a vermiculite processing facility. Vermiculite is a common mineral compound used as an insulator. It was mined at the infamous WR Grace vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana, where hundreds of people have subsequently become ill or died from asbestos exposure and related disease.

The vermiculite processed in North Little Rock came from a mine in Libby, Montana.

“We’ve found some contamination on site. Some asbestos contamination on site and we found some off site as well,” says Althea Foster, of the EPA. The agency is reportedly taking more samples currently, and will be followed by removal of contaminated soil. (todaysthv.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma
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