Posts Tagged ‘ Asbestos Settlement. NSL ’

Asbestos News Roundup: 1.30.14 – Second Hand Asbestos

January 30th, 2014. 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.

Second Hand or Third Party 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

Asbestos Lawsuits and Smokers

New York, NY: Lung cancer cases are on the rise in asbestos litigation. In a report by <i>Legalnewsline,</i> Lester Brickman, professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, notes that the 60-plus asbestos trusts in the US, operating a system of more than $36 billion, will pay claimants who can get a doctor to prove they have asbestos damage to the linings of the lungs even if they were or are smokers.

“What’s happened is the trusts are paying a claimant, a smoker, who can show occupational exposure to asbestos and can get a doctor to say the lungs indicate occupational exposure,” Brickman said.

According to Brickman, claimants don’t apply to one trust only, but rather receive money from 15 to 20 trusts. Alongside of this, people with asbestos lung cancer can also file a tort claim, which may also result in a settlement. And these asbestos lung cancer lawsuits are on the rise. Brickman cites the recent suit filed by the nine-term Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who has taken a leave of absence while she is being treated.

Filed in October, McCarthy claims she was exposed to asbestos fibers through her father’s and brother’s work clothing when she was a child, also known as third-party exposure, second hand asbestos exposure, or take-home asbestos exposure. Both men worked as boiler makers. She also claims to have visited her brother and father at their various work sites over the years.

This type of asbestos exposure happens as a result of workers, who are exposed to asbestos at work and not realizing, wearing their work clothing home which is embedded with toxic asbestos fibers. Those fibers can also get into their cars. And, their families are then exposed to the asbestos fibers through exposure to their clothing – often through doing laundry, and their cars.

In her asbestos lawsuit, McCarthy has named some 75 defendants, 25 of which have responded to the lawsuit.

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma, asbestos risk, Asbestos Settlement. NSL
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