Posts Tagged ‘ Asbestos Settlement ’

Asbestos News Roundup: 10.27.11

October 27th, 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 Lawsuits

St. Clair County, IL: Donald D. Hongsermeier, a former railroad employee who has developed a non-cancerous disease, has filed a lawsuit claiming that his exposure to asbestos fibers during the course of his career has caused his illness.

For nearly 40 years Hongsermeier worked as a hostler, fireman and engineer for defendant Illinois Central Railroad Company from 1953 until 1991. During his career, Hongsermeier claims in his lawsuit, he was exposed to asbestos dust or fibers. As a result of this exposure, he suffered great pain, extreme nervousness and mental anguish and developed the non-malignant disease, which he does not specify in his lawsuit.

Further, Hongsermeier alleges he incurred medical costs, lost his earnings and his earning capacity, experienced a diminished ability to render services and sustained a shortened life expectancy, the complaint says.

According to the lawsuit, Illinois Central Railroad Company negligently failed to provide Hongsermeier with a safe place to work, failed to provide him with safe tools and equipment, failed to warn him of the hazardous nature of the products with which he was working, failed to drive in a safe manner, failed to provide instructions for the safe use of asbestos products and failed to test products before exposing employees to them.

Hongsermeier claims he now suffers from mental anxiety and a fear of the worsening of his condition, which he is scared will develop into mesothelioma or some other form of cancer.

Hongsermeier is seeking compensatory damages and a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs and other relief the court deems just. (madisonrecord.com)

St. Clair County, IL: Ray and Bobbie Ruth Lewis have filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 17 defendant companies, which, their suit alleges, caused Ray Lewis to develop lung cancer after his exposure to asbestos-containing products throughout his career.

In their lawsuit, the Lewises claim that Ray Lewis worked as a laborer in the US Army from 1965 through 1968 and as a motor and assembly line worker, welder, body shop worker and laborer at General Motors from 1968 through 1999, according to the complaint. Mr. Lewis also did auto repair work from the 1960s through the 1970s, the lawsuit states.

The Lewises claim that the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for the plaintiffs’ safety.

As a result of his illness, Ray Lewis is now disabled and disfigured, has incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the suit states. In addition, he became prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued, the plaintiff claims.

Tge Lewises are seeking a judgment of more than $150,000 and punitive and exemplary damages of more than $50,000.(madisonrecord.com)

Asbestos News

Washington, DC: According to the website Surviving Mesothelioma, some of the nation’s top health and environmental officials have been meeting in Washington to discuss a little-known mineral that could put thousands of Americans at risk for mesothelioma.

Although the mineral, called erionite, had not received much press until this year, it is known to be a human carcinogen and is listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Group 1 Carcinogen.

According to the website Fairwarning.com (cited by The New York Times), the meeting in Washington represents the U.S. government’s attempt to take a more proactive approach to protecting the public against erionite than it did in protecting them from asbestos.

Erionite occurs in the soil where volcanic ash and rock have been weathered by alkaline water. Few people had heard of it before scientists began studying the cause of strikingly high mesothelioma rates in several Turkish villages where erionite has been used for decades as a building material. In these villages, deaths from mesothelioma can run as high as 50 percent of the population.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, erionite deposits have been found in a dozen western states and are most concentrated in California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon and Wyoming. Like asbestos, erionite poses no threat until it is disturbed. Unfortunately, hundreds of miles of roadways have been covered with erionite-laden gravel in North Dakota, raising serious concerns about the danger in the dust being constantly stirred up by vehicles.

The meeting at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) brings together representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Heath (NIOSH), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the U.S. Geological Survey. They are discussing the mesothelioma danger posed by erionite, as well and the risks associated with other hazardous minerals.

Like asbestos, erionite can lodge in the lungs when inhaled, triggering irritation and inflammation that can eventually lead to mesothelioma. The more concentrated and frequent the exposure, the higher the risk is thought to be. Although there have been no documented cases of erionite-related mesothelioma cases in the U.S., officials are bracing for future cases since mesothelioma can take 20 to 40 years to develop. Approximately 2,500 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year primarily as a result of asbestos exposure according to the National Institute of Health. (PRWeb.com)

Asbestos Law

Surry, VA: Repairs made to the Surry Nuclear power plant have result in environmental and personal asbestos exposure, according to a report in The Republic.

Roughly 12 contract employees hired to repair the plant have been exposed to the lethal mineral, and, the Republic reports, “State Department of Labor and Industry reports obtained by the Daily Press found that flakes of the cancer-causing substance went airborne in April after contractors cut a pipe. The reports say that a dozen workers and three work trailers had asbestos on them, but it’s unclear how much because plant owner Dominion Power didn’t have air-sampling equipment on site.”

Investigations undertaken by the state cleared six of the eight companies involved however, Hopewell-based Quality Specialties Inc, has been fined $4,900 for failing to properly label pipes. (therepublic.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, Erionite, erionite gravel, erionite mesothelioma, mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 10.20.11

October 20th, 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 Illness in Iron Range Workers

Northeastern MN: News reports indicate that the 82 people who worked in the notorious Iron Range have died from a rare form of lung cancer. The number of fatalities has risen from 63 reported by state health officials in 2010. The increase, state officials say, is attributable to death record checks of former Iron Range workers in other states, people who moved away from Minnesota. The statistics were released by the University of Minnesota team leading the long-term Taconite Workers Health Study.

The lead researcher on the study, Dr. Jeffrey Mandel with the university’s School of Public Health, said a “back-of-the-envelope” analysis revealed a considerably higher rate of mesothelioma—higher than it should be. “But we are still doing the analysis to find out how much so,” Mandel said in a telephone news conference. It also remains unclear where the victims were exposed to asbestos.

While earlier reports on the increase in the number of asbestos-related illnesses found in former Iron Range workers were thought to be due to workers earlier exposure to asbestos found in commercial products such as insulation materials for pipes, furnaces and boilers, it now appears that the increase could be due directly to Taconite exposure, however this remains to be confirmed. “We’ve basically concluded our data collection phase,” said John Finnegan, dean of the university’s School of Public Health. “It’s an enormous number of people we have data on now…people who worked in mining back to the 1920s.”

Preliminary analyses show that 1,681 taconite workers, of about 46,000 born since 1920 who worked in the industry, developed some sort of lung cancer. However, the exact cause is unclear, and whether or not the rate of asbestos illness is higher than normal.

The five part study is looking at occupational exposures to determine how and where the asbestos came from; a mortality study that reviews the cause of death for deceased taconite workers; a cancer incidence study to see whether cancer rates are higher on the Iron Range; an environmental study of current airborne particulates to check for asbestos levels; and a respiratory health study of living taconite workers and their spouses. Results from each study will be made public after they are completed, and a final, overall report is expected after that. (Canadianbusiness.com)

Asbestos Law

Vancouver, BC: A demolition contractor from the Metro Vancouver area, who is facing charges of exposing unprotected workers to asbestos, has been found in contempt of court and may be going to jail. Arthur Moore allegedly hired teenagers as young as 14 to demolish asbestos-laden houses without protection, the BC Court of Appeals was told. He hired the students because they needed cash. He also hired recovering addicts from addiction recovery houses in Surrey, BC.

“His conduct grievously endangered workers under his direction,” Justice Ian Donald ruled this week, finding Moore guilty of contempt. “Unless he can in some way mitigate his indifference to the lives and safety of his workers and his open defiance of the injunction, his misconduct requires a severe response.”

According to a news report in BClocalnews.com the B.C. Court of Appeals has ordered that Arthur Moore be arrested for violating an August 2010 court injunction that indefinitely barred him from operating his Surrey-based asbestos and drywall removal business. Moore is to be sentenced in B.C. Supreme Court after his arrest. (BClocalnews.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 9.29.11

September 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 Lawsuits

St. Clair County, IL: Craig Hirsch filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 41 defendant companies, who, he alleges, caused him to develop lung cancer after his exposure to asbestos-containing products.

Throughout his career Hirsch worked as a boiler tender for the U.S. Navy at the Chicago Training Center in Chicago from 1960 until 1962, as an operator at Ford Motor Co. from 1964 until 1966, as a repairman and operator at Ford Motor Co. from 1964 until 1966, as a repairman and operator at Detroit Diesel in Michigan from 1965 until 1983 and as a pipefitter for Consumers Power in Michigan in 1969, according to his lawsuit.

Hirsch claims that the defendants should have known of the harmful effects of asbestos, but failed to exercise reasonable care and caution for his safety. Consequently, he developed asbestos-related diseases, became disabled and disfigured, incurred medical costs and suffered great physical pain and mental anguish, the lawsuit states. Moreover, he became prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment and, as a result, lost large sums of money that would have accrued to him, the plaintiffs claim.

In his five-count complaint, Hirsch is seeking a judgment of more than $50,000, plus punitive Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma
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Asbestos News Roundup: 9.23.11

September 23rd, 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 Lawsuits

Jefferson County, TX: The widow and children of a man who recently died after developing pulmonary asbestosis, have filed an asbestos lawsuit alleging that John Dixon Sr., developed the illness and died as a result of spending a career working around products that contained asbestos.

Agnes Dixon, Jane Lampman, Molly Abshier and John Dixon Jr. filed a lawsuit against E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Company, Tin Inc. formerly known as Temple Inland Forest Products, Tin Inc. formerly known as Temple-Eastex, Inland Paper Board and Packaging, Temple Inland, Inland Container, Inland Orange and Owens Illinois.

They allege John Dixon Sr., was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers throughout his career at DuPont and Owens Illinois. As a result, he developed pulmonary asbestosis and died on Sept. 20, 2010. Dixon’s widow and children also allege that the defendants negligently failed to warn workers of the dangers of asbestos exposure. In their complaint, the plaintiffs seek exemplary and punitive damages, plus damages and court costs. (SETexasrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

Libby, MT: People suffering from asbestos-related illnesses including asbestosis and mesothelioma have been awarded a $43 million settlement by a judge in Montana. The people were made ill as a result of their exposure to asbestos from the infamous W.R. Grace asbestos mine in Libby, Montana. Reports indicate that a large part of the settlement will be paid by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed against the state and the mine by former miners and their families who accused the state of failing to properly oversee the mine or warn workers of dangers there. Miners had originally sued W.R. Grace but after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001, they sued the state for failing to adequately protect them, court documents state.

Some 1,400 people are expected to receive payouts from the settlement, which was approved September 8, by Montana District Court Judge Jeffrey M. Sherlock, ending ten years of legal wrangling. However, while the settlement ends numerous cases and claims against Montana it “expressly reserves their claims against all other responsible parties,” according to the agreement.

Many of the victims of asbestos exposure from the Libby mine are now over 65, and others have since died of asbestos-related diseases such as asbestosis and cancers such as mesothelioma, records show. (Insurancejournal.com)

Los Angeles, CA: The family of Merlin Olsen, a Hall of Fame football player and actor, has reached a settlement in their asbestos lawsuit. Olsen’s family alleged in their suit that Olsen was exposed to asbestos-containing products throughout the course of his career working on construction sites, which he did in his youth. The lawsuit was filed against several asbestos companies that the family say caused the rare form of cancer Olsen developed late in life. The settlement includes 10 companies that made or used the asbestos-containing products.

A notice of settlement was filed by the attorneys for Olsen’s wife and children in Los Angeles. No further details were provided. Olsen, who was a member of the Los Angeles Rams “Fearsome Foursome” in the 1960s, died in March 2010 after losing his fight against asbestos mesothelioma. (Forbes.com)

Tags: asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, mesothelioma
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