Posts Tagged ‘ Take Home Asbestos ’

Asbestos News Roundup: 4.26.12 – Second-Hand Asbestos, Take-Home Asbestos

April 26th, 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.

Second Hand or “Take Home” Asbestos

Recently, the medical profession has begun to recognize 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 exposure refers to exposure to asbestos fibers that become embedded on peoples 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 been 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 Lawsuits

A total of 18 new asbestos lawsuits were filed in St. Louis Circuit Court recently. We’ve highlighted several here.

Madison County, IL: The family of the recently deceased Gladys W. Williams, has filed an asbestos lawsuit alleging their spouse and parent developed lung cancer as a result of her work as a laundry technician at the Jacksonville Naval Airbase in Jacksonville, Florida, from 1966 until 1978. She was also secondarily exposed to asbestos fibers through her husband, Willie Williams Sr., who served in the U.S. Navy from 1937 until the late 1960s.

Robert D. and Rosalina Cousineau allege Robert Cousineau developed lung cancer after his work as a carpenter, drywaller and construction worker at various locations from 1963 until 2005.

Gregory C. Hope alleges he developed mesothelioma after he was exposed to asbestos fibers throughout his career as an electrician and performing home and automotive maintenance from 1961 until 1979.

Martin L. Tune alleges he developed lung cancer after his work as a machinist and as an auto mechanic and home repairman from 1963 until 1979. Tune will be represented by Andrew A. O’Brien, Christopher J. Thoron, Bartholomew J. Baumstark and Gerald J. FitzGerald of O’Brien Law Firm in St. Louis.

Nolan and Essie Madere allege Nolan Madere developed lung cancer after his work as an airborne paratrooper from 1947 until 1952, as a laborer at Shell Oil Company from 1954 until 1965 and as a maintenance mechanic at Kaiser Aluminum from 1965 until 1992. (madisonrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: A Charleston woman is suing 24 companies she claims are responsible for her husband’s mesothelioma and death. Theodore Hudson was diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma with metastases in August 2008, from which he died on June 14, 2010, according to the lawsuit. Sharon Hudson claims the 24 defendants are responsible because they exposed her husband to asbestos during his career as a Sight Glass Technician at Cyclops Industries from 1972 until 2009. Mrs. Hudson claims the defendants failed to provide him with safety apparel to wear while working around asbestos. (wvrecord.com)

The defendants are being sued based upon 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.

Asbestos Hot Spots

Bloomfield, MO: The small post office in the southeast Missouri town of Bloomfield is closed after asbestos was found in the building.

The Dexter Daily Statesman reports that patrons are being urged to go to the Dexter post office.

U.S. Postal Service spokesman Richard Watkins says a contractor has been hired to remove the asbestos, and the building shouldn’t be closed for long, though he did not offer a guess on when the building would reopen. (stltoday.com)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, Asbestos Wives, asbestosis, mesothelioma, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Second Hand Asbestos, Take Home Asbestos
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Asbestos News Roundup: 3.29.12 (Spotlight: Asbestos and Railway Workers)

March 30th, 2012. By LucyC

Asbestos Workers at Risk

Railway workers…. Every week new asbestos lawsuits are filed, many of them by retired railway workers or their widows. Case-in-point—the lawsuit below filed by the widow of a retired BNSF railway man, who died from asbestos-related lung disease.

Asbestos exposure was a constant danger for people working on or around the railways in the US. Because of its insulating properties, asbestos was used to insulate steam and diesel locomotives, boxcars and cabooses, refrigeration units, pipes, and pipes, steam and hot water lines. Asbestos was also widely used in railroad brakes and clutch linings, gaskets, and in heavy-wearing floor tiles for passenger cars. And, during locomotive inspections it was not uncommon to have asbestos insulation stripped off the boilers, which would send asbestos fibers into the air and onto people’s clothing, affecting everyone in the vicinity—as well as family members at home.

Railway Worker’s Widow Sues BNSF

St. Clair County, IL: The wife of a recently deceased railroad worker, Anthony Ianno, filed an asbestos lawsuit recently against her husband’s former employer, BNSF Railway Company. In her lawsuit, Norina M. Ianno claims the railway company contributed to her husband’s death by exposing him to asbestos fibers throughout his employment with them.

Mrs. Ianno claims her husband developed asbestosis, lung cancer and another unspecified lung disease after he was exposed to asbestos fibers through his employment as a dock foreman and clerk from 1954 until 1986 for BNSF Railway Company. In addition to asbestos fibers, Mrs Ianno alleges her husand was also exposed to diesel exhaust, tobacco smoke, silica and other toxic gases, which also contributed to his disease.

Norina blames BNSF for causing her husband’s disease because, she says, the railroad negligently failed to provide Anthony Ianno with safe work, failed to provide him with equipment to protect him from asbestos fibers, exposed him to asbestos, failed to warn him of the hazards associated with asbestos and agreed to conceal the hazards of asbestos exposure.

Because of Anthony Ianno’s respiratory illness, he endured great pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement and mental anguish and lost his enjoyment of life, the suit states. He also incurred medical costs, the lawsuit states.

And, Mrs. Ianno claims that following her husband’s death on March 6, 2009, she lost his financial support. Consequently, she is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, plus costs. (Madisonrecord.com)

Asbestos Settlements

St. Clair, IL: The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled against CSX Transportation and in favor of the family of Annette Simpkins of Granite City, IL, who died of asbestos-related cancer after her husband brought the toxic dust home on his clothing from the railroad. The ruling yesterday returns the case to Madison County, IL, for trial after a majority of Supreme Court justices found that an employer has an obligation to warn workers and their families about the dangers linked to take-home asbestos exposure.

According to the complaint in Simpkins, et al. v. CSX Transportation, Mr. Simpkins brought asbestos dust home on his clothes in the 1960s while working for CSX Transportation, formerly B&O Railroad. Mrs. Simpkins was exposed while Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Settlement, asbestosis, asbestos_mesothelioma, mesothelioma, Occupational Asbestos Exposure, Railway Workers, Take Home Asbestos
Posted in Asbestos Mesothelioma, lawsuits, Personal Injury, Settlement | 1 Comment »