Mesothelioma clinic - Surprisingly, asbestos has not been banned in the U.S., even though the mineral's dangers have been known for decades and lawsuits against employers continue to yield million-dollar verdicts. Legal claims for injuries from asbestos involve more plaintiffs, more defendants and higher costs than any other type of personal injury litigation in U.S. history, according to the study “Asbestos and the Future of Mass Torts,” by Michelle J. White, an economics professor at UC San Diego.
A new asbestos suit blaming 33 defendant companies, filed in late May by several relatives on behalf of a deceased man in Jefferson County District Court in Southeast Texas, alleges that Lawrence Baggett, during the course of his work as a laborer and operator, developed an asbestos-related disease caused by company negligence.
In asbestos lawsuits, plaintiffs may sue multiple defendants, including all producers of products that the plaintiff may have been exposed to. It can take 20-40 years after initial exposure for a person to develop asbestos-related cancer such as mesothelioma, which attacks the membranes of the abdomen and internal organs, and lung cancer. Another asbestos-related disease is asbestosis, which affects breathing, causing the heart to suffer a lack of oxygen.
The jury awards in these cases can run into the millions because asbestos-related diseases can be directly linked to the exposure. Take for instance, the case of a 73-year old man whose mesothelioma diagnosis was connected to asbestos exposure while working at a South Baltimore shipyard in the 1950s. In February 2008, a Baltimore jury awarded him $15.3 million and took just half an hour to return the verdict -- $335,000 in medical expenses and $15 million in pain and suffering damages.
Still, there has been no broad ban on asbestos (although certain uses have been banned) and a legislative effort, The Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007, was never signed into law. The latest try is the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.
The EPA attempted a ban on asbestos use in 1989, but the asbestos industry challenged it and the ban was overturned by a federal circuit court of appeals in 1991.
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Mesothelioma - Asbestos not banned in the U.S. ?
Mesothelioma clinic - Surprisingly, asbestos has not been banned in the U.S., even though the mineral's dangers have been known for decades and lawsuits against employers continue to yield million-dollar verdicts. Legal claims for injuries from asbestos involve more plaintiffs, more defendants and higher costs than any other type of personal injury litigation in U.S. history, according to the study “Asbestos and the Future of Mass Torts,” by Michelle J. White, an economics professor at UC San Diego.
A new asbestos suit blaming 33 defendant companies, filed in late May by several relatives on behalf of a deceased man in Jefferson County District Court in Southeast Texas, alleges that Lawrence Baggett, during the course of his work as a laborer and operator, developed an asbestos-related disease caused by company negligence.
In asbestos lawsuits, plaintiffs may sue multiple defendants, including all producers of products that the plaintiff may have been exposed to. It can take 20-40 years after initial exposure for a person to develop asbestos-related cancer such as mesothelioma, which attacks the membranes of the abdomen and internal organs, and lung cancer. Another asbestos-related disease is asbestosis, which affects breathing, causing the heart to suffer a lack of oxygen.
The jury awards in these cases can run into the millions because asbestos-related diseases can be directly linked to the exposure. Take for instance, the case of a 73-year old man whose mesothelioma diagnosis was connected to asbestos exposure while working at a South Baltimore shipyard in the 1950s. In February 2008, a Baltimore jury awarded him $15.3 million and took just half an hour to return the verdict -- $335,000 in medical expenses and $15 million in pain and suffering damages.
Still, there has been no broad ban on asbestos (although certain uses have been banned) and a legislative effort, The Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007, was never signed into law. The latest try is the Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.
The EPA attempted a ban on asbestos use in 1989, but the asbestos industry challenged it and the ban was overturned by a federal circuit court of appeals in 1991.
Labels: mesothelioma, mesothelioma banned, mesothelioma legal, mesothelioma news