Mesothelioma & Asbestos Cancer News: September, 2007
A flood that occurred over forty years ago is still haunting the people of Deer Trail, Colorado.
Located in Arapahoe County about 55 miles east of Denver along I-70, this town with a population of approximately 600 people was once a thriving railroad town. During the 1920s, it boasted two banks, five grocery stores and three hotels.
Ever since Patty Murray, Democratic senator from Washington State, learned of the plight of the people of Libby, Montana, she has worked tirelessly to introduce legislation to rid the U.S. of deadly asbestos. Spokane, the easternmost city in Washington, is only about 70 miles southwest of Libby as the crow flies, and many asbestos disease victims were diagnosed and/or treated at medical facilities there.
A business or company named as a defendant in an asbestos action and found liable by the court can in many cases turn to its insurer for relief; in fact, it is standard procedure (and highly recommended) for a business entity to carry such liability insurance.
The problem with asbestos suits (which is due in large part to the private, for-profit health care “system” in the U.S.) is the staggering amounts of money involved. A business liability policy covers liability up to a set amount; because of the costs of treatment, legal settlements often go higher than those limits, leaving the company itself responsible for anything beyond its covered amount.
Richard Wiles, Executive Director of the Environmental Working Group, issued a statement on 4 September 2007 praising the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s adoption of S. 742, the Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007. Reintroduced in March 2007 by Washington State Senator Patty Murray, the bill would prohibit virtually all asbestos imports as well as the manufacture and distribution of asbestos-containing products and materials.
The federal government’s track record on protecting the health and welfare of Americans has been dismal the past six years. Individual states, particularly in New England, the Mountain West and the Pacific Northwest, have done a much better job, particularly when it comes to dealing with asbestos issues. Colorado, Montana and Washington are examples of states with stringent regulations regarding asbestos abatement; individuals and business entities that engage in asbestos abatement work on a professional basis must be certified, licensed, and adhere to strict regulations and safety practices.
Under the brand name Zolinza®, vorinostat has been used in the treatment of skin cancer since October of 2006. On 7 September 2007, the National Institute of Health (NIH) announced that an ongoing study of the drug’s effectiveness in the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma is entering a Phase III clinical trial.
Miami, Florida, asbestos litigator Louis S. Robles is one of those people who give the legal profession a bad image.
Robles’ firm was highly successful between 1989 and 2002 in prosecuting asbestos lawsuits. During that time, the firm represented over 7,000 clients, against corporate behemoths like Johns-Manville, Owens-Corning and the Great Satan of Asbestos itself, W.R. Grace. According to an indictment, Robles collected well over $164 million in some 75,000 settlements on behalf of his clients.
In reality, the timber wolf, closely related and ancestral to the domestic dog, is a noble creature of excellent character, attacking and killing only when hungry or threatened. In that light, it seems insulting to compare greedy corporations to such fine members of the animal world.
Nonetheless, it was the ancient Roman playwright Plautus who made the comparison, focusing on the predatory nature of wolves when he wrote the words “homo homini lupus,” or “Man is a wolf to Man.” Indeed, humankind is unique among creatures in that it is the only species that routinely preys on members of its own kind.
The fluorescent light fixtures in the classrooms in 35-year-old Butte Hall, on the campus of Cal State Chico, are now starting to show their age. As such fixtures deteriorate, they start to buzz and flicker, not only making it difficult to read and write, but for some people, causing headaches and dizziness. It’s also just plain annoying.
A Denver television station recently reported the release of a large amount of asbestos fibers in the Colorado town of Lowry, located between Denver and Aurora. According to the report, a local contractor had started digging near the town’s community garden last month. The work was in violation of a Colorado state regulation requiring that certified asbestos inspectors from the Department of Public Health and Environment be present at any excavation site. In this case, the inspectors did not arrive until three hours after work at the site had begun.
Corporate misconduct regarding asbestos has a long and well-documented history, yet it is the kind of selfish and greed-fueled behavior that occurs all too often in the corporate world. One could even argue that this behavior is due to the corporate mandate is to increase profits.
When one considers that burning is perhaps the most unpleasant way to die, and that burn injuries are not only the most painful but also permanently disfiguring and disabling, it becomes understandable as to why industry and the military were so ready to embrace asbestos so wholeheartedly.
There is much to be said for checks and balances in government, especially when it comes to holding government accountable for wrongdoing.
A recent case in point was the municipal government of Oakridge, Oregon. Last spring, the city purchased a piece of property with old mobile homes located on it. Their assurance that the property had no hazardous materials on it consisted of a signed statement from the seller.
Last week, the Virginia Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by John Crane, Inc., and upheld a lower court judgment in the amount of $3.4 million. The suit was filed against John Crane by the family of the late Garland F. Jones, Jr., a former employee of the Newport News Shipbuilding Company.
Jones died of mesothelioma in 2005. His widow, Wanda T. Jones, was determined to see that justice was done.
Without acknowledging any wrongdoing, Brooks Laboratories, Inc., of New Haven, Connecticut, has settled their share of a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed by the New Canaan Public Schools over the renovation of the local high school building.
In addition to Brooks Laboratories, other named defendants include O&G/AP Construction and architectural firm Kastle Boos Associates.
In increasing numbers of municipalities, inmate work crews are used to perform various jobs. While those who intentionally do harm to others in violation of society’s laws certainly owe a debt to that society, asbestos poisoning shouldn’t be part of the penalty.
Yet that is what happened this past summer. In July, a work crew of six state prison inmates and two supervising officers from the Arthur Kill Correctional Facility were assigned to the renovation project of the 100-year-old Staten Island Borough Hall.
Trained, certified asbestos workers command top money, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, some less cautious and ethical individuals are tempted to cut corners when it comes to asbestos abatement. However, as John Chick and Ernie DeCaro of Cayuga County, New York, are discovering, trying to save money by “cutting corners” can be quite costly.
While 2003 may have represented the high-water mark for asbestos litigation, lawsuits against hundreds of corporations continue to be filed across the nation. Between 16 August and 13 September 2007, seven major legal actions naming over 250 companies as defendants made news columns in Missouri, Wisconsin, Kentucky and West Virginia.
That over 3000 people from over sixteen countries died in the Word Trade Center on 11 September 2001 is an established fact. However, over the past few years, evidence has emerged suggesting that all was not as it seemed to be on that day.
Six years after the tragic events of 11 September 2001, health information on rescue workers at ground zero is still incomplete and inaccurate, according to a recent New York Times article.
In the weeks following the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings, there was little action on the part of city, state or federal government agencies to collect health information on these workers, and shamefully, virtually no effort to offer medical treatment.
Last week, we brought you a story about asbestos exposure in two Fullerton, California, high schools.
Writing in the 6 June 2007 issue of the Los Angeles Times, reporter Tony Barboza said that school officials had in fact alerted the community about hazardous materials at public meetings, and that warning signs were clearly placed at works sites. School administrators also said that all procedures required by state and federal laws were followed. This included the use of trained, certified asbestos abatement personnel as well as monitoring of air quality.
A trip to Hallowell, Maine, is truly a journey back in time. Nestled on the west bank of the Kennebec River just south of Augusta, the town has dozens of fine examples of Victorian architecture, many of which were saved from wrecking balls and painstakingly restored.
It’s well known that the Roman Catholic Church has faced a great deal of litigation over issues which have nothing to do with asbestos, but have nonetheless cost the Vatican hundreds of millions of dollars.
Now, that asbestos issue has reared its head in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, as asbestos as been discovered in a Rutherford parochial high school.
Taking advantage of undocumented immigrants seeking living-wage jobs in the U.S., Environmental Compliance Training, one of the largest asbestos worker training facilities in New England, failed to provide adequate training to asbestos workers and sold them false certificates indicating the workers had completed an approved training course. These untrained workers were then able to obtain employment at public facilities and private asbestos abatement companies.
Robert Cooper, a former auto worker and mechanic whose labor and sweat helped to build America, thereby making the existence of an investor class even possible, deserves better than to die of pleural mesothelioma.
The Kanawha (West Virginia) Circuit Court is seeing yet more asbestos litigation as Roger Broughton and his wife Sally both file suit in a case that names fifty-one different defendants.
An environmental activist for going on fifty years, Francisco Da Costa has exposed many corporate polluters in the Bay Area. Most recently, he has pointed out examples (with photos) of how Lennar Inc. has for months exposed children attending a private school near Hunter’s Point to asbestos dust from serpentine rock stirred up by that corporation’s development activities. His photos also show workers among piles of serpentine, wearing nothing in the way of protective gear.
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