The Online Asbestos, Asbestos Cancer, & Mesothelioma Authority
Asbestos News: January, 2008
Considering that asbestos was used profusely in building construction for over a century, it should come as no surprise that asbestos pops up in the darnedest places when old buildings are renovated.
Regular readers of this column are probably quite familiar with Kanawha County and its seat, Charleston, West Virginia. For those who are new to these web pages and the issues we cover, Kanawha County is a place that corporations like to refer to as a “judicial hellhole”–a jurisdiction in which courts more often find in favor of the plaintiffs in injury lawsuits against negligent manufacturers and employers.
For fifteen years, John Kielbasa–who is a maintenance worker for the NYC school system–has been reporting loose, friable asbestos in the various buildings. The problem is that the “standard operating procedure” consisted of making a telephone call to a “supervisor.” No written records were made, and no proof was ever kept.
According to his attorney, Pete Gleason, this system was more than incompetent and obsolete–it was downright criminal.
When their father, Dave Salisbury, died from mesothelioma, sisters Diane McLellan and Lynne Squibb of Hampshire, U.K., were suddenly confronted with numerous legal issues, which included endless forms and other complications–all of this on top of their grief.
There are those who now say that “Made in China” is actually a warning label.
W. R. Grace is a name that will live in infamy when it comes to asbestos injuries. It is well known that their Libby, Montana, operation and the product which was mined from the surrounding mountains was responsible for the misery and death of thousands of human beings–human beings who had dreams and families, who laughed, cried, loved, and ultimately died one of the most excruciatingly painful deaths imaginable, fighting for every breath of air.
Because of its lengthy latency period–usually 15 to 40 years–mesothelioma usually strikes people in their 50s through 70s. While it is a tragedy at any age, it is especially heart-rending when mesothelioma kills someone as young as Amanda Sutterfield–who was only 25 years of age.
How could this happen?
The picturesque, ancient northern English city of York–for which New York City and State were named–is home to the York Carriage Works. It is a firm the origins of which date back almost to the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution itself. At one time, it employed over 20,000 workers in the manufacture of railroad passenger cars, or “carriages” as they are known in England.
The Japanese government was late in banning asbestos; such a ban did not go into effect until 2006, and asbestos-related cancers are still disturbingly common in that country.
The problem now is that some asbestos has been overlooked–and like the legendary monster that rose out of the sea to destroy Tokyo in science fiction films of the 1950s, a three-headed asbestos creature is now threatening the health and well-being of the Japanese public.
Last month, the jury of a New York City court returned a verdict in favor of two mesothelioma victims–one an electrician, the other a shipyard pipe fitter.
As we report such awards fairly regularly on this site, it would seem on the surface that there is nothing remarkable here (although it is of course always good to see justice done). However, these cases are unique in a number of ways.
AC&S, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, insulation contracting firm, is now entering the last stage of its five-year Chapter 11 “restructuring” plan. The company collapsed under the weight of over 500,000 asbestos claims back in 2002, which was the beginning of the period during which asbestos litigation reached an all-time high in the U.S. Three hundred thousand of those claims had yet to be paid at the time they filed for bankruptcy.
Among other issues, the tragic events of 11 September 2001 showed that flame and smoke are not the only dangers faced by firefighters. Ironically, one of the greatest risks firemen face is from the very substance that was intended to make their job less necessary.
Regular readers of this column may remember asbestos warrior Bernie Banton, the Australian mesothelioma and asbestosis patient who spent what life energy he had left fighting on behalf of his fellow asbestos victims.
You may recall a story last September about an asbestos lab, a contractor and an agricultural firm that were named defendants in a lawsuit filed by the New Canaan (Connecticut) Public Schools. The bone of contention was a renovation project of the local high school, the costs for which exceeded the initial budget by several million dollars.
Asbestos issues in the nation’s schools, colleges, and universities appear with alarming frequency in the news. Regular readers of this feature may remember stories from the fall of 2007 regarding asbestos problems at universities in California, Louisiana and New York.
Current drug laws allow government officials to seize property where controlled substances are known to have been produced and/or sold. This has produced quite the bonanza for some municipalities, but sometimes it creates unforeseen problems and expenses–especially when it comes to old buildings, for reasons of which regular readers of this feature are well aware.
When older buildings are involved, finding new uses for a property can be difficult because of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials. This is why the small Indiana town of Fowler welcomed the recent news that it was to be selected for a $25,000 grant from the Indiana Finance Authority, the purpose of which is to pay for asbestos removal costs from just such an old building.
Normally, an apartment fire would not attract national attention, although such an event would have great significance on a local level.
This particular fire in Gloucester, Massachusetts, however, was especially tragic for three reasons. First, the fire, which started around 11 PM on 14 December 2007, claimed the life of a resident, who was the caretaker of a nearby church building and whose remains are still in the rubble. Second, the building was of great historical significance, and the same fire also destroyed an old synagogue next door.
Since 1981, it has been popular to “bash” government-run services and agencies and claim that the “private sector” can do everything better.
If you’re in the market for a house and are considering an older home, here’s something to think about.
Earlier this year, “William” decided to buy an older house. Acting according to standard operating procedure, he had it inspected prior to signing the papers. However, he later realized that the vinyl flooring in one of the rooms was fixed in place using mastic that contained asbestos fibers, posing a potential health hazard.
His question now–can the home inspector, who failed to note the asbestos hazard, be held liable?
It’s an old story, but one that we’re hearing more and more these days–and about which more and more of us are getting justifiably angry in these days of little corporate accountability and oversight.
Madison County, Illinois, has long been regarded as a “judicial hellhole” by corporate America because judges in this jurisdiction have been more inclined to hold them accountable for crimes and negligence.
As the law stands today, anyone from any state can sue any defendant in any other state as long as either party has any connection whatsoever–however tenuous–to the state in which the plaintiff wishes to file a complaint. Since asbestos defendants are often large, multi-state (and increasingly, multi-national) corporations, it has been fairly easy for a plaintiff in say, California, to sue his/her employer in an Illinois or West Virginia court.
The reason of course is that some jurisdictions–such as the aforementioned–have been more sympathetic to asbestos plaintiffs. Judge Callis, who is Madison County’s chief justice, has been out to change that.
Judge Callis said: “Our aim for starting the reforms and new rules were and are twofold: 1) setting the highest standard possible to better serve the people of Madison County; and 2) restoring the public’s confidence in our judiciary. The goal, frankly, was simple: to fulfill our duty as public servants.”
The stated goal of “tort reform” has been to put an end to the abuses of the system where some less ethical individuals file suits on behalf of plaintiffs who, although having been exposed to asbestos (which in reality, is virtually everyone), do not actually suffer from asbestos disease.
In Madison County, the reform has taken the shape of a “plural registry.” Those who have actually been diagnosed with asbestos disease can place their names on this registry as soon as such as diagnosis has been made–even if they have not yet retained legal counsel or filed a complaint.
According to the former president of the local Trial Lawyers’ Association, “That’s where most filings are… we’re really only going to let the most seriously hurt on the active docket.” This plural registry model is gradually being adopted in other jurisdictions as well.
Source
Hasamear, Jennifer K. “Asbestos Cases up by More than 100 Since ‘06.” Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, IL), 23 December 2007.
Regular readers of this column are no doubt familiar with Madison County, Illinois, as it has had a reputation since 2004 as the asbestos litigation capital of the U.S., closely followed by St. Clair and Kanawha (West Virginia).
When you consider what public school teachers in the U.S. are expected to tolerate, it’s small wonder that over half of them leave the profession within five years. As if low pay, overcrowded classrooms, undisciplined students, and a system that sometimes seems designed to discourage rather than motivate were not enough, there’s also the risk of asbestos poisoning.
In fact, elementary school teachers are among those considered at highest risk for asbestos disease.
While government regulators are apparently trying to decide whether or not the asbestos-filled “CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit” should be “officially” recalled (see “It’s Official–Asbestos Toys from China Are on US Shelves” posted 4 December 2007), the marketing company–Planet Toys–is making a token effort to do the right thing.
The United States is now ahead of Russia and South Africa in terms of the percentage of its residents behind bars and in fact leads the world in this statistic. With the demand for jail and prison space outstripping demand, asbestos problems only exacerbate the problem. Such a problem is now being faced by the Michigan community of Bay City.
On 14 December, NL Industries, the counsel of which had not called a single witness on its behalf, was granted a verdict in its favor by a jury who had spent barely two hours in deliberations.
Harry Glass, the plaintiff in the case, had sought over $6 million in compensatory and punitive damages against the lead company. According to the complaint, his wife contracted and subsequently died from mesothelioma because of asbestos fibers that he had unknowingly brought home in his clothing, breathing them in as she did laundry. Glass was employed by NL Industries’ predecessor, National Lead, between 1952 and 1978.
It’s good to remember that asbestos is, after all, a naturally-occurring mineral–a form of rock, if you will–and that asbestos in nature can be just as toxic as that used in over 3,000 everyday products in the U.S.
Larry McTaggart’s late father was a mechanic, steamfitter, construction worker and trucker in America’s heartland for the four decades between Pearl Harbor and Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma on 13 October of 2006.
Last week, Larry McTaggart, on behalf of his late father’s estate, is seeking to hold to account those he alleges are liable.
Community Development Corporation of Kansas City (CDC-KC) is a non-profit organization that for the past three decades has been dedicated to making inner-city neighborhoods in the Midwest metropolis more livable. Their motto: “From Ghetto to Goldmine.”
Such an organization with such a reputation should have known better.
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