Nebraska (NE) Asbestos And Mesothelioma General, Medical, & Legal Resources

Nebraska (NE) Asbestos Resources & Information:

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Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, nominally a member of the Democratic party but who nonetheless continues to vote for neo-conservative, pro-corporate legislation, states:

"Most of the companies which manufactured asbestos have already been bankrupted by the number of lawsuits brought by those with health problems, and by those who have been exposed and who are still healthy but fear future health problems resulting from asbestos. Many more companies which handled these products are now being brought into court and are threatened with bankruptcy from such lawsuits. Victims who become ill in the future may well be unable to recover even the cost of their medical treatment should widespread bankruptcies occur. In addition, hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost as these companies fail.

Nebraska's Senator Ben Nelson has been part of a bipartisan group of senators working to establish a fair and reliable method of compensating those who become ill as a result of exposure to asbestos. The Senate has wrestled with the issue of asbestos litigation reform for several years, and Senator Nelson has been in the forefront of negotiations to enact this important relief for asbestos victims."

It appears that the senator, who like virtually every other legislator inside the beltway receives large sums of money from corporate interests that drown out the voices of their constituents, fails to appreciate two things. First of all, because of 26 years of what is known as "supply-side" economics, nearly all of these corporations continue to enjoy record-breaking profits, and even when seeking "protection" under bankruptcy laws, still find enough to pay out seven-figure CEO salaries.

Second, although Senator Nelson has sponsored a form of "health care reform" (S.1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2005), this legislation fails to acknowledge that in this case, the private marketplace is the problem, and will continue be a problem as long as healthcare is regarded as a for-profit commodity and not a human right.

Asbestos Locations

Nebraska, located in the heart of the geologically inactive Great Plains, has no naturally-occurring asbestos (asbestiform minerals are the result of intense geologic pressure in the presence of carbonates). Numerous jobsites have been sources of asbestos exposure, however, many of which were power generation plants.

Power plant workers are one of the high-risk groups when it comes to asbestos disease. In 2003, researchers in Puerto Rico studied the chest x-rays of a large number of such workers, detecting "abnormalities" in 13% of those examined.
For some 50 years, asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were used in such plants as a flame retardant; electric wiring, panel partitions, and electrical cloth are examples of such ACMs. In addition, electrical conduits were often packed with asbestos insulation, and plaster, drywall, and even cement in these plants were made from ACMs.

Those who work in the petroleum industry are also among the high-risk groups, according to Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry data. Asbestos-containing products were used as insulation in most oil facilities, due to the fact that petroleum is highly flammable at all stages. Over time, this material becomes brittle,causing it to flake off, producing asbestos dust that is inhaled by workers.

Another source of asbestos exposure was asbestos-contaminated vermiculite ore shipped from the mines in Libby, Montana. Two sites in Omaha, including the Western Mineral Products Company, processed nearly 132,000 tons of vermiculite between 1948 and 1993. During the processing of the ore to produce attic insulation and other vermiculite products, asbestos was released into the air and exposed not only people who worked at the plants, but those who worked, went to school, or lived near them.

Victims

All in all, the death rate in Nebraska due to asbestos disease has been lower than many other states. Between 1980 and 2000, the state's population went from 1.57 million to 1.7 million; during the same time, there were just under 200 deaths from asbestos-related causes. Mesothelioma victims outnumbered those who died from asbestosis by two to one.

Nebraska (NE) Asbestos & Mesothelioma Doctors

The diagnosis and treatment of asbestos-related cancers and other diseases is gradually becoming a sub-specialty in the field of medicine all its own. However, as of the present time, there is no medical degree that is specific to asbestos-related practice.

Most doctors focusing on asbestos disease today are trained in oncology, thoracic surgery, respiratory or occupational medicine, or some related field. Below is a list of doctors in Nebraska (NE) that specialize in some form of asbestos cancer or mesothelioma treatment and the institution they are currently affiliated with:

Nebraska (NE) Asbestos & Mesothelioma Treatment Centers

Today, between 25 and 30% of all Americans will get some form of cancer during their lifetimes. There are many reasons for this, including the modern lifestyle and the poisons that have been put into the environment – of which asbestos is a prime example.

The number of clinics and hospitals that specialize in oncology have increased in response to the growing number of patients. Below is a list of the cancer treatment centers located in Nebraska (NE) that we feature on Asbestos.net:

Clinical Trials Serving Nebraska (NE):

A clinical trial is when new medications and treatments are tested on human subjects. Participation in such studies can entail some risks, but for some who are facing an invariably fatal disease, they also represent an opportunity – not only for personal relief, but to serve the greater good in the advancement of medical knowledge.

Below is a list of clinical trials with locations in Nebraska (NE):

Nebraska (NE) Legal Resources: Asbestos, Asbestos Cancer & Mesothelioma

A search through the Nebraska Federal District Court Cases for asbestos-related personal injury product liability lawsuits brings up a list of five lawsuits from 2006 and 2007. Four of these lawsuits occurred together in October of 2006 with the defendant in all four being the BNSF Railway Company. The other issue that comes up is a petition for removal from asbestos litigation that occurred in April 2007 in the case of Sautter v. A.W. Chesterton et al. Nebraska is ranked 37 in the nation for mesothelioma cases. With a mesothelioma mortality rate of 11.5 per million, Nebraska has a crude mortality rank of 29 in the country.

Known asbestos-exposed areas in Nebraska include the Phillips Petroleum Fertilizer Plant in Beatrice; the Cooper Nuclear Power Plant in Brownville; and the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant, the Lexington Canaday Station, the Nebraska City Powerhouse, the Sutherland Gerald Gentleman Station, and Cumming County Public Power in West Point. In Hallam, known asbestos-exposed sites include the Hallam Nuclear Power Facility and Sheldon Station. In Omaha, the Incinerator, Omaha Power District, and Omaha Public Power are known asbestos-exposed areas. Individuals living or working near these areas should be checked regularly for signs of mesothelioma in order to file any lawsuits within the state's statute of limitations. While many of these sites have been inspected and some have been cleaned up, anyone who worked or lived in these areas before asbestos contamination was reported can still be affected. Also, it is important to keep in mind that these are only known asbestos sites. Other areas in the state may also contain asbestos but may not yet have been reported as such.
 
The governor of Nebraska has been looking to introduce reforms that would better protect victims. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska is one of a bipartisan group of senators working together to establish a fair and reliable method of compensating people who become ill as a result of exposure to asbestos. Asbestos litigation reform has been an issue of debate in the Senate for several years, with Senator Nelson in the forefront of negotiations. Along with Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, Nelson introduced the Asbestos Litigation Reform proposal. The bill would create a $108 billion trust fund to pay all asbestos-related claims for the next 25 years. Taxpayer money would not be used to finance the fund. Instead insurance companies would pay $45 billion and companies that have been sued would pay $45 billion. The rest of the money would come from smaller companies, existing asbestos trusts and interest on the fund.

In a currently pending case, attorneys for the A.W. Chesterton Company are expected to call experts who will testify that in order to have contracted a disease from asbestos exposure, the plaintiff in the case would had to have been exposed to the carcinogen for hundreds of years. In the case, a woman has filed suit alleging that her late husband died after being exposed to asbestos in the workplace. Twenty-four other companies besides Chesterton are named as defendants in the suit.

Those interested in filing lawsuits should know that the statute of limitations for personal injury law in Nebraska is four years with a discovery rule that states that this amount of time begins when the problem (in this case the mesothelioma) either was discovered or should have been discovered. It should be noted that wrongful death cases are limited to a two-year statute of limitations with the same discovery rule. There is no specific statute about asbestos in Nebraska.