Articles Posted in Boston Mesothelioma

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According to a recent article from the National Law Review, the state of Florida joined a group of states that are making it more difficult to prove causation in mesothelioma lawsuits. The first thing to discuss is what the term causation means in this context.

gavel7In any mesothelioma lawsuit, the primary claim is filed under a negligence theory.  This is true even though we may be dealing a specific claim such as a failure to warn of a known danger.  In any negligence case, there are four elements.  The first element is whether the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff.  The second element is whether the defendant breached a duty of care, assuming one was owed.  The next element is known as causation and the fourth element is the amount of damages, if any, the defendant’s breach of a duty of due care caused the plaintiff. Continue reading

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Take home asbestos cases are getting a lot of attention across the country.  A take home asbestos case deals with the defendant’s duty to warn a so-called non-user of the danger of exposure to deadly asbestos fibers.

old-worn-out-boots-1013579-m-300x261The first thing to understand is what a user of asbestos and a non-user of asbestos mean.  A user of asbestos was someone who worked in an asbestos mine, or a factory where asbestos products were used or manufactured, or a builder who worked with asbestos products.  One of the biggest uses of asbestos in construction projects was in drywall and wall joint compounds.  This means that there as a lot of dust that contained the deadly asbestos fibers being spread around the construction site. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from the New Haven Independent, the owner of a construction company has decided to challenge a $65,000 fine that has been assessed by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

warning-icon-45-1023139-mOSHA is a federal agency that is responsible for investigating worker safety violations across the United States.  In cases involving toxic substances such as asbestos, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also has jurisdiction to get involved or lead an investigation. Continue reading

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According to a recent news feature from the Boston Herald, a landlord who owns multiple rental units in New Bedford, Massachusetts has agreed to pay $100,000 in civil fines.  This payment will be made to settle claims filed by the Commonwealth’s Attorney General related to asbestos violations.  The allegations were that he was renovating four residences and engaged in illegal asbestos removal during the renovation process.

tosignacontract3Specifically, the lawsuit filed in the Suffolk Superior Court in Boston alleges that his contractors knowingly had workers remove material containing deadly asbestos fibers without wearing proper protective clothing and without having ventilators or respirators.  The material was then taken out with ordinary construction waste and taken to a landfill instead of being taken to a proper asbestos collection facility that handles this and other hazardous waste. Continue reading

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On the 15th anniversary to the 9/11 terror attacks in New York City and Washington, DC, Vice President Joe Biden choose to speak about how these events rocked our nation and about how the many rescue and recovery workers were exposed to a great deal of toxic dust, including some that contained deadly asbestos fibers, according to a recent news feature form Yahoo News.   This is part of the Cancer Moonshot program launched by President Barack Obama at his last State of the Union Address.

world-trade-center-1235234The Twin Towers of New York City’s World Trade Center complex, as it existed in September 2001, were constructed at a time when asbestos was used in virtually every aspect of construction.  World Trade Center One and World Trade Center 2 (the formal names for the Twin Towers) were no exception to this, and neither were the other buildings and underground structures that surround the Twin Towers. Continue reading

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While it may seem like a strange thing to study, a recent news feature from Science Daily looks at whether asbestos can move in soil, and there is a very important reason for this study.  The general belief, as it has been for many years, is that asbestos fibers cannot move when they are in soil.  As the new study suggests, this may not be true, and that is a serious problem.

openpitmineIn many parts of the country, there is soil that is filled with deadly asbestos fibers.  Some of these contaminated areas are a result of landfills at a time when asbestos was regularly thrown away with ordinary trash and construction waste.  Today this is illegal and a violation of the federal Clean Air Act. Continue reading

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According to the The Huffington Post, asbestos in classrooms has become a major problem across the country. Schools are reportedly not handling the problem well.  The reporter notes that any older school building likely has asbestos, and some of that asbestos could be harming your children.

asbestosTo get an idea of how bad the problem has become, we can first look at data collected by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the mid 1980s.  At that time, the EPA released an estimate that more than 100,000 grade schools contained asbestos and over 700,000 public buildings did as well in the U.S.  As if this was not bad enough, they estimated that of those 100,000 schools slightly more than a third of them contained friable asbestos. Continue reading

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When we think of asbestos and the damage it can do, we are normally thinking of malignant mesothelioma.  Malignant mesothelioma is a very aggressive form of cancer that will normally result in a patient’s death within a short period of time after initial diagnosis.

xrayanalysisOne of the reasons for the short life expectancy after initial diagnosis for someone with malignant mesothelioma is because of how the cancer affects a person and how it grows and spreads.  The illness begins when someone inhales or otherwise ingests deadly asbestos fibers.  These fibers are sharp and can become embedded in a layer of tissue called the mesothelium.  As one might expect, this is where mesothelioma gets its name. Continue reading

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According to a recent news article from the Cape Cod Times, a meeting was recently held that more than 100 parents attended.  The topic of this meeting was what about the more than 300 students who cannot return to the Teaticket Elementary School where they are registered. The reason they cannot go to their normal school is because it is closed due to asbestos hazards.

schoolAs is the case with many of the schools on the Cape and in the greater Boston area, this one was built at a time when asbestos was heavily used.  Asbestos has the natural ability to resist heat, fire, caustic chemicals, and electricity, but it also has the ability to work as a chemical binding agent.  This ability to work as a chemical binding agent means that it is good to be used in epoxies, glues, and other joint compounds such as drywall cement.  It is not flammable and the joint would break down due to exposure to normal conditions in the short term.  It will eventually break down over time, and that is where the problem starts. Continue reading

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The asbestos abatement process is serious business.  In order to safely remove asbestos from a renovation or demolition job site before work can be completed, a certified contractor, using trained workers, must remove all of the asbestos pursuant to an asbestos abatement plan that was approved by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MASSDep).  At various times during the abatement process, abatement reports must be submitted and air quality must be monitored for particulate mater (asbestos fibers) in the atmosphere, which is not allowed and can be very dangerous to those in the general area.

vermiculiteAll workers must be trained in asbestos abatement and must be provided with proper safety equipment.  This typically includes coveralls that will be destroyed once a shift is completed and ventilators or respirators. In addition to preventing asbestos-related injuries to themselves, it is also important for the workers to make sure they are not taking asbestos dust home to their families at the end of the day. Continue reading

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