Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

October 9, 2015

Rep. Blake Fernthold Discusses Need for Asbestos Reform to Protect Veterans and First Responders

Representative Blake Fernthold (R-Texas) is speaking out about problems with the mesothelioma victims’ fund for first responders and veterans exposed to deadly mesothelioma fibers. The funds were set up by Congress in the 1990s, and money was reserved for future victims, since it typically takes between 20 and 50 years after first being exposed to deadly asbestos fibers before they metastasize into malignant pleural mesothelioma, lung cancer, or cause other forms of serious respiratory illness.

These funds were designed to provide fair payments as compensation for present and future victims, but instead there have been many funding problems with the systems and payments, which have been reduced since the 2000s, and in some cases multiple times to the same victims or their families. Fernthold says the reason for this is because of recurring incidents of fraud and abuse of the system. He, along with a group of advocates, is supporting the Furthering Asbestos Claims Transparency (FACT) Act. They hope that with greater transparency, there will be less fraud, and victims and their families will finally get the compensation they deserve. Continue reading

October 6, 2015

Results not Promising for New Mesothelioma Drug

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

As many know too well, there is not much doctors can do for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. This is not say there aren’t a multitude of FDA-approved treatment options, because there are, but even in the best case scenarios, patients undergo invasive and painful procedures and may only be given an extra few months to live.

There is, however, hope that, one day, there will be real treatment options for mesothelioma patients that can actually arrest the growth of tumors or even force them into remission. One drug that people thought might help doctors and patients achieve these goals was known as VS-6063, being developed by Verestem Inc. pharmaceuticals based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The company had recruited patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma in 2011, and, by 2012, the company had announced it was closing enrollment in the study because it had enough patients with the deadly disease to complete the study. Continue reading

September 29, 2015

Facts About Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A recent news article from Dr. Tipster takes a closer looks at mesothelioma. As many people know, mesothelioma is a very rare from of cancer that is almost exclusively caused by exposure (usually at the workplace) to deadly asbestos fibers. Once inhaled, it can take between 20 and 50 years for these fibers to metastasize into a deadly form of cancer known as malignant pleural mesothelioma.

One of the first questions many people ask is how is mesothelioma diagnosed? Unfortunately, mesothelioma is very difficult to diagnose until the disease is in an advanced stage, and the patient has only very short time left to live. Many people who finally do start noticing symptoms do not go to the doctor right away, because they mistake the symptoms, such as stomachache and shortness of breath, for a less serious illness. The vast majority of patients are diagnosed with mesothelioma within a few months after they first start experiencing symptoms. Continue reading

September 27, 2015

Promising Results for CRS-207 Trials in Fighting Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news release from Nasdaq News Service, Aduro Biotech has just announced the results of Phase 1b mesothelioma trials for its new immunotherapy drug, CRS-207.

Phase 1b is part of the process of clinical trials to test new medications on human patients. In this phase, multiple increasing dose studies are performed on human patients to determine safety and tolerability. The patients are given multiple low doses of the drug during the study, and multiple tests are performed to determine how the human body processes the new drug. In the next group of patients, the dose of the experimental drug is increased, and then increased again in future groups, until a preset limit has been reached. Continue reading

September 22, 2015

Whistleblower Reports Asbestos at VA Hospital

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent public letter from the United States Office of Special Counsel to President Barack Obama, a whistleblower’s claims of asbestos safety violations at a Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospital have been substantiated.

The reason the letter was addressed to the president is because, as president, he is technically in charge of all executive agencies. According to the release, federal investigators responded to a whistleblower’s claim that, as long-time maintenance employees, he and his co-workers, which included pipefitters, HVAC workers, and plumbers, had to work every day in areas VA knew to contain asbestos. Whistleblower also said he and others were required to perform their work without the use of certified or approved asbestos protection equipment or respirators or ventilators. It also seemed to whistleblower that they were taking this toxic asbestos-laden material and throwing it in an ordinary dumpster. Continue reading

September 18, 2015

What is Chrysotile Asbestos?

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is no question that asbestos is harmful to humans. It would be fair to assume that most adults in America are familiar with this fact. Many people know asbestos can cause cancer, but this pretty much sums up the general public’s knowledge about asbestos, including where it comes from.

According to a recent news feature from Oregon Live, asbestos is a naturally occurring substance, and geologists estimate that anywhere between nine and 12 percent of the Earth’s crust contains asbestos. There are, however, various types of asbestos. The most common type of asbestos used in building construction in the United States is known as chrysotile. Continue reading

September 18, 2015

Report: Alleged Asbestos Violators and Massachusetts Regulators Agree to Consent Order

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A news feature from GazetteNet.com takes a closer look at recent environmental news headlines involving Holyoke and other parts of the Commonwealth Of Massachusetts. One issue discussed in the article is a large-scale effort to clean up the Connecticut River Watershed. The Watershed stretches over 400 miles through Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and the planned cleanup is scheduled to take place along the entire watershed in all three states.

The cleanup is held each fall and usually attracts thousands of volunteers. Some of these volunteers will walk along the river and wade into the water, while others will use private boats to patrol the river and collect trash. Plastic bags are one of the most common types of trash found in rivers, and they have been known to kill animals and do all kinds of damage to the watershed environment. Another problem with the river is a major illegal tire dump site located nearby. Tires are hard to dispose of and cost money to destroy, so people tend to dump them illegally. Rivers and other bodies of water happen to be sites where unscrupulous people tend to throw them, and, with steel belts, these tires tend to sink to the bottom, where they are not seen until the pile gets much bigger. Continue reading

September 15, 2015

Federal Government Gives Mass Town Millions to Abate Lead and Asbestos

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

For much of the last century and even long before, many of the materials used to construct the average building were toxic – toxic to the workers who made the materials, and toxic to the contractors and laborers who installed the materials. While it seems crazy that deadly toxins were being used in virtually all aspects of construction, including residential homes, it is worse when you consider that producers in the industry were well aware of the harm they were causing and took whatever steps they could to keep the workers and general public from finding out.

One of these dangers was lead paint. For many years, paint was made with lead particles, because the lead helped the paint to stick to the surface and kept the color looking brighter and sharper longer. However, lead paint tends to peel and chip when it gets old, and, when it does, children are likely to play with it and pull it off the wall. Lead paint is also sweet tasting, and this is why it was common, and in places where lead paint remains, is still common, for young children to eat these lead paint chips. Continue reading

September 11, 2015

A Look at the 9/11 First Responders and How Their Health is Now

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), in the immediate aftermath of the horrific terror attack on the United States, many people were awestruck by images of burning jet fuel and smoke rising in the air. There was, in fact, 90,000 gallons of burning aviation fuel and a considerable amount of thick black smoke over Manhattan.

However, it was the giant plumes of dust and debris rising in the air for days on end that were really a sight never to be forgotten, and it was these same clouds of dust reeking having on the lungs and internal organs of the thousands of workers at Ground Zero in New York City. Continue reading