Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

February 24, 2015

Asbestos-Related Illness Inspiration for Recent Novel

According to a recent news feature from Western News, H.M. Bowker has written a novel loosely based on her life in Libby, Montana. She has lost her father, two brothers, a sister and sister’s husband all to asbestos-related illness. Much of this was incorporated into her novel.

Libby, Montana is the site of the largest and oldest vermiculite mine in the United States, and was heavily used during much of last century. W.R. Grace owned this mine and employed many workers during its operation from 1920 to the 1980s. Town residents were constantly being exposed to vermiculite, as it was literally covering much of the town. Bowker recalls there was a pile of vermiculite near a baseball field and local kids would pretend it was snow and play with, or even lie in it, making vermiculite angels with their arms.

Vermiculite, like asbestos, is a naturally occurring silica compound that is resistant to heat and fire and was often used as an insulation material and to give commercial and consumer products heat and fire resistant properties. However, due its chemical similarity to asbestos, asbestos is often found in vermiculite as the elements formed in the same environment.
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February 21, 2015

Serious Asbestos Exposure Risk Leads to Federal Prison

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring substance, which was heavily used during the industrial revolution in the United States and Europe. Its use was so prevalent due to its abundance, low cost and effectiveness at resisting heat, fire, caustic chemicals and electricity.

The nearly total ban on asbestos products in the developed world is because asbestos fibers are extremely toxic. Once inhaled, these fibers become lodged in the lungs and tissues known as the mesothelium where they can metastasize into a deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, and other respiratory illness. Doctors have no effective means to remove the fibers, or even detect their presence. After a period of 20 to 50 years, any illness caused by these fibers will typically present painful and debilitating symptoms. By the time a patient knows he or she is suffering, and goes to a doctor, it is usually too late for any effective treatment and patients may only have a short time to live – often times less than a year.

What makes matters more horrific is those in the asbestos industry were well aware of these risks long before the general public. Companies actually took steps to hide this information and even marketed their products as being safe when concerns did arise. Today, asbestos is hardly used in the United States, but there is still much of the toxic substance present in Massachusetts and across the world.
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February 18, 2015

Dependable Abrasives v. Pierce – Causal Link Critical in Work-Related Disease Case

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Many occupational diseases are not diagnosed until many years after a worker is no longer employed in the industry wherein he or she was exposed to toxic substances.

We see this very commonly in asbestos litigation, though it is also apparent in cases involving exposure to silica. Both substances cause types of occupational lung disease either through a single severe exposure or repeated, extended exposure. While asbestos is associated with asbestosis and mesothelioma, silica is associated with silicosis and lung cancer.

Per the American Lung Association, silicosis is a disabling, dust-related illness caused by exposure to and inhalation of airborne crystalline silica. It’s often found in mines, foundries, blasting operations and manufacturers of stone, clay and glass. Similar to the physiological damage done by asbestos, silica penetrates the respiratory system and causes scar tissue to develop around the lungs, ultimately impairing the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood.
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February 16, 2015

Massachusetts Asbestos Violation Costs Company $65K

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

A Massachusetts company accused by the state attorney general’s office of numerous asbestos-related violations will pay $65,000 for allegedly breaking the law and creating a public health hazard.

According to 22 News WWLP.com, the alleged violations happened during renovation of a multi-family building. The company and its owner were prosecuted by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office after evidence surfaced the company improperly and illegally removed, transported and disposed of the dangerous, toxic fibers during the project.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection sets certain standards for anyone handling asbestos. Before a job even starts, there are specific notification standards for any construction/demolition and renovation of any kind of building. Once the work starts, contractors are required to use special supplies and equipment, as well as to adhere to stringent work safety practices. Those practices include setting up an adequate air filtration system, containment area and a strict protocol of packaging and labeling asbestos waste. If at any time a certain area is contaminated by improper handling of asbestos, removal must be conducted very carefully and according to certain state-issued guidelines.
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February 15, 2015

Riggs v. Georgia-Pacific LLC – Heirs Allowed Wrongful Death Claim Despite Prior Injury Verdict

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The Utah Supreme Court ruled the fact of a personal injury verdict in favor of a mesothelioma victim did not bar a victim’s heirs from pursuing wrongful death litigation against the same defendants for the same injury.

The ruling in Riggs v. Georgia-Pacific LLC was a marked victory for mesothelioma plaintiffs who wish to pursue additional action following the death of a loved one due to negligent asbestos exposure.

The high court ruled a wrongful death claim – even one arising out of the same injury and against the same defendants as a prior personal injury case – was not barred because the plain language of state statute held a wrongful death action as independent from any others. It is not foreclosed simply as a matter of law because decedent prevailed in a related personal injury action.
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February 12, 2015

Frozen Water Pipes Can Lead to Asbestos Exposure

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In cold Massachusetts winters, frozen pipes are always a concern. Many people take steps to prevent pipes from freezing, such as buying insulation, putting heaters in basements, and buying foam covers for outdoor or underground water faucets.

While most people are aware a frozen pipe can burst, causing a great deal of property damage, they can also cause serious health concerns, such as exposing residents to lead and asbestos in older buildings. According to a recent news feature from Consumer Affairs, while most pipes in your home are heated and safe from freezing, problems can arise when a heater fails or if the pipe is an unheated area in or around your home.

When water inside a pipe freezes, it will expand due to physical properties of water. When it expands, there is nowhere for the water and ice to escape, so it puts increased pressure on the pipe. When the pressure gets too high, the pipe will fail and burst apart. It doesn’t matter if the pipe is made of metal, PVC, or another type of plastic resin. Once a pipe bursts, a stream of water is often released into the building.
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February 9, 2015

Boston Surgeon to Start New Lung Institute to Fight Mesothelioma

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from Houston Chronicle, a world-renowned surgeon from Harvard University is leaving Massachusetts to help start a new lung institute in Texas.

This surgeon will be heading a team of over 80 doctors put together to treat serious lung conditions including asthma and cancer. He will be using gene-based techniques to treat patients. He is known as a world-leading expert in treatment of mesothelioma. He credits this recognition to his vast experience in seeing patients suffering from the deadly asbestos-related cancer due to Boston’s once burgeoning ship building industry. Asbestos was used heavily in many aspects of the maritime industry and caused many workers to develop mesothelioma.

One reason asbestos was so common at shipyards is because a fire at sea is one of the biggest fears among sailors, because there is not where to go if a fire starts on a boat. It’s not like you can evacuate a boat at sea in rough weather. Asbestos is cheap and naturally resistant to heat, fire, electricity, and caustic chemicals. It has been used in fabricated components, joint compounds, and insulation. Asbestos was very commonly used as pipe insulation whereby sheets of the material were woven into fibers and wrapped around hot pipes to keep the heat in and prevent burns.
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February 3, 2015

Asbestos-Laden Old Sign Shop Turned into Boston Homeless Shelter

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Harsh Boston winters can be particularly hard on the city’s many homeless who are confined to outside. In an effort to find more temporary housing for homeless residents of Boston, the city has opened a new homeless shelter in what was once a sign shop operated by the city of Boston.

The industrial space used for the homeless shelter, according to a recent news article from the Boston Globe, house the old sign shop less than a month ago. It contained asbestos tiles throughout the building, and most of the windows were broken with cracked frames. The building was also filled with tools and metal scraps used to make street signs, parking meters, and traffic signal lights. The walls were covered with plaster, which also contained asbestos.

While renovation projects like this normally take years, teams of private contractors were brought in and worked around the clock to remove all remnants of the old sign shop, complete all asbestos abatement (removal), and renovate the structure.
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January 30, 2015

Asbestos Concerns a Part of Fight for New Bridge in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is no question traffic is a major problem in Boston. Many of the roads and bridges were built at a time when such a high volume of traffic was never contemplated. Much has been done in the past couple of decades to alleviate traffic. Anyone living in Boston in the late 1990s and early 2000s remembers the Big Dig project to replace the central artery bridges with an underground highway.

Now a fight between residents and Department of Transportation has arisen over the fate of the Casey Arborway overpass. City officials intend to demolish the bridge and replace it with a series of surface streets designed to facilitate flow of traffic. Many residents feel a bridge is needed, so their respective back yards do not become parking lots full of vehicles stuck in traffic. Some have suggested the existing overpass be restored and used in the new project. City officials seem steadfast in their desire to demolish the bridge, and the project is underway.
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January 24, 2015

Bankrupt Asbestos Producer Sets Aside $375.5 Million for Future Mesothelioma Victims

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

For much of last century, asbestos producers reaped huge profits from making and selling a product they knew to be deadly to workers and consumers. Humans have used asbestos for thousands of years because it is cheap to mine and naturally resistant to heat, fire, caustic chemicals, and electricity. However, it was during the industrial revelation when large-scale use began in virtually every aspect of industry and construction trades.

While the general public was not told of the dangers of asbestos exposure, producers of the toxic material were very much aware of the harm their products were causing. We know this because documents obtained discovery in mesothelioma litigation revealed industry personal were aware of many of the dangers long before the general public.

One reason these companies were willing to take such risks with others’ safety is because it was also known it would take between 20 and 50 years for workers exposed to asbestos to become noticeably ill. Once a worker developed symptoms and sought treatment, they would only have a short time to live on average. These companies were willing to trade future losses for present day profits, and did not tell workers they were doing this.

By now everyone knows about dangers associated with asbestos exposure, and mesothelioma lawyers are filing lawsuits against these companies on a regular basis. The problem is many of these companies are going bankrupt as result of not being able to sell their toxic products anymore. However, there are still thousands of Americans who will be diagnosed with mesothelioma each year who need a way to financially recovery for the wrong done to them.
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