Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

The Supreme Court of California has agreed to hear an appeal involving a plaintiff who sued his uncle’s employer. According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the plaintiff, who is dying from mesothelioma, has alleged that he was exposed to asbestos when his uncle returned home from work covered in asbestos dust.

His uncle worked for a company that manufactured asbestos-filled brake linings for automobiles. Under the normal rule, an asbestos manufacturer is not liable for illness to anyone who came in contact with its employees. However, the intermediary court of appeals held that a company that uses toxic materials must take appropriate steps and use reasonable efforts to keep safe family members who live with their workers.

Pllaintiff said that he would spend around three nights a week in his uncle’s home as a child and remembers his uncle being covered in dust from work. As our Boston mesothelioma lawyers know, asbestos consists of six naturally occurring silica minerals and has been used through the industrial revolution in a variety ways, due its ability to withstand heat, electricity, and many caustic chemicals. It was used in brake linings to prevent the brakes from overheating and catching fire, which can happen on large commercial vehicles.
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In Collin v. CalPortland Company, a case from the California Court of Appeals, the plaintiff was a construction worker from 1955 through 1995. He was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma and alleges that his cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos-containing plastic cement and a joint compound that he came into contact with on many job sites.

As our Boston mesothelioma lawyers understand, this case highlights the importance of having a witness who can prove a plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos.

While there were 22 named defendants, the manufacturer of the plastic cement and the predecessor of the manufacturer of the joint compound separately moved for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims against them.
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Our Boston mesothelioma lawyers know companies across the world exposed both workers and consumers to deadly asbestos fibers while fully aware of the health consequences.

In a recent article from ABC News, authorities are concerned homes in Sydney may be have been built with deadly asbestos in the 1960s and 1970s.

This story involved asbestos “fluff” pumped into the roof spaces in homes to act as insulation. Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that can be processed into a variety of forms to serve as insulation that is resistant to heat, electricity, and chemicals.

While asbestos was once thought an amazing product that was both cheap and effective, we know now that breathing asbestos fibers for even a short period of time can lead to the deadly form of cancer known as mesothelioma. The fibers are inhaled and get embedded in the lung tissue. The body has no natural way to expel these fibers, so they remain in the lungs, causing cancerous growths.
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According to a recent story from Construction Enquirer, two brothers who ran a billiards hall have been sentenced to prison for exposing workers to deadly asbestos fibers. One of the workers was only 17-years-old at the time of exposure.

Court records indicate the owners were never qualified in demolition or construction work, and were not licensed in asbestos removal. The government health service had issued numerous warnings and citations about the presence of asbestos in the building they were attempting to renovate. The health service issued a cease order demanding that they stop all work involving asbestos.

Despite these government notices, the owners were found to have removed several truckloads of asbestos-containing debris. They took the toxic material to an unlicensed disposal location. Witnesses observed workers covered in dust and not wearing any protective clothing or equipment.

The judge noted that at least seven workers were observed working in this asbestos-filled environment. Both brothers pleaded guilty to conduct which constituted a wilful disregard for the safety of workers. One of the defendants was sentenced to 22 months in prison and the other was sentenced to 14 months of incarceration. They were also ordered to pay £43,000 in fines and court costs.

Our Boston Mesothelioma attorneys note one of the most disturbing parts of a story like this is that there is no way of knowing if the workers will develop a deadly form of mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is caused when asbestos fibers become embedded in the lung tissue of those exposed to the toxic substance. Once the fibers are embedded, mesothelioma can develop 20 to 50 years after exposure in typical cases. There are no symptoms or treatment. There is also no way for doctors to remove fibers, and the human body does not have a natural mechanism for doing so.
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A recent article from Michigan Live focuses on an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into complaints of improper asbestos removal at an old school for the blind building.

Our Boston mesothelioma lawyers know that asbestos removal is a dangerous process. Not only can the removal process lead to additional exposure, an incomplete removal process can leave people with a false sense of security.

At this school building, EPA inspectors arrived wearing full body HAZMAT suits to protect themselves from the deadly fibers. When asbestos fibers are breathed into the lungs, they become embedded in the tissue, leaving the body with no effective way to remove them. The fibers then interact with the cells of the lungs and abdomen and can lead to mesothelioma lung cancer.
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A recent British article reports that a hospital administration trust has reported itself to the government health service after staff members raised concerns that the buildings in which they work contains asbestos, a deadly substance known to cause mesothelioma.

The government investigation lead to findings that resulted in the trust pleading guilty to five separate safety violations pertaining to the presence of asbestos. At this time, authorities stated that no employees had contracted mesothelioma, but they were concerned that many eventually would become ill.

As your Boston Mesothelioma attorney can explain, this deadly form of lung cancer is not usually detectable until decades after exposure. It is for that reason that significant litigation is often needed to prove when and where the asbestos exposure occurred. Typically, the exact time and place of the exposure is not documented by a government agency before the disease develops.
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Our Boston mesothelioma lawyers understand that companies across the world are still selling asbestos-filled products despite known safety risks.

According to a recent article from WRAL, asbestos is being presented in Asia as an affordable solution for poor residents. Our Boston mesothelioma lawyers know exposure to asbestos can cause a deadly form of lung cancer.

Apparently, asbestos industry executives met at a luxury hotel for an asbestos conference, where they pushed the benefits of asbestos products for poor families. They discussed using asbestos roofs, pipes, and walls for the many people currently living in thatched huts.

Asbestos is banned in the majority of developed nations, but it has been used all across the developing world. While the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 100,000 people die each year from mesothelioma, the asbestos executives are claiming that asbestos is not that dangerous and argue they are doing what is essentially charitable work by helping the poor.
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