Mesothelioma Lawyers Blog

March 10, 2017

BorgWarner Announces $411M Set Aside for Future Asbestos Exposure Settlements

BorgWarner Inc., a Michigan-based company that supplies turborcharger and emissions systems to the auto industry, recently reported a one-time charge of $411 million, which it is setting aside for future asbestos exposure liability claims.

That’s according to Crain’s Detroit Business, which reports the charge resulted in a net loss in the company’s fourth quarter of $293 million.

Now of course, this might sound like a lot, but consider that the company’s revenue during that quarter rose by more than 6 percent to $2.3 billion, from $2.1 billion just a year earlier. A big part of that was owing to a 20 percent increase in drivetrain division sales. Net revenue for the year is up to $9.1 billion. When you consider this, that $411 million seems far less substantial, especially when noting how many thousands of asbestos injury claims are likely to arise in the coming years. The supplier figured the $411 million by calculating its estimated costs for indemnity and defense of pending and future asbestos-related claims, which could stretch into the next five decades. Continue reading

March 7, 2017

Appellate Court Accepts Government Contractor Defense in Asbestos Liability Lawsuit, Breaking With Ninth Circuit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

The government contractor defense was accepted in a recent asbestos liability lawsuits out of California. The decision by a state appellate court breaks with a ruling by the federal Ninth Circuit.

The government contractor defense shields the federal government’s exercise of discretion and judgment in contract specifications and designs. It can be raised by government contractor defendants in certain product liability lawsuits, such as those pertaining to asbestos exposure. It’s often used by companies that provide products that have some type of military application, though matters can get complicated when the product in question is sold to both the government and the general public.

The California case involves a man who was exposed to asbestos insulation while working on nuclear submarines in the early 1970s. The insulation product was called Unibestos, and it’s been available for decades. In 1936, the U.S. Navy started using the product in its vessels because of its high resistance to heat. Although ads for the product indicated it was “available everywhere,” there is no evidence as to how much of the product was sold commercially. Continue reading

March 5, 2017

New Asbestos Law and Changes Ahead

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Toward the end of the Obama administration, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added asbestos to a list of dangerous or hazardous chemicals. The significance of this new law was the EPA would be able to allocate more money toward the prevention of asbestos-related illnesses, such as malignant mesothelioma.

While asbestos is not used anywhere as near is much as it once was, it still poses a significant danger, and the number of asbestos cases are actually going up each year, according to recent statistics. As it stands now, there are thousands of deaths from mesothelioma each year in the U.S. alone. Continue reading

March 3, 2017

Asbestos Discovered at War Memorial

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from The Garden Island, inspectors have discovered a large amount of asbestos at the Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall. Hawaii is very important in terms of America’s involvement in the Second World War. This of course was the site of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which caused the United States to enter the war in the Pacific Theater of Operations. As a result, there are many war monuments and museums on the Hawaiian Islands.

One of these war memorials is located in Kauai and there is a large convection hall attached to the monument as well, which is frequented by both locals and businesses that host events on the property. According to reports, one of the caretakers of the facility first became concerned that there was asbestos in the flooring tiles and that its presence could be dangerous to those who frequent the building. Continue reading

February 28, 2017

Attorney General Alleges Contractor Falsified Asbestos Records

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When asbestos was first installed in the countless buildings in the United States it was very dangerous to the workers who were at the mines unearthing the material. It was also very dangerous to the workers who were employed at the factories processing the material into construction products. Then it was transported to millions of job sites across the country, where it was dangerous to the workers who were on the job.

As if this was not bad enough, it was dangerous to the families of the workers. When a worker came home at the end of the day still covered in the deadly asbestos fibers, they posed a significant risk to the spouses and children of these workers who would hug them at the end of the day and lived in the same home. Continue reading

February 25, 2017

Renovation Efforts and Asbestos Abatement at Boston’s Colonial Theater

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

For many, New York City’s Broadway is the gold standard of musicals and famous theaters. However, Boston has quite a few historic theaters located in the theater district and throughout the downtown area. One of the most famous is the Colonial Theater, built 117 years ago. At it turns out, many of the more famous shows, such as “Porgy and Bess” and “Oklahoma,” were first presented at this theater in Boston before debuting on Broadway.

This famous theater was designed with many classic and beautiful features, but it was also built at a time when asbestos was used in virtually every aspect of the construction process. Over the years, the theater began to fall apart and was literally crumbling into dust. Since much of this dust contained deadly asbestos fibers, this became a major problem, and there was much talk about the theater closing down forever, according to a recent article from The New York Times. Continue reading

February 22, 2017

Childhood Exposure to Asbestos and Related Issues

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Malignant mesothelioma is the most well-known disease associated with exposure to deadly asbestos fibers. However, it is not the only disease caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. There is also a disease known as asbestosis that is not talked about as much, but many people are still aware of its existence.

As discussed in a recent article in The Western News, one of the more common diseases caused by exposure to asbestos is known as pleural thickening. Pleural refers to the human lungs. As the asbestos fibers are inhaled, they can become trapped in the lungs, and the body has three distinct responses that are not technically associated with mesothelioma.
Continue reading

February 19, 2017

Montana Settles Asbestos Claims for $25M

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While most people in the United States are now aware of the dangers of asbestos, many do not really know what it is or where it came from. First of all, asbestos in a pure form is not a man- made substance. It is actually considered a naturally occurring mineral that is comprised of six distinct silica elements. There are various different types of asbestos, but their differences primarily involve the different minerals and other elements that are attached to the asbestos.

It has been used for thousands of years, as it has a natural ability to resist heat, fire, caustic chemicals and electricity. However, it wasn’t until the mid 1850s that asbestos-laden products were being produced in vast quantities. With the need for all that raw asbestos came the need for major mining operations, and that need was filled by a firm called W.R. Grace and Co. This was technically called a vermiculite mine, but, in reality, vermiculite was laden with asbestos at that time, even though the company said it was a safe alternative to asbestos when they knew it wasn’t. Continue reading

February 16, 2017

Asbestos in Popcorn Ceilings Puts Tenants at Risk

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from Canyon News, one neighborhood is facing a public health emergency due to the fact that residents in as many at 20 apartments are at risk for being exposed to deadly asbestos fibers. While asbestos fibers can come from many sources, in this case, the danger is posed by the use of popcorn ceilings.

For those who are not familiar with popcorn ceilings, this was a design trend that was popularized in the 1950s and used through 1988 that involved an acoustic dampening foam before a coat of paint was applied to the ceiling. The purpose of the popcorn ceiling was providing sound insulation so that people who lived in lived in a lower floor apartment would not be bothered by noise coming from the apartment on the floor above. Continue reading

February 14, 2017

Treating Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Related Cancers

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

There is no cure for mesothelioma. Sadly, when most people first learn they have malignant mesothelioma, they are often told they only have a very short time left to live.

While there is nothing close to a cure, there are several treatment options available. However, there is often somewhat of a mixed bag, and many patients may elect not to undergo these treatment procedures. The reason for is because they are not very effective in terms of stopping or reversing tumor growth, and they can be very invasive. Continue reading