Boston mesothelioma attorney

December 1, 2017

Vintage Building Materials Pose Asbestos Risk

There are many old buildings in Boston including closed factories, churches, the ubiquitous three-decker homes and many other types of structures that have fallen into a state of disrepair. Instead of demolishing these old buildings, industry trends and historic codes are leading people to purchase the buildings and covert them into alternative use residential dwellings. An old church in South Boston is now a high value condo building, and this is a continually growing trend.

One of the features of these alternative use residences is that those living there like the vintage feel so developers try to find vintage materials so they can be “repurposed” for use in the condos. Whether we are talking about old wood from a ship or factory, or an old industrial wire spool as a table, vintage items are a hot commodity. Even homeowners who purchase a three-decker with the intention of rehabilitation like to shop at thrift stores and sellers of reclaimed building materials for inspiration and supplies and some of these supplies contain asbestos.

November 22, 2017

Worcester Mass Developer Fined $100,000 for Asbestos Violations

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

When a landowner wants to renovate or demolish a property that is suspected of containing asbestos, as many commercial, residential and industrial buildings in the Greater Boston area do, there is a strict protocol that must be followed. If this protocol is flouted, it can result in work stoppage orders, administrative fines and criminal charges. More importantly, workers and others in the community are placed at risk for exposure to the deadly asbestos fibers.

Greater Boston Area Asbestos Case Settled

According to a recent news article from Mass Live, a land developer in Worcester, Massachusetts was just fined $100,000 and required to hire a contractor to perform an asbestos audit on eight of the company’s projects as terms of a settlement reached with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Continue reading

September 29, 2017

Damages for Boston Asbestos Exposure Violations

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

In the summer 2017, the news headlines were filed with information about what has become known as the Marco Polo fire. The fire occurred in Hawaii in the 36-story Marco Polo condominium on the Big Island. When the blaze erupted, four people died and 13 more were injured in the efforts to suppress the fire and evacuate the building including one firefighter.

While the fire was a massive tragedy, the damage did not end with the loss of the $100 million building. The condo building was built in 1971 at a time when asbestos was used in most aspects of construction and manufacturing. Continue reading

September 20, 2017

Boston Area Demolition Causes Asbestos Scare

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from CBS Boston, a construction crew in Wilmington were tearing down a home that was filled with asbestos. Authorities allege there were no abatement permits or proper protocol being followed and the demolition work resulted in a cloud of asbestos filling the air putting many lives in jeopardy.

Town officials did give a permit for the demolition, but admitted they allowed the firm to make a good faith statement that they had handled the asbestos issues and were not requiring any showing of proof. Continue reading

September 4, 2017

Asbestos in Boston Area Colleges

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

While this far from a problem that only affects the greater Boston area, many college campuses have buildings that were constructed at a time when asbestos was used heavily in the construction process. This not only includes classroom buildings and research laboratories, but also dorm rooms.

Generally speaking, if there is a asbestos in floor or ceiling tiles, which is very common for buildings constructed during the last half of the 20th century, it does not pose much of a risk to students because the deadly asbestos fibers are sealed into tiles. Continue reading

September 2, 2017

Asbestos Exposure Dangers in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

This year millions of people have displaced from their homes due to hurricanes, forest fires and other natural disasters. While many think of the obvious problems such as loss of life, property, and personal injury, there is another danger in the form of asbestos exposure. This is not only true in the South and Southwestern United States, but also in areas such as Boston with many older buildings that were constructed at a time when asbestos was used in just about every aspect of construction.

Asbestos was use heavily from the 1800s through the early 1980s. It is actually a naturally occurring mineral made up of six silica elements, and has been used by humans for thousands of years, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that it was used so heavily. The reason it was used so heavily at first, was because it has the somewhat remarkable ability to resist heat, fire, caustic chemicals, and electricity. It was then discovered the inert nature of asbestos could also make it seemingly perfect to use a bonding agent in glues and other construction adhesives and joining compounds. It is seemingly perfect and not actually perfect because the fibers are deadly if inhaled or ingested. Continue reading

August 22, 2017

$417M Jury Verdict in Talc – Asbestos Suit

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

According to a recent news article from The New York Times, a jury has just awarded $417 million to plaintiff after she became stricken with ovarian cancer linked to talc in Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. In this case, the jury found a link between the talc in baby powder and ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson presented evidence that there is no such link between talc and cancer, but a great deal of scientific and empirical evidence seems to indicate that such as link does exist and they believed this to be the case as well. Continue reading

August 13, 2017

Reservations Lead to Asbestos Risks in Boston

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

With a population shift favoring urban habitation, parts of the city that people had little desire to move to are suddenly becoming expensive places to rent or buy. Because of this demand, older homes and structures are constantly being renovated. This redevelopment has been good for the city, but has also resulted in serious asbestos exposure risks for Boston construction workers.

Old, rundown residential buildings being gutted to the frames and completely renovated into luxury apartments of condominiums. Land developers are purchasing abandoned factories and warehouses and converting them into high-end residential units. Some buildings are simply too far gone, so the land development firms will simply purchase them so they can be razed with new mixed use buildings constructed in their place. Mixed use has become a big thing these days where there are retail shops, restaurants, and supermarkets on the lower levels and apartments on the top floors. There are even some buildings with bars and restaurants on the roof.

Asbestos in building materials was common during the era in which these older buildings were initially constructed.

August 5, 2017

Calculating Damages in Asbestos Injury Lawsuits

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston mesothelioma lawsuits can be considerably more complicated than other types of personal injury lawsuits. One reason is there often multiple defendants, and all the defendants may be large corporations or asbestos bankruptcy trusts of formerly large corporations with the resources and expertise to fight a plaintiff fiercely. This is true even when they are clearly in the wrong and responsible for plaintiff’s malignant mesothelioma.

Boston Asbestos Lawsuit

Calculating damages in a case with multiple defendants can be a complex and drawn-out process. Settlements and verdicts tend to depend on:

Claimant’s medical history;
Proof of negligence;
Where the claim is filed;
Lost wages/ medical bills;
Number of defendants.

Courts aim to assign proportionate liability. That is, each defendant is responsible to pay their own share for damages inflicted. Calculating these percentages can be a complex task.

July 27, 2017

Asbestos Dangers in Older Buildings

by Jeffrey S. Glassman

Boston is a city of buildings that were constructed at a time when asbestos was heavily used in virtually all aspects of construction. Yes, there are historical buildings in Beacon Hill that were built at time before the industrial revolution, but many of the buildings in our city were constructed during the Victorian era at the heart of the industrial revolution in the United States and Western Europe. This is the reason we have so many Victorian style buildings and Queen Ann Victorians with large round towers and ornate exteriors.

As time went on, and newer buildings were constructed including the three deckers we find all over Boston, asbestos was still used heavily. It was used because of its abundance, which made it cheap, and the fact that it is naturally resistant to heat, fire, caustic chemicals, and electricity. It is also an excellent chemical bonding agent, as was discovered later. For this reason, asbestos fibers were added to many different construction products. It was used in flooring materials including tiles, and wallboard materials, as drywall was replacing plaster as the material of choice, and wall joint compounds. Continue reading