COURT UPHOLDS PROTECTION FOR ASBESTOS WORKERS

According to the AFL-CIO blog, an OSHA rule created to protect workers from asbestos hazards has been upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals.  In 2003 a contractor in Houston, Texas hired 11 immigrant workers to perform an asbestos abatement job.  The contractor, Eric Ho, did not train the workers or give them appropriate protection, such as respirators.  A city inspector ordered the job stopped because of the asbestos violations, but the contractor made the workers perform the job behind locked gates, after hours; putting the workers at great risk. 

OSHA issued 22 separate violations to the contractor.  Eleven violations for not providing each worker with a respirator and eleven for not training the workers on how to properly work around asbestos.  A Bush Administration Commission overturned most of the citations, saying the contractor could only be cited once for the training violation and once for the respirator violation, consequently reducing the number of fines facing the contractor from 22 to 2.

OSHA subsequently re-worded the rules to clear up the issue, stating that separate citations can be issued for each worker who is not properly trained and separate citations can be issued for each worker who is not given a respirator.  The National Association of Home Builders sued the government, claiming OSHA did not have the authority to rewrite the rule.

In National Association of Home Builders C. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that OSHA was operating within its authority when it made the rule.  The dangers of working with asbestos have been known for many years.  It can cause cancers including lung cancer and mesothelioma, as well as asbestosis.  The ruling of the court, that the employer can be fined for each worker it doesn’t protect, gives OSHA a hammer to combat employers who don’t protect their workers appropriately.

 

GARLOCK SEALING TECHNOLOGIES FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Garlock Sealing Technologies has filed for bankruptcy, according to a story on the WSJ Blog.  The company, founded in 1887, produces sealing materials for various sectors, including the petrochemical industry, the chemical industry, the power industry, and the paper industry.  For many years, approximately 1907 to 1980, Garlock produced gaskets, packing materials, and cloth that contained asbestos.  Garlock has been a defendant in numerous asbestos cases. 

In court documents Garlock listed the value of their assets at the $500 million to $1 billion range, and their debts in the $100 million to $500 million range.  The company is asking the court to establish a bankruptcy trust to pay asbestos related claims.  The filing also covers the Anchor Packing Company, an arm of Garlock that also produced asbestos containing products. 

Asbestos is a mineral widely used in the early to late part of the 20th century in industrial settings.  Breathing in asbestos can cause scarring of the lungs, which is called asbestosis.  This disease can prevent the lungs from expanding properly and leads to shortness of breath and even death.  There is no known cure for asbestosis, other than a lung transplant.  Asbestos also can cause cancer.  The most deadly cancer caused by asbestos exposure is mesothelioma.

 

RECORD ASBESTOS AWARD UPHELD

According to a report on LAW.COM, a New Jersey appellate court upheld a verdict of $30.3 million, awarded to a mesothelioma victim.  Mesothelioma is a cancer of the lining around the lung caused by exposure to asbestos. 

The suit was brought by the wife of Mark Buttitta, who died from mesothelioma in 2002.  Buttitta’s father worked at a GM warehouse where he came into contact with asbestos containing products, such as brakes and clutches.  Buttitta was also exposed to asbestos when he worked in a GM warehouse as a college student.

Several defendants were sued, but only two defendants, Borg-Warner Corp. and Asbestos Corp. LTD. were remaining in the case at the time of trial.  Borg-Warner claimed that their products were not at the warehouse where Buttitta worked, and the claim was hard to prove because Borg-Warner had previously destroyed records of sales of their products to GM facilities.  However, John Fronig, a former GM manager testified in a case in Texas that Borg-Warner was the “prime” supplier of clutches to GM from the early 60’s until the mid-80’s. 

ACL, a Canadian company, was a major asbestos supplier to GM.  They asked the court to find that there was no personal jurisdiction over the company, because they are Canadian.  ACL also refused to participate in discovery in the case and was sanctioned, by striking their answer and defenses in the case.  ACL lost their appeal on all issues.

The verdict, the largest known verdict in New Jersey history, included $8 million for pain and suffering, $2 million for loss of consortium, $9 million for lost earning capacity, $2 million for loss of services, and $3 million to each child for loss of parental care.

 

CUBAN LUNG CANCER VACCINE MAY EXTEND VICTIMS’ LIVES

A new drug created by Cuban doctors may give hope to lung cancer victims, according to a story on CNN.com.  The drug, named ClimaVax EGF has been in development for almost 20 years.  Clinical trials have taken place in the UK, Canada and Cuba and over 700 patients have received the vaccine.

The vaccine extended the lives of terminal patients by four months, but some patients have had their lives extended for several years.  The results were compared against those who only received conventional therapies like chemo and radiation.  Younger patients appeared to have greater rates of success. 

The drug encourages production of an antibody that inhibits EGF (epidermal growth factor), a substance in the body which drives lung cancer cell  growth.  It is hoped this treatment can be developed into something that can bring lung cancer under control, in the same way other chronic diseases are controlled by medication.  Promising news.

 

W.R. GRACE SETTLES ASBESTOS CLAIMS FOR $140MILLION

A story on Yahoo News reports W.R. Grace settled a class action against the company relating to asbestos containing attic insulation the company sold.  THe company will pay $30 Million up front to fund a trust, another $30 Million after 3 years, and up to ten annual payments of $8 Million if terms of settlement are met, up to $140 Million total over the life of the settlement. 

The class action stems from the company’s sale of Zonolite Insulation, an asbestos containing product the company sold across the country for many years.  Over the years the product was installed in millions of homes.  The fund will pay the claims of individuals injured by this dangerous and sometimes deadly product.

Zonolite insulation was made primarily of vermiculite, an ore mined at the W.R. Grace mine in Libby, Montana.  The vermiculite in the mine contained asbestos.  The community of Libby has been devastated by asbestos related diseases, including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis.  Whole families in Libby have been destroyed by these horrible diseases.  Others in cities and towns all across the country have been injured by this product, which was used to insulate their attics. 

The lawsuits alleged W.R. Grace knew of the dangers of asbestos for years, but continued to use the product and never warned anyone of the potential dangers of the product.

 

NEW LITIGATION AREA – GRANITE COUNTER TOPS?

Article in NY Times regarding findings that some granite counter tops emit dangerous levels of radon and radiation.  Radon is a hazardous chemical element, a colorless gas, which is the second most frequent cause of lung cancer after cigarette smoking.  The article relates the story of a homeowner who had her granite counter tested and found levels over 25 times those considered safe.  Radon exposure is especially dangerous to smokers, whose lungs are already in a compromised position, as well as young children.

There are several resources on-line to help determine if you have a problem.  The EPA has a Radon website with links to information on testing your home for radon.  The AARST (American Association of Radon Scientists and Technologists) website also has information on technicians qualified to test your home for radon. 

An EPA spokesman is quoted in the story as saying “there is no known safe level of radon or radiation” exposure and that “any exposure (to radon) increases your health risk”.

 

U.S. SUPREME COURT REJECTS W.R. GRACE APPEAL

According to a story in the Missoulian, the US Supreme Court has denied the appeals of W.R. Grace and six of the companies’ executives who were trying to avoida criminal trial on charges that they violated the Clean Air Act by unleashing asbestos dust on the community of Libby, Montana, home to the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine. 

The Grace executives were indicted in 2005 for knowingly exposing the mine workers, as well as Libby residents.  To date 300 to 400 residents of Libby have died from asbestos related illnesses, and hundreds of other residents currently suffer from asbestos related disease.  The diseases caused by asbestos include mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining surrounding the lung called the pleura; various other cancers, including lung cancer; and asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs caused by exposure to asbestos.

Grace’s appeal centered on the argument that the EPA’s definition of asbestos didn’t include the asbestos fibers found in their vermiculite mine in Libby.  According to an article on the history of the mine, W.R. Grace bought the mine in 1963.  A month after the purchase was complete, a W.R. Grace executive wrote a memo stating that there was asbestos present at the mine and opined about possible ways to market the stuff. 

Throughout the 1960’s Grace conducted x-rays on employees and by 1969 over 60% of their work force was found to have abnormal x-rays evidencing asbestos exposure.  In addition, the local medical community in Libby told the company workers were getting sick.  Grace also conducted its own studies which found that the asbestos in the vermiculite caused asbestosis and cancer.

Grace executives could stand trial as early as this fall.

 

 

FLORIDA LAW RESTRICTING ASBESTOS LAWSUITS RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL

According to a story on Law.com, the 4th District Court of Appeal in Florida, has ruled the state’s 2005 “Asbestos and Silica Compensation Act” unconstitutional.  The law barred claimants with non-malignant lung diseases and less than a 20 percent loss in breathing capacity from suing.  The law also barred claimants suffering from lung cancer, who did not also have asbestosis and diminished breathing capacity, from suing.  The court ruled the entire statute unconstitutional. 

One provision of the act applied the standards set up in the act retroactively to cases already filed in court.  Judge Gary Farmer wote in the decision that the Act “may not constitutionally be applied to eliminate the existing vested rights in the lawsuits pending when the act became effective” in 2005.  In effect, those who got sick before the law was passed had rights that had already accrued before the law went into effect, such that the legislature’s act of making the law retroactive made the statute unconstitutional. 

Another example of tort reform at work.  Tort reformers routinely take away rights of every day citizens, by pushing laws like the one cited above.  Laws that they know trample rights the constitution gives to you and I.  The next step is that the tort reformers then want to monkey around with the courts (appointment of judges. etc.), so that judges like the ones on the 4th Circuit who review these unconstitutional laws will rule that there is nothing wrong with trampling the constitutional rights of the citizens of this great country. 

This result was right and just, and protects average citizens – the tort reformers must be fuming. 

 

ASBESTOS ALLEGEDLY FOUND IN TOY CRIME KIT

Reuters reports that suit has been filed against CBS, the toy maker – Planet Toys, and retail toy sellers, regarding the “CSI Crime Scene Investigation” toy crime fighting kit.  The lawsuit alleges the fingerprint dusting powder contains deadly amounts of tremolite asbestos.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen.  It is a mineral that was used heavily in this country during the middle of the last century.  Asbestos was used as thermal insulation by workers in industrial plants and shipyards, and as a brake lining by mechanics in garages all across the US.  Asbestos was used in households across the country as well.  Vinyl flooring contained asbestos, joint compound used on sheetrook contained asbestos, popcorn on ceilings contained asbestos, and transite siding on the outside of houses contained asbestos.  There were even unfortunate areas of the country where asbestos was used to pave roads and driveways.  The death toll from asbestosis, a lung disease caused by asbestos, as well as asbestos related cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma is astronomical.

Planet Toys has issued a “stop sale” on their toys.  They claim that none of their testing on the toy was positive for asbestos.  The original testing, which found the asbestos in the product, was done by the non-profit Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.  The ADAO filed suit to halt the sale of the toys and allow customers who purchased the toys to receive a refund. 

 

$30 MILLION VERDICT IN MESOTHELIOMA CASE

ACL and BorgWarner were found liable in the mesothelioma death of a New Jersey man, according to Newsday.com.  Mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer, caused only by exposure to asbestos.  The jury took 4 hours to return the $30.3 million verdict.  The victim in this case was Mark Buttitta, a 50 year old resident of New Jersey.  He was exposed to asbestos working in General Motors warehouses during summers.  His father also worked in the warehouses.  Witnesses testified that Mark Buttitta was exposed to asbestos when he was a child, when he sat in his father’s lap while his father was wearing his dusty work clothes.