Asbestos
is a mineral, it is found in the natural environment in rock. It should
have stayed there. Beginning in the 1930's and continuing on for more
than four decades, asbestos companies decided to use this mineral in their
products. Asbestos disease follows the trail of exposure. Asbestos disease
is not limited to any one particular craft or trade. Asbestos has been
unknowingly carried home on the clothes of workers resulting in disease
among the wives who cleaned the clothes and their children. It is a sad
commentary that tens of thousands of diseased people have paved the trail
of asbestos exposure. During the time companies sold asbestos, it was
known to them and kept secret that the material could kill. The unsuspecting
public they sold their products to are the victims.
Asbestos & Mesothelioma Overview
Asbestos products include brake and clutch linings, water pipe and roofing
materials.
Studies have
shown that asbestos particles in the air can cause mesothelioma lung
cancer and lung disease asbestosis, and many former and all new uses
of asbestos in the U.S. have been banned.
If you or someone
you know is suffering from lung cancer and/or lung disease asbestosis,
mesothelioma or other asbestos related diseases caused by exposure to
asbestos or asbestos containing products, you may be eligible to file
a claim.
Asbestos Law:
Exposure to asbestos can cause Mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer,
and Asbestosis, a noncancerous scarring of the lungs by asbestos fibers.
Asbestos products
liability lawsuits have arisen most often from two situations: 1) claims
brought against suppliers of raw asbestos fiber, where employees of
manufacturers of asbestos products actually or allegedly had contracted
asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to asbestos supplied
to the manufacturer, and 2) claims against manufacturers of products
brought where insulators and other asbestos workers allegedly or actually
had contracted asbestos-related diseases as a result of exposure to
the manufactured products.
The major defense
put forward by companies sued for asbestos exposure was that the company
was unaware of the dangers of asbestos, though this defense doesn't
often prevail. Some manufacturers also contend that lung damage was
caused by smoking, because asbestos and lung injuries are similar.
Asbestos law
is a relatively new field of law. The first asbestos lawsuit was not
filed until 1966. The first legal victory for an asbestosis sufferer
was not until 1973. In the 1980s, however, during a wave of asbestosis
cases, many companies began filing bankruptcies to avoid paying huge
punitive damages. Within a few years, the entire asbestos textile industry
was in bankruptcy, as were several major asbestos insulation manufacturers.
Nevertheless, asbestos cases continued; instead of the manufacturers
of asbestos bringing lawsuits, however, those exposed to asbestos began
bringing lawsuits. Asbestos products were banned in the United States
in 1989.
In more recent
developments, by March 2003, the Supreme Court had ruled that mental
anguish damages resulting from the fear of developing cancer may be
recovered under the Federal Employers' Liability Act by a railroad worker
suffering from the actionable injury asbestosis caused by work-related
exposure to asbestos. However, emotional distress damages may not be
recovered under the Federal Employers' Liability Act by disease-free
asbestos-exposed workers
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the general public's exposure to asbestos
in buildings, drinking water and the environment.
If you believe
you have been injured by Asbestos please contact us at asbestos@toxicdiscovery.com |
