 Asbestos
Lawsuit News
Every
year, at least 10,000 people
worldwide will be diagnosed
with malignant pleural mesothelioma,
a result of asbestos exposure.
This figure is conservative
according to experts, and the
number of mesothelioma patients
is expected to continue to increase
due to the 20-50 year latency
period exhibited in mesothelioma
sufferers.
July
3, 2003
Virginia pushing for FAIR
Act - The FAIR
Act stands for Fairness in Asbestos
Injury Resolution Act, which
a Senate committee is expected
to come to a conclusive consideration
decision for in July 2003. Under
the Act, the current system
regarding asbestos exposure
victims will be replaced by
a trust fund to have quicker
and more efficient asbestos
victim benefits. The current
system allows so much time to
lapse that a high number of
asbestos victims will never
see their compensation because
many will die beforehand. In
the event that asbestos compensation
is received, the money for the
damages is not adequate for
the suffering experienced.
Contact us to confer with
an asbestos mesothelioma lawyer.
July 2,
2003
USG continues to
suffer from asbestos-mesothelioma
lawsuits - The
Senate proposal regarding asbestos
litigation is looking to bring
the 20 years of asbestos litigation
under better control. With the
current situation, asbestos
victims are not receiving fair
compensation for his/her suffering,
and many asbestos victims have
died from deadly asbestos related
illnesses, like mesothelioma
before recovering damages. USG
is one company in particular
that has been named in asbestos
and mesothelioma liability suits.
The
company manufactured joint treatment
compound in the 1960s and early
1970s that contained asbestos.
According to USG more than 300,000
asbestos claims were tried or
settled in the last 25 years
and $20 billion has been paid
out to asbestos claimants. A
deadly, carcinogenic substance,
asbestos is linked to mesothelioma,
asbestosis, as well as many
other effects. Contact
us to confer with an asbestos
mesothelioma lawyer.
July 2,
2003
Asbestos exposure
lawsuits among top issues for
Texas lawmakers
- Of the 28 issues that Texas
lawmakers have made a priority
for changes in environmental
law and restrictions was asbestos
exposure lawsuits. Governor
Rick Perry was responsible for
the asbestos exposure lawsuits
being a subject addressed. Senator
Eddie Lucio and Perry are on
opposite sides of the asbestos
exposure lawsuit fight.
Lucio
did not vote to allow the asbestos
bill to be considered, which
requires a two-thirds vote to
be considered in the Senate.
The asbestos bill will allow
people that have developed mesothelioma
because of asbestos exposure
to have their mesothelioma lawsuits
be put on the fast track in
court. Asbestos lawsuits have
been controversial and asbestos
victim supporters have been
upset with the amount of time
it take many people to ever
recover the damages.
Some
victims will never receive compensation
because mesothelioma will end
up taking their lives beforehand.
Many asbestos exposed victims
have been suffering mesothelioma
and other deadly conditions
for decades and should be able
to receive payment immediately
for the pain and suffering according
to the asbestos bill supporters.
Contact
us to confer with an asbestos
mesothelioma lawyer.
June 30,
2003
Asbestos victims
continue to be victimized
- Thousands of South African
people that have fallen terminally
ill to asbestos exposure conditions
endured a four-year asbestos
lawsuit and was promised multi
millions of dollars but was
just informed they will receive
less than half of the amount
promised. The company failed
to honor the December 21, 2001
asbestos settlement involving
7,500 asbestos claimants. The
entire asbestos- mesothelioma
lawsuits took so long to finalize
that 10% of the claimants have
already died, approximately
776 people. In addition to mesothelioma,
asbestos exposure caused asbestosis
as well as other serious illnesses.
Contact
us to confer with an asbestos
mesothelioma lawyer.
June
27, 2003
Senate agreeing
to asbestos trust increase
- The Senate panel has agreed
to increase the size of the
asbestos trust to an amount
as high as $153 billion to end
all asbestos lawsuits. The main
disagreement regarding the asbestos
fund would be what types of
payments will be made to asbestos
exposed people that are now
suffering deadly diseases as
a result. If the trust passes,
the asbestos settlement will
be the second largest of all
time following the tobacco settlement
in 1998.
By
increasing the amount of the
asbestos trust, many people
in supports of it passing are
hoping it will allow the trust
to have adequate funds for all
the people suffering asbestos
related diseases to recover
money, including mesothelioma
and asbestosis. The fund proposes
that up to $750,000 will be
paid to asbestos victims, with
the largest sums of compensation
going to mesothelioma sufferers.
Individual mesothelioma lawsuits
have awarded asbestos exposed
victims up to $250 million.
Mesothelioma is a fatal cancer
linked only to asbestos exposure.
Contact
us to confer with an asbestos
mesothelioma lawyer.
June
10, 2003
Queen’s medical
expert dies -
The Queen’s medical expert
in Canada has died after making
significant contributions to
linking asbestos exposure to
mesothelioma. After working
in South Africa in 1960, he
suggested a connection between
asbestos exposure and mesothelioma.
Extensive work was performed
with asbestos fiber counts compared
to the normal population versus
shipyard workers.
June
8, 2003
Controversial asbestos
screening - There
were hundreds of examiners in
Oregon, Washington, Montana,
and other states to screen hundreds
of veteran aluminum workers.
What the examiners found was
that 30-40% of the tested workers
showed signs of asbestos related
diseases, including mesothelioma.
Since some people have not yet
experienced symptoms, individuals
worry that one day they will
suffer the serious and deadly
diseases associated to asbestos
exposure but do not know when
it will strike.
Public
health reports from 1920s to
1960s had a high number of incidents
of workers that were injured
and killed because of asbestos
exposure. Doctors had learned
from the many asbestos patients
that the asbestos fibers could
scar lungs and membranes if
inhaled to result in deadly
cancer such as mesothelioma.
For
years, workers continued to
suffer asbestos related illnesses
and many workers never talked
about it because of the economy
and some people just did not
realize the risks they were
enduring. In addition, due to
the latency period of disease
symptoms onset, many asbestos
exposed workers are now just
getting diagnosed with illnesses.
As more information was learned,
a higher number of asbestos-
mesothelioma lawsuits were filed
over the years. Now, some people
are hoping asbestos screening
will better identify mesothelioma
sufferers, as well as other
illnesses, in order to combat
the problems of asbestos-exposed
workers.
Contact
us to confer with an asbestos
mesothelioma lawyer.
June
3, 2003
New drug aimed towards mesothelioma
treatment
- There is an experimental
cancer drug made by Eli Lilly
and Co. called Alimta that is
seeking federal approval for
expanded use. The drug has shown
fewer side effects than rival
drugs with the same effectiveness.
Lilly first aimed to target
Alimta for mesothelioma patients
caused by asbestos exposure,
however the company is now trying
to expand the drug use for all
lung cancer patients after the
Lilly sponsored study.
Alimta
will probably still be more
targeted towards mesothelioma
asbestos exposed patients and
will be lucrative according
to Friedman Billings Ramsey
& Co. investment firm that
forecasted sales of $157 million
by 2006. If used for all types
of lung cancer, Lehman Bros.
Predicts peak annual sales for
Alimta of $1 billion.
Alimta
showed signs of effectively
lengthening the lives of mesothelioma
patients in earlier studies.
Mesothelioma is diagnosed in
10,000 people around the world
every year and is a rare and
deadly cancer of the lung lining
caused only by asbestos exposure.
FDA approval has allowed Alimta
to be used for free on a compassionate
use basis for over 600 mesothelioma
patients and is currently the
only approved mesothelioma drug
in the U.S. Lilly is hoping
to receive FDA approval in late
2003 or early 2004 for the mesothelioma
asbestos drug. Contact
us to confer with an asbestos
mesothelioma lawyer.
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