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Asbestos & Mesothelioma Litigation News
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.
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.
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.
Asbestos
is a very hazardous material and is estimated
to be present in 15-35 million homes. A known
human carcinogen, Public Citizen sent a letter
to the director of the Office of Management and
Budget, Mitchell Daniels, asking for an explanation
on why the White House diffused a national health
warning about asbestos when millions of Americans
are being exposed to the danger.
Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma,
a rare form of cancer occurring in the lining
of the lungs, chest, and abdomen. Asbestos exposure
is the only known cause of the mesothelioma, which
so far has no standard practice treatment associated
to the disease. Public Citizen had tied John Graham,
administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, a part of the Office of Management
and Budget to ties to the industry in a 2001 report.
Graham was an influential part of eliminating
the nationwide asbestos danger warning, a move
that Public Citizen had anticipated because of
his interests in the industry.
The EPA Administrator was prepared to declare
the public health emergency until the White House
budget office’s Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs stepped in, and Public Citizen
is asking Daniels to authorize the EPA to move
ahead with the intended asbestos public notification.
The consumer group thinks that the White House’s
decision to block the EPA is putting industry
interests over public safety.
Public Citizen has sent a letter to Mitch Daniels,
the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
following a December 29, 2002 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
article entitled “White House Office Blocked
EPA’s Asbestos Cleanup Plan”. The
article, according to Public Citizen, calls  attention
to the office interfering with the EPA’s
plan to declare a public health emergency in Libby,
Montana and nationwide due to the dangers of Zonolite
insulation. Zonolite insulation contains asbestos
fibers, an extremely cancerous material that is
estimated to be in 15-35 million American homes.
The article was based off of nine file boxes
of information that had been gathered from EPA
records. There are certain points of the article
that Public Citizen highlighted that the article
reported. Relevant asbestos facts in particular
were called to Daniels attention in the letter
from Public Citizen, including:
- Millions of households throughout the nation
are contaminated with Zonolite. Memos from the
EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry repeatedly cite an estimate
that between 15 and 35 million homes throughout
America are insulated with Zonolite. Government
extrapolations and interviews with former W.R.
Grace Zonolite salesmen indicate that Zonolite
insulation exists in 800,000 homes in Illinois,
700,000 in Michigan, and 380,000 in Missouri.
- The asbestos in question is far more cancerous
than "normal" asbestos. Dr. Alan Whitehouse,
a pulmonologist who has worked with NASA and
the Air Force, has demonstrated that tremolite
(the asbestos fiber found in Zonolite) is "10
times as carcinogenic as chrysotile (the more
prevalent form of asbestos), and probably 100
times more likely to produce mesothelioma (a
‘fast moving cancer of the lung’s
lining’) than chrysotile." According
to the article, the EPA has documented "how
even minor disruptions of the material by moving
boxes, sweeping the floor or doing repairs in
attics can generate asbestos fibers." W.R.
Grace, the company that provided the tremolite
in Zonolite, has settled hundreds of suits that
claimed death or illness from exposure to Zonolite.
- EPA intended to declare a public health emergency
and issue a national warning on Zonolite, but
was thwarted by OMB/OIRA’s directive from
doing so. EPA Administrator Whitman told her
staff to move forward with the emergency declaration
for Libby, Montana and national public notification.
News releases were written and rewritten, lists
of Governors to be contacted and politicians
to notify were compiled. The White House acknowledged
its active involvement in the issue, and opposed
the declaration and public notification. Specifically,
the article claims that "it was the White
House budget office’s Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs that derailed the Libby
declaration."
- OIRA refuses to explain the basis of its decision.
When contacted by the author regarding its role,
the White House’s Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) spokesperson Amy Call referred
questions to the EPA. Repeated requests by Mr.
Schneider for interviews with you or anyone
else involved in OMB’s decision were denied.
Both OMB and EPA refused Freedom of Information
requests by the author for documents to and
from OMB concerning the matter.
›
Read Public Citizen letter
The EPA was
planning a nationwide announcement to warn the
public of the dangers of asbestos, found in ten
of millions of American homes. The EPA asbestos
warning was to occur in April 2002, but the White
House cut in and it has still never been made.
Asbestos was used in Zonolite insulation that
was sold all through North America from the 40s
through the 90s. The only known cause for the
rare form of cancer called mesothelioma, asbestos
exposure has serious and deadly effects.
The White House’s decision to interfere
with the EPA’s plans has been met by a lot
of criticism from many different groups that see
the motivation coming from industry interests
instead of for public safety. Not only has the
White House decision received criticism from the
EPA, senators, physicians, scientists, advocacy
groups, but residents of Libby, Montana. In April
2002, the EPA declared a public health emergency
in Libby.
Documents show that there was information over
two decades earlier for the agency to warn of
the dangers Libby residents were enduring. When
the EPA finally announced the Libby asbestos emergency
the agency made it appear as if Libby was in a
unique situation because they anticipated a nationwide
fear. The EPA allowed the St. Louis-Dispatch access
to the thousands of documents contained in nine
large file boxes. What the boxes revealed about
the asbestos crisis was that internal and external
battles have existed for years on end regarding
warning the public of the dangers.
How many homes contain Zonolite is unknown, however
EPA and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry estimated 15-35 million homes contain
the dangerous asbestos-contaminated insulation.
Please contact us for more information on the
dangers of asbestos
Federal-Mogul Corporation today announced that
to separate its asbestos liabilities from its
true operating potential, the company and its
United States subsidiaries have voluntarily filed
for financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of
the U.S Bankruptcy Code. Federal-Mogul subsidiaries
in the United Kingdom have jointly filed for Chapter
11 and Administration under the U.K. Insolvency
Act of 1986. None of the subsidiaries outside
of the U.S. or U.K. are inclusive of these filings.
The filings were made in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court
in Wilmington, Delaware and the High Court of
Justice in London so that Federal-Mogul can develop
a plan in order to resolve their asbestos liabilities.
Federal-Mogul will continue their everyday business
operations while restructuring.
U.S. Gypsum
has been named in over 250,000 asbestos-related
personal injury claims, and paid more than $450
million for litigation before insurance recoveries
since 1994. The subsidiary's personal injury costs
have increased from $30 million in 1997 to more
than $160 million last year, and were expected
to exceed $275 million this fiscal year.
USG filed for bankruptcy protection in U.S. District
Court in Wilmington, Del. Foote felt it was important
to deal with all the lawsuits in one court before
one judge in order to recognize the “true”
asbestos victims.
W. R.
Grace & Co. announced they have voluntarily
filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the
U.S. Bankruptcy Code in response to the large
amounts of asbestos claims. The filing includes
60 domestic entities and none of their foreign
subsidiaries.
The filing, made today in the U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Wilmington, Delaware, will enable the
Company to continue to operate its businesses
in the usual manner under court protection from
its creditors and claimants, while using the Chapter
11 process to develop and implement a plan for
addressing the asbestos-related claims against
it. The Company intends to work closely with asbestos
claimants and other creditors to develop a plan
of reorganization that will both address valid
asbestos claims in a fair and consistent manner
and establish a sound capital structure for long-term
growth and profitability.
”
More than $370,000 in compensation by the Dust
Diseases Tribunal in New South Wales was given
to a 62 year old woman who contracted mesothelioma
from washing her husband’s work clothes.
Winnifred Brennan was first diagnosed with mesothelioma
in July 1999 and is only expected to live another
14 months. Her case is the first non-occupational
asbestos case to be rewarded. The ruling came
from Judge James Curtis who felt her service to
her husband should be compensated when she was
diagnosed with having mesothelioma at the same
time she was caring for her husband whom was dying
from terminal bone cancer.
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