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Asbestos Lawsuit History
Lawyers like Stanley Levy have helped many asbestos victims. Patients suffering from mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases can sue companies who mined, manufactured, or used asbestos and asbestos-containing products.
The first asbestos lawsuit was filed by Nellie Kershaw. She worked in a plant that made asbestos fibers in England and was diagnosed with health issues. She died at age 33 of fibrosis of the lung due to asbestos exposure.
The First Cases
Asbestos is a dangerous mineral that has sickened or killed thousands of people over the course of time. Asbestos claims are filed for a variety of reasons, but the majority involve those who were exposed to asbestos while at work. This includes employees who worked in factories that produced asbestos-related products, or on the construction site of buildings that contain asbestos. It could also include people who were exposed to asbestos by using household products, such as talcum powder.
Exposure to asbestos can lead to a variety of diseases which include mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory ailments. Many have been awarded compensation for their injuries even though some of these diseases can be fatal. The majority of countries have laws that require companies that produce dangerous substances to warn anyone who could be injured.
The first asbestos lawsuit that was filed in 1929 involved a woman by the name of Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from shortness of breath and thickening in the tissue around the fingertip (known as clubbing). She received a settlement amounting to $75,000 in what is believed to be a first class action lawsuit that involved asbestos.
Asbest lawsuits continued to be filed throughout the years that followed. Asbestos litigation became a very broad area of law and many attorneys began to specialize in asbestos litigation. They only accepted cases that were important. One company that took on this was Kazan Law, which in the late 1980s started to focus on bringing cases on behalf of people with mesothelioma.
Other lawsuits were won by people who had been diagnosed with other asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis or plaques in the pleural cavity. The condition that caused them was very similar to the mesothelioma, which makes it more straightforward to prove for lawyers. These allegations led to the public disclosure of secret documents that showed how asbestos manufacturers tried to hide the risks they carry. This led to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule being enacted in 1989.
The Second Case
As the number of people diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases increased, victims and their families began to file lawsuits against companies that mined, made or sold asbestos-containing products. In addition, mesothelioma sufferers made claims against companies that designed and built the buildings where they worked, such as power plants, shipyards, factories and refineries. The link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma development is strong.
In the early 1980s the legal litigation over asbestos lawsuits started to intensify and courts made rulings on a variety of aspects of the case process. For example a federal court ruled that only those suffering from malignant asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma or lung cancer are eligible to bring lawsuits against the producers of asbestos-related products they employed. This ruling, dubbed Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. is an important setback for asbestos plaintiffs.
The same time, Nellie Kershaw from Rochdale in England filed what is now regarded as the first well-known lawsuit against asbestos companies. Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale in England, was diagnosed with lung issues caused by her frequent exposure to asbestos fibers. She tried to get her employer to cover the cost of treatment. The company refused. Kershaw passed away at 33 years old from lung fibrosis.
The second phase of asbestos lawsuits centered on people who had been exposed to different types of asbestos-containing building products like fireproofing sprays and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also won cases against companies that made the equipment that made use of asbestos-containing materials, like pumps and boilers.
During this time, a number of documents that were incriminating were found that proved asbestos companies were involved in a scheme of fraud and. The documents included personal documents of Johns-Manville President Sumner Simpson and correspondence from the general attorney of another asbestos producer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed a shady alliance between these companies to hide asbestos' dangers and to thwart efforts to warn the public.
The discovery of these, and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy in the early and mid-1980s sparked a wave of class action settlements as well as other efforts to limit asbestos liability for asbestos companies. These efforts were met with fierce resistance from plaintiffs' attorneys and their clients, as well as from the public in general.
The Third Case
In the 1970s, asbestos lawyer firms had lost the ability to hide information on the fatal effects of mesothelioma and the other asbestos-related diseases from the general public. This was due in large part to the fact major national journals began paying attention to the connection between mesothelioma, asbestos, and other respiratory diseases, instead of small industry newsletters and medical journals. When asbestos-related serious illnesses were established and the victims began making lawsuits against asbestos producers.
One of the main driving factors that led to an increase in asbestos lawsuits in the 1970s was a court decision which allowed plaintiffs to apply the legal theory of strict liability. In the past, plaintiffs in asbestos cases had to prove that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in causing their exposure to asbestos. However, in the 1973 case of Borel v. Fibreboard, a judge decided that asbestos manufacturers were accountable for any injuries caused by their products in the event that the company knew their product was dangerous and did not inform its employees or the public about the dangers.
After the ruling, a number of asbestos producers filed for bankruptcy. This permits a business, even though it is still operating, to reorganize its affairs in bankruptcy court and place money in trusts to pay asbestos claimants. Johns-Manville is one of the most notable examples. It was a victim of numerous lawsuits brought by former factory workers who were diagnosed with asbestosis, mesothelioma, or lung cancer. Kazan Law set several cases against the manufacturer and was able obtain punitive damages verdicts against the company.
Asbestos litigation has grown since then because of the increasing number of asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos lawsuits are often complicated due to the ailments they cause can take years to manifest and are not always apparent to those who are diagnosed.
Some victims have also been waiting for years to receive compensation from insurance companies, even after their employers were found to be responsible. The US Supreme Court has addressed various cases where asbestos attorney companies attempted to limit their liability by offering class action settlements. It has also addressed the question of whether individuals can be held accountable for injuries caused by asbestos.
The Fourth Case
Asbestos is a highly dangerous mineral that has killed or sickened hundreds of thousands of people over the many years. It's also a substance that was widely used by companies that knew it was dangerous but continued to use it in their manufacturing processes.
As the legal system handles these asbestos lawsuits and asbestos lawsuits, new developments take place every day. One of the most significant legal developments is the decision Lubbe v Cape Plc. This set the precedent for victims to sue multinational companies in their home countries for compensation.
These cases often result in secondary exposure to asbestos. This occurs when employees who work with asbestos on the job pass it to their spouses or children at home. Family members suffer from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Many lawsuits are filed today by the families of victims of this type of case. Asbestos lawyers can assist families bring a claim against the responsible parties for the asbestos-related injuries suffered by their loved family members.
The rise of class-action lawsuits is another major development in asbestos litigation. These asbestos lawsuits allow victims to pursue justice with the aid of a lawyer who is well-versed in the legal issues these cases bring.
While many asbestos attorneys (click the following webpage) have pushed for this type of litigation, there are those who are against it. There have been several attempts to pass legislation to limit the use class actions in asbestos lawsuits.
The most recent significant development in asbestos litigation was the filing of a suit by Massachusetts residents against four companies over the way they handled asbestos removal and disposal. The lawsuit claimed that the companies violated state laws by not disposing asbestos properly and failing residents from toxic dust.
Asbestos litigation is a long-standing issue that is likely to continue for a long time. The asbestos industry has attempted to avoid accountability by using legal arguments based on technicalities and attempting to pass legislative solutions which would stop victims from seeking justice. But, it appears that many victims and their attorneys are determined to see justice done.