Asbestos Lawsuit History
Many asbestos victims have received help from lawyers such as Stanley Levy. People suffering from asbestos-related illnesses such as mesothelioma are able to sue companies that mined or manufactured asbestos.
Nellie Kershaw filed the first asbestos lawsuit. She suffered health issues while working in an asbestos fiber plant in England. She died at the age of 33 of fibrosis in the lung caused by asbestos exposure.
The First Cases
Asbestos, a dangerous mineral, has infected and killed thousands throughout the years. Asbestos claims can be filed for various reasons, but they generally involve those who were exposed to asbestos at work. This includes workers who worked in factories that produced asbestos-related products or at the construction sites of buildings with asbestos. It can also include those who were exposed to asbestos by using household products, such as talcum powder.
Exposure to asbestos can cause a variety of illnesses that include lung cancer, mesothelioma and other respiratory issues. Many people have been awarded compensation for their injuries even though some of these diseases are fatal. This is due to the fact that most countries have laws that require companies who create dangerous substances to warn those who could be hurt by them.
The first asbestos lawsuit was filed in 1929. It was filed by a woman whose name was Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from a number of ailments, including shortness of breath and the thickening of the fingertip tissue, known as clubbing. She was awarded a settlement of $75,000 in what is believed to be a first-ever class action lawsuit involving asbestos.
Asbest lawsuits continued to be filed in the years that followed. Asbestos litigation became a broad area of law and many attorneys started to specialize in asbestos lawyer 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 the bringing of cases on behalf of mesothelioma patients.
Other lawsuits have been won by individuals who suffered from asbestos-related diseases, such as asbestosis and pleural plaques. The condition that caused them was similar to the mesothelioma, which makes it more straightforward to prove for lawyers. These claims led to the release of secret documents that showed the ways asbestos product manufacturers attempted to hide their risks. This led to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule being announced in 1989.
The Second Case
As the number of people suffering from asbestos-related diseases grew, patients and their families began bringing lawsuits against companies that mined, made or sold asbestos-containing products. Mesothelioma patients also filed lawsuits against companies who designed and constructed the structures that they worked in such as power plants, shipyards and refineries. The connection between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma's development is strong.
In the early 1980s, legal fights over asbestos lawsuits got more ferocious, and courts began to rule on various aspects of the litigation process. For instance a federal court ruled that only people suffering from malignant asbestos-related disease such as mesothelioma or lung cancer are able to bring an action against the makers of asbestos-related products they used. The ruling, dubbed Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp., was a major setback for defendants in asbestos litigation.
At the same time, Nellie Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale, England, filed what is thought to be the first well-known legal case against asbestos companies. Kershaw was factory worker from Rochdale, England was diagnosed with lung problems caused by her frequent exposure to raw asbestos fibers. She attempted to convince her employer to pay for the treatment. But, the company was unable to agree. Kershaw passed away in her 30s from fibrosis.
The second phase of asbestos lawsuits focused on people who had been exposed to different kinds of asbestos-containing building materials, like fireproofing sprays and drywall products. asbestos attorneys lawyers also prevailed in lawsuits against companies who manufactured the equipment that utilized asbestos-containing products, such as pumps and boilers.
During this time, numerous documents that were incriminating were found that proved asbestos companies' involvement in conspiracy and fraud. This included the personal records of Johns-Manville president Sumner Simpson, as well as correspondence from the general counsel of another asbestos manufacturer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed a plot between these companies to hide the dangers of asbestos and deflect efforts to educate the public.
In the early to mid-1980s, when these and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy were discovered in the 1980s, a wave of class action settlements was launched, along with other attempts made to limit asbestos liability were made by asbestos companies. These efforts were met with fierce resistance from plaintiffs’ attorneys as well as their clients and the general public.
The Third Cases
In the 1970s, asbestos companies had lost the ability to conceal information on the fatal effects of mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases from the public. This was largely due to the fact that the link between asbestos and diseases like asbestosis, mesothelioma and other respiratory ailments began getting attention from major national publications instead of small industry newsletters or medical journals. After asbestos-related serious illnesses were established and patients began making lawsuits against asbestos producers.
In the 1970s, a court decision which allowed plaintiffs to make recourse to strict liability as a legal concept was one of the primary factors that led to an increase in asbestos lawsuits. Plaintiffs in asbestos attorneys lawsuits used to have to prove that asbestos producers were negligent in exposing them. However, in the 1973 case of Borel v. Fibreboard, a judge declared that asbestos producers were responsible for any injuries they caused in the event that the company knew their product was unsafe and did not warn its employees or the general public about its dangers.
After the ruling, a number of asbestos producers filed for bankruptcy. This allows a business, while still operating, to reorganize its affairs in bankruptcy court and put money into trusts to pay asbestos claimants. Johns-Manville was a particularly notable case, since it was the subject of numerous lawsuits brought by former factory workers who were suffering from asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Kazan Law brought several cases against the manufacturer and was able obtain the company punitive damages in a number of cases.
Asbestos lawsuits have increased in the past few years due to the growing number of asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos litigation can be complicated because the diseases caused by asbestos can take a long time to manifest and aren't always obvious to those who have been diagnosed.
Additionally certain victims have been forced to wait for years to receive compensation from insurance companies after their employers were found responsible. The US Supreme Court has dealt with a variety of cases involving class action settlements that asbestos companies offered to try to limit their liability, and has also looked into the question of whether or not it is possible to hold defendants accountable for injuries caused by asbestos.
The Fourth Case
Asbestos is a highly dangerous mineral that has sickened or killed hundreds of thousands of people over the many years. It's also a substance that was extensively used by companies who knew it was dangerous, and yet they continued to make use of it in their manufacturing processes.
As the legal system deals with asbestos lawsuits, new developments are taking place every day. One of the most important legal developments is the decision Lubbe v. Cape Plc. This set a precedent allowing victims to sue multinational corporations in their home countries for compensation.
Most of the time, these cases are accompanied by secondary exposure to asbestos. This is when those who work with asbestos on the job pass it to their spouses or children living at home. The family members then suffer from mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases.
This type of case is the basis of many lawsuits brought by the families of victims in the present. Asbestos lawyers can help families bring a claim against the responsible parties for the asbestos-related injuries suffered by their loved family members.
Another significant development in asbestos litigation has been the increase in class action lawsuits. These asbestos lawsuits allow victims to seek justice with the assistance of a lawyer experienced in the complicated legal issues these cases bring.
While many asbestos attorneys have pushed for this kind of lawsuit, there are those who are against it. There have been numerous attempts to pass legislation to limit the use class actions in asbestos lawsuits.
The most recent major advancement in asbestos litigation is the filing a lawsuit by Massachusetts residents against 4 companies over their handling of asbestos removal and disposal. The lawsuit claimed that the companies had violated the law of the state by not disposing of asbestos properly and failing to protect residents from toxic dust.
Asbestos litigation has been going on for decades and it's likely that it will continue to do so well into the future. The asbestos industry has tried to shield itself from responsibility by using legal arguments based on technicalities and by trying to pass legislative remedies that would block victims from seeking justice. However, it appears that many victims and their attorneys are determined to see justice done.