Asbestos Lawsuit History
Lawyers like Stanley Levy have helped many asbestos victims. People with asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, can sue companies that mined, manufactured or used asbestos.
Nellie Kershaw filed her first asbestos lawsuit. She worked at a factory that made asbestos fibers in England and was diagnosed with health issues. She passed away at the age of 33 from fibrosis of the lung due to asbestos exposure.
The First Cases
Asbestos, a hazardous mineral, has afflicted and killed thousands of people over the years. Asbestos claims can be filed for a variety of reasons, but they generally involve those who were exposed to the substance at work. This includes workers at factories that produced asbestos-related products, people who worked on the construction of structures containing asbestos and even those who were exposed to secondhand asbestos from contaminated household products like talcum powder.
People who were exposed to asbestos may develop a variety of illnesses like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other respiratory ailments. While some of these ailments are very serious and can be fatal, a lot of people have been able to obtain compensation for their injuries. This is because many countries have laws that require companies who produce dangerous substances to warn people who might be injured by them.
The first asbestos lawsuit was filed in 1929, and was filed by a woman whose name was Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from breath shortness and a thickening of the tissue around the fingertip (known as clubbing). She was awarded an amount of $75,000 as a settlement and is believed to be the first class action lawsuit filed in relation to asbestos.
In the years following, more and more asbestos lawsuits were filed. Asbestos litigation became a very broad area of law and many attorneys began to specialize in asbestos litigation. They only took on cases that were serious. One firm that was involved in this was Kazan Law, which in the late 1980s began to concentrate on the bringing of cases on behalf of people who had mesothelioma.
Other lawsuits have been won by individuals who suffered from asbestos-related illnesses like asbestosis and plaques in the pleural region. This is due to the fact that the disease that caused these was similar to mesothelioma and therefore easier for lawyers to prove. These allegations led to the public disclosure of secret documents which showed how asbestos manufacturers tried to hide the risks they carry. This led to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule being announced in 1989.
The Second Case
As the number diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases grew the families and victims began to file lawsuits. These lawsuits were filed against companies that mined asbestos, manufactured asbestos-containing products, or sold asbestos-containing goods. Mesothelioma patients also filed lawsuits against companies who created and built the buildings that they worked in such as shipyards, power plants, and refineries. The link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma development is strong.
In the early 1980s the legal battle over asbestos lawsuits began to intensify and courts ruled on many aspects of the process. For instance a federal court decided that only those suffering from a malignant asbestos-caused illness such as mesothelioma, or lung cancer are able to file a lawsuit against the manufacturers of asbestos-related products they employed. This ruling, known as Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. is a major setback for asbestos plaintiffs.
At around the same time, Nellie Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale, England, filed what is believed to be the first legal claim that is well-known against asbestos companies. Kershaw, an employee in a factory in Rochdale, England was diagnosed with lung problems caused by her close exposure to asbestos fibers. Kershaw tried to convince her employer to pay for the treatment. The company, however, refused. Kershaw died in her 30s of fibrosis.
The second round of asbestos attorney lawsuits focused on people who had been exposed to different types asbestos-containing building products, like fireproofing sprays and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also successfully brought cases against companies that made the equipment that utilized asbestos-containing materials, like pumps and boilers.
During this time, a number of incriminating documents were discovered that demonstrated asbestos companies have been involved in conspiracy and fraud. This included the personal records of Johns-Manville president Sumner Simpson, as well as correspondence from the general counsel for another asbestos producer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents uncovered the conspiracy of these companies to conceal the fact that asbestos was dangerous and to deflect efforts to inform the public of these dangers.
In the mid-1980s to early-1990s, when these and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy were uncovered in the 1980s, a wave of class action settlement was initiated, as well as other attempts were made to limit asbestos liability by asbestos companies. These efforts were met with fierce resistance from plaintiffs’ attorneys, their clients and the public.
The Third Cases
By the 1970s, asbestos firms had lost the ability to keep information on the fatal effects of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases from the public. This was due in large part to the fact that the link between asbestos and illnesses like asbestosis, mesothelioma and other respiratory problems started receiving attention from major national publications instead of small industry newsletters or medical journals. After asbestos-related serious illnesses were established and the victims began making lawsuits against asbestos producers.
One of the main factors that pushed increased asbestos lawsuits in the 1970s was a court decision that allowed plaintiffs to utilize the legal theory of strict liability. In the past asbestos lawsuits, plaintiffs had to show that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in the way they caused their exposure to asbestos. However, in the 1973 case of Borel v. Fibreboard, a judge decided that asbestos manufacturers were responsible for any injuries caused by their products when the company knew their product was dangerous and did not inform its employees or the public about the dangers.
In the wake of this ruling, a number of asbestos-related companies were forced to file for bankruptcy, a process that allows a business to reorganize itself in bankruptcy court, and put funds aside in trusts to pay for asbestos claims and still continue to operate. Johns-Manville is an example. It was hit by many lawsuits filed by former employees who were suffering from asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. Kazan Law set several cases against the manufacturer and was able to win punitive damage verdicts against the company.
Since then, asbestos litigation has continued to grow due to the rising number of victims suffering from asbestos-related illnesses. Asbestos litigation can be complicated because the illnesses caused by asbestos can take years to manifest and are not always apparent to those who are diagnosed.
Some victims have been waiting for years to receive reimbursement from insurance companies, even after their employers were found to be responsible. The US Supreme Court has addressed various cases where asbestos attorney companies sought to limit their liability by offering settlements in class action. It also has addressed the question of whether individual defendants could be held liable for injuries caused by asbestos.
The Fourth Case
Asbestos is a very dangerous mineral that has caused the death or sickness of hundreds of thousands of people over the decades. Asbestos was also used extensively by manufacturers who knew it was dangerous yet continued to make use of it.
As the legal system deals with asbestos lawsuits and asbestos lawsuits, new developments take place all the time. One of the most significant legal developments is the decision Lubbe v. Cape Plc. This set a precedent allowing victims to sue multi-national companies in their home countries for compensation.
Often, these cases are accompanied by secondary exposure to asbestos. This happens when workers who handle asbestos while on the job transfer it to their spouses or children at home. The family members suffer from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
This type of situation is the basis for many lawsuits filed by families of victims today. Asbestos lawyers can help families bring a claim against the companies that caused the asbestos-related injuries suffered by their loved ones.
Another significant development in asbestos litigation has been the rise of class action lawsuits. These asbestos lawsuits permit victims to pursue justice with the aid of a lawyer experienced in the complicated legal issues that these cases raise.
Certain asbestos lawyers are opposed to this type of litigation. There have been numerous attempts at passing legislation to restrict the use of class actions in asbestos lawsuits (https://cotton-dawson-2.thoughtlanes.net/mesothelioma-asbestos-what-no-one-is-talking-about/).
The latest major advancement in asbestos litigation is the filing an action by Massachusetts residents against four companies over their handling of asbestos removal and disposal. The lawsuit claimed that the firms did not follow state laws by not properly disposing of asbestos and exposing residents to toxic dust.
Asbestos litigation has been ongoing for a long time and it's likely that it will continue to do so for a long time to come. The asbestos industry has tried to avoid liability through legal arguments based on technicalities and also by attempting to pass legislative solutions that would stop victims from seeking justice. It seems that many victims, as well as their lawyers are determined to get justice acted upon.