The family of a deceased Jackson County Courthouse employee recently settled the woman's Missouri asbestos lawsuit for $10 million, the largest asbestos settlement in the state's history. Nancy Lopez filed the asbestos lawsuit against the U.S. Engineering Co. for failing to take proper precautions to protect courthouse worker while handling asbestos, writes the Associated Press. For 27 years, Lopez had worked at the courthouse in Kansas City. Her complaint claimed she developed mesothelioma cancer from her asbestos exposure at the courthouse. Lopez died from the disease in October 2010. The asbestos lawsuit settlement was awarded to her family late last
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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recently issued a warning regarding the mineral erionite. The NIOSH warning says that erionite, which occurs in many parts of the Western United States, can produce airborne fibers similar to the asbestos fibers that can trigger mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Erionite is found in gravel pits and in the gravel that is used to surface roads. It can become airborne once it is disturbed. A 2011 study was conducted on individuals who may have had high erionite exposures in North Dakota. Two road maintenance
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Both plaintiffs and defendants in asbestos lawsuits agree that asbestos causes 80 to 90 percent of all mesothelioma cases. You would think that it naturally follows that 80 to 90 percent of mesothelioma lawsuit plaintiffs do not have to prove to a jury that asbestos exposure caused their mesothelioma. Until recently, that was not the case. Instead, through a legal process called reverse bifurcation, most if not all mesothelioma lawsuit plaintiffs had to first prove in court that their mesothelioma diagnosis is tied to past asbestos exposure. Once this was proved – and it usually was -- most cases settled out
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When repairs were needed on an old nuclear power plant in Surry, VA, contract workers were called in to do the work. Hundreds of workers were hired including electricians, pipe fitters, general laborers and other contractors from eight different companies. When a dozen workers were caught in a cloud of asbestos after cutting some old pipe, the workers reported the incident. The exposed workers report that they were told all asbestos-containing pipes would be clearly labeled, but they were not labeled at all. A state investigation ensued and six of the eight companies involved in the plant restoration work
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Elbert County in Denver, CO has a unique asbestos abatement project to tackle – that of a public landfill and trash compactor site. The site has historically been used to dispose of roofing and building materials, much of which was from before the mid 1970’s when buildings were routinely constructed with an abundance of asbestos. The landfill has been the primary dumping site for such rubbish but then it is compacted into bundles and shipped off to another landfill. Concern about asbestos at the site arose when a backhoe company began excavating the grounds in preparation to remove an
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