Asbestos Lawsuit History

Many asbestos victims have received help from lawyers such as Stanley Levy. People suffering from asbestos-related illnesses, such as mesothelioma, can sue companies that mined asbestos, made or used asbestos.

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 passed away at the age of 33 of fibrosis of the lung caused by asbestos exposure.

The First Cases

Asbestos, a dangerous 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 asbestos at work. This includes those who worked in factories that produced asbestos-related products, or on the construction site of buildings with asbestos. It can also be people who were exposed to asbestos through household products such as talcum powder.

Exposure to asbestos can cause a variety of illnesses that include mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory problems. Many people have received compensation for their injuries even though some of these diseases can be fatal. This is largely because most countries have laws that require companies who create dangerous substances to inform people who might be injured by them.

The first asbestos lawsuit was filed in 1929. It involved a woman named Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from a range of symptoms, including breathlessness and thickening of the fingertip tissue also 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 in the years that followed. Asbestos litigation grew into a large area of law, and many lawyers started to specialize in asbestos litigation. This meant that they only were able to handle the most serious cases. Kazan Law was one firm that focused on this in the late 80s.

Other lawsuits were won by people who suffered from other asbestos-related illnesses like asbestosis or plaques in the pleural cavity. This is because the condition that caused these was like mesothelioma making it more straightforward for lawyers to prove. These claims also led to the revelation of secret documents that demonstrated how manufacturers of asbestos products tried to conceal the risks. In 1989 the Asbestos Ban & Phase Out Rule was enacted.

The Second Cases

As the number of people suffering from asbestos-related illnesses grew, the victims and their families began to file lawsuits against companies that mined, produced or sold asbestos-containing products. Mesothelioma victims also filed claims against the companies that created and built the buildings that they worked in including shipyards, power plants and refineries. The connection between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma development is solid.

In the early 1980s the legal battle over asbestos lawsuits began to escalate and the courts made decisions on various aspects of the process. For instance a federal court ruled that only people suffering from a malignant asbestos-caused illness such as mesothelioma, or lung cancer are eligible to file lawsuits against the producers of the asbestos products they employed. This ruling, dubbed Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp., was a major setback to defendants in asbestos litigation.

Around the same time, Nellie Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale, England, filed what is believed to be the first well-known legal case against asbestos companies. Kershaw was diagnosed with lung issues due to her close contact with raw asbestos fibers, attempted to get the company she worked for to cover her treatment. The company was unable to pay. Kershaw died at 33 years old of fibrosis of her lungs.

The second wave of asbestos cases centered on those who worked in construction sites and were exposed to different types of asbestos-containing building products including fireproofing sprays textures and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also filed successful cases against companies who made equipment that utilized asbestos-containing materials, like boilers and pumps.

During this period, a variety of incriminating documents were uncovered that revealed asbestos companies' involvement in a scheme of fraud and. This included the personal records of Johns-Manville president Sumner Simpson, as well as correspondence from the general counsel of another asbestos producer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed the plot of these companies to cover up the fact that asbestos was hazardous and to thwart efforts to inform the public about these dangers.

In the early and mid-1980s, when these and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy were uncovered in the 1980s, a wave of class action settlements was launched and other attempts were made to limit asbestos liability by asbestos companies. These attempts were met by massive opposition from plaintiffs' attorneys, their clients and the general public.

The Third Case

By the 1970s asbestos companies were no longer able hide the deadly effects of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma from the public. This was due in large part to the fact that major national publications began paying attention to the connection between asbestos lawyer, mesothelioma and other respiratory diseases, rather than small industry newsletters and medical journals. When the links between asbestos and serious illness were well established, victims began filing lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers.

In the 1970s, a court ruling which allowed plaintiffs to make recourse to strict liability as a legal principle was one of the primary factors that led to an increase in asbestos lawsuits. Plaintiffs in asbestos cases 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 their products caused in the event that the company knew their product was dangerous and failed to warn its employees or the general public about its dangers.

After the ruling, a number of asbestos producers were forced to file for bankruptcy. This procedure allows a business, while still in operation, to organize its affairs in bankruptcy court and place money in trusts to pay asbestos claimants. Johns-Manville was an especially noteworthy case because it was hit with numerous lawsuits from former factory workers who were suffering from asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Kazan Law brought several cases against the manufacturer and was able to get the company punitive damages in a number of cases.

Asbestos litigation has grown since then because of the increasing number of asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos litigation can be complicated because the diseases caused by asbestos can take years to manifest and are not always apparent to those who are diagnosed.

Some victims have had to wait years for reimbursement from insurance companies, even after their employers were found to be 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 it has also considered the issue of whether it is possible to hold individual defendants liable for asbestos-related injuries.

The Fourth Cases

Asbestos, a substance that is extremely harmful has killed and sickened hundreds of thousands of people over the decades. It's also a material that was widely used by companies who knew it was deadly but continued to employ it in their manufacturing processes.

As the legal system deals with asbestos lawsuits new developments are taking place constantly. One of the most significant legal developments is a ruling called Lubbe v. Cape Plc, which set the precedent for victims to sue multinational corporations in their home jurisdictions to recover compensation.

In most cases, these situations are accompanied by secondary exposure to asbestos. This occurs when employees who handle asbestos on the job transfer it to their spouses or children at home. The family members then 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 file a claim against the responsible parties for the asbestos injuries of their loved relatives.

Another big advancement in asbestos litigation has been the emergence of class action lawsuits. These asbestos lawsuits permit victims to pursue justice with the assistance of a lawyer well-versed in the legal issues these cases bring.

While many Asbestos Attorneys, Blogfreely.Net, have pushed for this type of litigation, there are also those who are against it. In fact there have been numerous attempts to pass legislation that would limit the use of class actions in asbestos cases.

The latest major change 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 companies in violation of state law by not disposing asbestos properly and failing residents from toxic dust.

Asbestos litigation has been ongoing for a long time and it's likely that it will continue to be well into the future. The asbestos industry has tried to avoid accountability by bringing up technical legal arguments and by attempting to pass legislative remedies that would prevent the victims from seeking justice. It appears that a lot of victims, as well as their lawyers, are determined to see justice acted upon.