Asbestos Lawsuit History

Lawyers like Stanley Levy have helped many asbestos victims. Patients suffering from asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, can sue companies who mined or manufactured asbestos.

Nellie Kershaw filed her first asbestos lawsuit. She worked at a factory that made asbestos fibers in England and developed health problems. 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 sickened and killed thousands of people throughout the years. Asbestos claims are filed for a variety reasons, but most often involve those who have been exposed to asbestos while at work. This can include workers at factories that made asbestos-related items as well as those who worked on the construction of structures containing asbestos and even those who were exposed to asbestos secondhand from contaminated household products such as talcum powder.

Those who were exposed to asbestos could be afflicted with a variety of diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory conditions. While some of these illnesses are very serious and can be fatal, a lot of people have been able receive compensation for their injuries. This is due to the fact that most countries have laws that require companies that create dangerous substances to inform those who may be hurt by them.

The first asbestos lawsuit, filed in 1929, involved a woman by the name of Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from a number of symptoms, including breathlessness and thickening of the fingertip tissue which is also known as clubbing. She received a settlement amounting to $75,000 in what is believed to be the first-ever class action lawsuit that dealt with asbestos.

In the years that followed in the years that followed, more and more asbestos lawsuits were filed. Some of these cases were extremely large, and a number of attorneys began to specialize in asbestos litigation. This meant that they dealt with the most serious cases. One firm that did this was Kazan Law, which in the late 1980s started to concentrate on taking on cases for mesothelioma patients.

Other lawsuits have been won by those who suffered from asbestos-related ailments such as asbestosis or plaques in the pleural cavity. This is because the condition that caused them was similar to mesothelioma and therefore more straightforward for lawyers to prove. These claims also led to the revelation of secret documents that revealed how asbestos-related manufacturers tried to conceal the risks. This led to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule being issued in 1989.

The Second Case

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. Additionally, mesothelioma patients made claims against companies that designed and built the buildings they worked in including power plants, shipyards, factories and refineries. The link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma 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. A federal court, for instance decided that only those suffering from malignant asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma or lung cancer could bring a lawsuit against the makers of asbestos products. This ruling, known as Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. was a major setback for asbestos lawyer lawsuit defendants.

The same time, Nellie Kershaw from Rochdale in England filed what is now regarded as the first well-known lawsuit filed against asbestos-related companies. Kershaw, who had been diagnosed with lung ailments due to her close contact with raw asbestos fibers, tried to convince the company she worked for to pay for her medical treatments. The company, however, refused. Kershaw died at 33 years old of lung fibrosis.

The second round of asbestos lawsuits focused on workers exposed to different types asbestos-containing building products, such as fireproofing sprays and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also prevailed in cases against companies that made the equipment that utilized asbestos-containing materials, like pumps and boilers.

During this time, a number of documents that were incriminating were found that revealed asbestos companies have been involved in conspiracy and fraud. The documents included the personal files of Johns-Manville President Sumner Simpson and correspondence from the general attorney for another asbestos producer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed the plot of these companies to conceal the fact that asbestos was hazardous and to thwart efforts to inform the public about the dangers.

The discovery of these and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy in the early and mid-1980s led to a flurry of class action settlements and other attempts to limit asbestos liability for asbestos-related companies. These efforts were met with strong resistance from plaintiffs' attorneys and their clients, as well as from the public at large.

The Third Cases

By the 1970s, asbestos companies had lost the ability to keep information on the fatal effects of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases from the public. This was largely due to the fact that the connection between asbestos and illnesses such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and other respiratory problems started getting attention from major national publications instead of small industry newsletters or medical journals. When the link between asbestos and serious illnesses was well-established, victims started filing lawsuits against asbestos manufacturers.

One of the major push factors that led to increased asbestos lawsuits in the 1970s was a court ruling that allowed plaintiffs to utilize the legal concept of strict liability. In the past, plaintiffs in asbestos cases had to prove that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in creating their asbestos exposures. However in the 1973 case of Borel v. Fibreboard, a judge declared that asbestos producers were accountable for any injuries their products caused if the company knew that their product was unsafe and did not warn its employees or the general public about the dangers.

Following this ruling, many asbestos manufacturers were forced to file for bankruptcy, a procedure which allows a company to be reorganized in bankruptcy court, and put money in trusts to cover asbestos claims and still operate. 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 set several cases against the manufacturer, and was able to obtain punitive damages verdicts against the company.

Since then asbestos litigation has continued grow as a result of the growing number of people suffering from asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos litigation is often complicated because the illnesses caused by asbestos can take a long time to manifest and aren't always obvious to those who have been diagnosed.

Some victims have been forced to wait for years for compensation 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 in an attempt to limit their liability, and it has also pondered the issue of whether it is possible to hold individual defendants liable for asbestos-related injuries.

The Fourth Case

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

As the legal system deals asbestos lawsuits with a constant stream of new developments. One of the most important legal developments is a case called Lubbe v. Cape Plc, which set a precedent that allows victims to sue multinational companies in their home jurisdictions to recover compensation.

Most of the time, these cases involve exposure to asbestos attorney (Read Telegra) in the second degree. This occurs when employees who handle asbestos while on the job transfer it to their spouses or children living at home. The family members then suffer from mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related diseases.

This type of situation is the basis of many lawsuits filed by families of victims today. Asbestos lawyers can assist families file a lawsuit against the company that is responsible for their loved ones' asbestos injuries.

The rise of class action lawsuits is another major development in asbestos litigation. These asbestos lawsuits permit victims to seek justice with the help of a lawyer familiar with the complex legal issues these cases present.

While many asbestos attorneys have pushed for this kind of lawsuit, there are certain people who do not support it. There have been numerous attempts at passing legislation to restrict the use of class actions in asbestos lawsuits.

The most recent significant change in asbestos litigation was the filing of a lawsuit by Massachusetts residents against four companies regarding how they handled asbestos abatement and disposal. The lawsuit alleged the companies in violation of state law in not properly disposing asbestos and exposing residents to toxic dust.

Asbestos litigation is a long-running 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 by trying to get legislative remedies passed that would block victims from seeking justice. It seems that many victims, and their lawyers are determined to see justice done.