Mesothelioma Court Rulings & Legislation

Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson Goes to Trial in Missouri

June 19, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

An asbestos cancer lawsuit brought by 22 women recently began in a Missouri state court over claims that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products caused the plaintiffs’ ovarian cancer diagnoses. The claim alleges that the plaintiffs’ years of use of Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based products caused their cancer diagnoses and that the defendant knew for years about the risk of injury but did nothing to warn the public.

According to the asbestos cancer lawsuit, filed in Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, the 22 female plaintiffs and the representatives of their estates claim that their years of using Johnson & Johnson’s products like Baby Powder and Shower to Shower caused their ovarian cancer diagnoses. The lawsuit alleges that the talc used to make these products was contaminated with asbestos during the mining and is therefore the causal link between using Johnson & Johnson’s products and developing the disease.

Talc and asbestos are both naturally occurring minerals often found in deposits adjacent to one another, which can lead to talc contamination if care is not taken to separate the two substances during mining. Although federal law has required talc to be asbestos-free for many decades now, plaintiffs in talcum powder asbestos lawsuits allege that independent testing shows the talc sourced for Johnson & Johnson products still contains asbestos to this day.

New Hampshire State Senate Considers Bill to Restrict Legal Rights of Asbestos Cancer Victims

June 16, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

Despite state courts not having to deal with asbestos cancer lawsuits for quite some time, the New Hampshire state senate is poised to introduced proposed legislation that could seriously limit the legal rights of mesothelioma cancer victims. If passed, the proposed law would put New Hampshire in a group of over one dozen states that have passed so-called transparency acts aimed at slowing the pace of litigation and forcing plaintiffs to take legal steps they otherwise would not be obliged to.

In studying the issue, the New Hampshire state senate has created a study committee to “review the current compensation system specific to asbestos litigation and study ways to promote transparency, fairness, and timeliness of payment in the asbestos litigation system in New Hampshire.” Specifically, the study committee will look into whether or not mesothelioma cancer victims should be required to explore alternative avenues for compensation for their injuries.

Additionally, many of the asbestos tort reform bills being circulated around states legislatures require plaintiffs to disclose to courts whether or not they have filed claims for compensation from any asbestos administrative trusts in addition to filing a formal lawsuit. Many of the largest asbestos companies were required to create trusts for asbestos cancer victims to file claims as part of the business’ release of liability to file for federal bankruptcy protections.

Kansas State Lawmakers Debate Bill to Limit Compensation for Asbestos Cancer Victims

May 31, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

Kansas state lawmakers recently took up debate in the legislature’s upper house over the passage of House Bill 2457, a law that could end up imposing serious restriction on the legal rights of asbestos cancer victims to recover vital compensation following a mesothelioma diagnosis. If approved, the bill would require mesothelioma patients to undertake a lengthy administrative and investigative process that could go beyond the time they have left.

In February 2018, the Kansas State House of Representatives passed their version of the bill with a 77-40 vote over the objections of advocates who claim the bill is necessary and places roadblocks to justice. House Bill 2457 is Supported by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, a statewide business and industrial coalition in the state of Kansas that often creates pro-business legislation.

If passed, House Bill 2457 would require asbestos cancer victims to file all possible claims against other defendants in a 30-day window, allowing a jury to consider shared liability among sources of asbestos exposure. Often times, this includes filing administrative claims with asbestos bankruptcy trusts in lieu of formal lawsuits against solvent companies still doing business.

New York Appeals Court Denies Motion by Asbestos Companies to Modify Damages for Cancer Victims

May 14, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

An intermediate appeals court in New York recently denied a motion brought forth by a group of asbestos product related companies attempting to challenge the types of damages cancer victims can recover and the state’s special asbestos court system as a whole. The appeal comes a year after the courts modified their case management orders to allow plaintiffs to recover punitive damages in mesothelioma cancer lawsuits and less than one month after a state jury handed down a record breaking $60 million plaintiff’s verdict.

The special asbestos court, known as the New York Court of Asbestos Litigation (NYCAL), is one of the country’s largest backlog of asbestos cancer cases and has created its own unique rules to help move along cases on the docket. One of those case management orders was an agreement with defendants to defer punitive damages in exchange for waivers of due process rights to allow cases to move more quickly through the courts.

Punitive damages are a special type of award meant to punish defendants for especially egregious conduct and serve as a type of warning to prevent other entities from engaging in similarly reckless behavior. The agreement between the asbestos companies and the courts had remained in place for almost two decades until 2014 when punitive damages were reintroduced by a Manhattan Supreme Court justice.

Illinois Asbestos Exposure Trial Underway

May 2, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

An asbestos cancer trial recently got under way in Circuit Court in Illinois over allegations thst the defendants knew about the asbestos contained in their products but did nothing to warn the plaintiff or others about the risk of asbestos exposure. The lawsuit names Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation, Inc. as the only remaining defendant in the case and seeks to recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. As is common in many asbestos cancer lawsuits, the defendants would rather take their case to trial than accept responsibility for their negligence.

According to the asbestos cancer lawsuit, filed in St. Clair County, Illinois, the plaintiff began working for Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation soon after graduating high school in 1968, making a career out of it. The company was in the business of installing various types of insulation, including asbestos insulation, fiberglass insulation, foam insulation, and eventually asbestos abatement for other companies.

The asbestos cancer lawsuit claims that the defendant improperly removed asbestos at the company’s work site after investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigators determined the asbestos insulation covering pipes at the facility posed a health risk to workers. Testimony from one witness for the plaintiff claimed that Iowa-Illinois Taylor Insulation left behind large amounts of carcinogenic debris, which forced the evacuation of the facility on at least one occasion.

J&J and Talc Supplier Imerys Ordered to Pay Plaintiffs $80 Million in Punitive Damages

April 16, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

After already handing down a $37 million verdict in favor of the plaintiffs at the conclusion of a two-month asbestos cancer trial, a New Jersey state jury recently handed down a staggering $80 million in punitive damages against the defendants. In reaching their decision, the jury determined that pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier Imerys acted with recklessness when they produced asbestos-contaminated talc products knowing full well of the dangers posed to consumers.

The Middlesex County Superior Court jury apportioned $55 million of the punitive damages to be paid by Johnson & Johnson while Imerys will be responsible for the remaining $25 million in addition to compensatory damages already handed down. The verdict and awards are significant as it is the first plaintiff’s verdict against the defendants over allegations that the pair knowingly put thousands of innocent people at risk of developing mesothelioma and other serious forms of deadly cancer.

According to the plaintiff’s lawsuit, the victim developed mesothelioma from years of asbestos exposure due to using the tainted talcum powder products produced by the defendants. Mesothelioma is a rare and deadly form of cancer that commonly affects thin linings of tissues surrounding vital organs like the heart, lungs, and abdomen and is directly linked to asbestos exposure.

New Jersey Jury Hits Johnson & Johnson with $37 Million Verdict in Asbestos Talcum Powder Lawsuit

April 9, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

A New Jersey state jury recently handed down a substantial verdict in favor of the plaintiff in a groundbreaking talcum powder asbestos cancer lawsuit filed against pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. After weeks of testimony, the jury awarded the plaintiff $37 million in damages to the plaintiff who claimed he developed mesothelioma after years of inhaling asbestos-contaminated talc products produced by the defendants.

The Middlesex Superior Court jury determined that Johnson & Johnson was 70% responsible for the plaintiff’s mesothelioma diagnosis and France-based talc supplier Imerys was liable for the remaining 30% of damages. The verdict came on the first full day of deliberations after two months of testimony in which both sides argued vigorously for their positions and multiple expert witnesses were called to testify.

During the trial, Johnson & Johnson’s defense lawyers argued that the plaintiff could have contracted mesothelioma from various other sources. It noted that the house in Montclair, New Jersey where the plaintiff grew up once had asbestos-wrapped pipes and that the public schools attended were also treated for asbestos at some point in the past. Fortunately, jurors sided with the plaintiff and his wife and awarded them the appropriate amount of compensation for their damages.

Connecticut Chemical Company Settles Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit

April 2, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

More than five years after filing an asbestos cancer lawsuit on behalf of her deceased husband, a New York woman has finally received justice on his behalf after the defendants in the case agreed to settle the matter. The resolution to the mesothelioma cancer lawsuit came after three days of jury selection in a St. Lawrence County Court. Opening arguments were slated to begin the day of the settlement.

According to the mesothelioma lawsuit, the victim worked at Jones & Laughlin Steel Co. in Star Lake and at Gouverneur, New York and developed his disease after years of exposure to asbestos contained in talc products distributed by the defendants. The defendants included R.T. Vanderbilt Co. Inc. which operates a minerals division manufacturing facility in Gouverneur, and Newton Falls LLC.

The lawsuit accused R.T. Vanderbilt Co and other defendants of knowingly engaging in the sale and distribution of minerals that were contaminated with asbestos, a flaky white mineral that is directly linked to causing mesothelioma. Although rare, mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that commonly affects the thin linings of tissue surrounding vital organs like the lungs and abdominal cavity.

New Jersey Appeals Court Revives Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit Against Scotts Turf Builder

March 19, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

A panel of judges for the New Jersey Superior Court’s Appeals Division recently revived a lawsuit brought on behalf of a man who claimed he developed mesothelioma from years of exposure to asbestos in lawn fertilizer made by Scotts. As part of their ruling, the three-judge panel determined that the lower trial court erred when it failed to reverse its order granting summary judgement to the defense after new evidence came to light. With that order, the plaintiff has hope that the trial court will grant it the opportunity to convene a new trial and give the plaintiff a chance to recover the vital compensation necessary to be made whole again.

The case began in July 2012 when a man from Wayne, New Jersey filed suit against Scotts, claiming that from 1967 to 1980 he was repeatedly exposed to asbestos contaminated vermiculite contained in the company’s Turf Builder lawn fertilizer. The mesothelioma cancer lawsuit claimed that the vermiculite Scotts manufactured its Turf Builder with was sourced from a now infamous mine in Libby, Montana, which is the root of hundreds and potentially thousands of other lawsuits against the mine’s former owner.

As the case made its way through the civil lawsuit process, the trial judge hearing the case dismissed the testimony of four expert witnesses for the plaintiff who would have testified to the victim’s claims that Scotts Turf Builder contained asbestos. As a result, the defendants successfully argued a motion for summary judgement in January 2014, which effectively threw out the case and left the plaintiff with limited access to justice.

Missouri State House Passes Bill to Limit Compensation for Mesothelioma Cancer Victims

March 16, 2018 | Throneberry Law Group

The Missouri state House of Representatives recently approved legislation that could impact the amount of compensation mesothelioma cancer victims could receive for their claims when filing lawsuits against defendants. With Missouri juries handing down substantial verdicts to plaintiffs harmed by the deadly products developed by asbestos companies, lobbyists for the business and insurance companies have long eyed the state for so-called “tort reform” to limit compensation to plaintiffs.

As part of the effort to limit plaintiffs’ access to justice, the Missouri House approved a bill meant to force mesothelioma plaintiffs to disclose whether or not they have filed administrative claims with asbestos bankruptcy trusts. The Missouri Senate is expected to take up the legislation soon and the state may join a growing list of other states that have already passed these asbestos claims transparency laws promulgated by the likes of pro business and insurance lobbyists like the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Asbestos bankruptcy trusts were created by companies that were no longer solvent but needed a way to release themselves from legal liability in order to qualify for federal bankruptcy protections. Asbestos companies set aside tens of billions of dollars for mesothelioma cancer victims to file administrative claims with and are often seen as a much more expedient way for plaintiffs to receive the compensation they need to pay for vital medical treatment.