Asbestos & Mesothelioma Law Blog

Federal investigators recently opened an inquiry into whether several asbestos clean up companies operating in Massachusetts paid crews fairly for all of the work performed renovating asbestos tainted properties in the Boston area. Over the past few years, the U.S. Justice Department has opened up several investigations into worker mistreatment and wage theft involving hard working clean up crews putting their health and safety on the line to make sure others are not exposed to deadly asbestos.

Over the past five years, Boston has seen a boom in asbestos removal projects to remove the mesothelioma-causing insulation from older building flush with the cheap and once widely used substance. However, many of these projects come with a cost to the workers doing the jobs as well as to the office employees who sometimes continue to work inside buildings while restoration goes on.

The targets of the Department of Justice investigation, Absolute Environmental and Absolute Environmental Contractors Inc., are accused of collaborating to suppress workers’ wages and turn a higher profit. According to grand jury witnesses, the companies in question paid workers two different pay rates, one for union work at about $35 per hour and another for “non-union” at a rate about half as much.

Public workers in Pennsylvania recently scored a major victory after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that state employees can hold their employers accountable for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent asbestos exposure. Typically, state agencies are immune from civil suits under the doctrine of “sovereign immunity” which generally bars claims against the state for certain injuries.

In their ruling for Geier v. Board of Public Education of the School District of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld an Allegheny County trial judge’s ruling that state employees can file mesothelioma cancer lawsuits against the governmental entities they work for. Until recently workers could still bring third party claims against other defendants like asbestos companies but were barred from filing claims against other entities like school districts.

The ruling came in part from an earlier case from 2013, Tooey v. AK Steel, that involved a complicated application of the state’s workers’ compensation laws. Under Tooey, injured workers barred from filing claims under Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws could bring civil suits to recover for their damages like medical bills and lost wages.

Over 1,000 mesothelioma cancer victims recently settled claims against the state of Montana over allegations the plaintiffs developed the deadly asbestos-related cancer in a privately-owned asbestos mine. The settlement is the second such largest in the state’s recent history, after a $43 million resolution another group of 1,000 plaintiffs from Libby, Montana agreed to in 2011 as compensation for their own mesothelioma cancer lawsuit.

The latest settlement is the culmination of hundreds of mesothelioma cancer lawsuits filed by local residents against the state, claiming the government failed to protect them from the known dangers of the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite mine located near the town. Plaintiffs from this settlement had not been diagnosed with mesothelioma at the time of the 2011 resolution but have since developed the condition.

Hundreds of Victims Develop Mesothelioma

Scientists from the United Kingdom recently published a study outlining a potentially significant breakthrough in the fight against aggressive colon, lung, and breast cancers by identifying the genetic markers regulating cancer growth. In their report, the researchers demonstrated tumor growth may be decreased as much as 75% when scientists targeting one-specific gene and noted that 18 others either aid in tumor growth or can slow down the metastasization.

Furthermore, researchers identified other genes responsible for regulating the body’s immune system, which could help with a patient’s natural response to fighting mesothelioma and other cancers. By stunting tumor growth and energizing the immune system, immunotherapy researchers believe the human body itself may be the key to effectively fighting cancer and getting patients into remission.

Spns2 Gene Linked to Blocking Cancer Growth in Lab Mice

Asbestos is a white, flaky mineral used for its heat resistant properties in various industries including construction, pipe fitting, shipbuilding, and as an insulation. While its physical properties and low cost make it ideal for use in many industrial applications, the mineral is extremely toxic and has a causal link to developing mesothelioma.

Asbestos companies and manufacturers using the material knew about the dangers associates with it but continued using it for years. As a result, hundreds of thousands of victims developed mesothelioma, an extremely rare and deadly form of cancer commonly affecting tissue linings around the lungs and abdomen.

Despite all this, asbestos can still be used in certain products today, like vinyl flooring and cement shingles, though it is heavily regulated. That may soon change as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced adding asbestos to a list of 10 toxic chemicals the agency looks to ban in 2017.

After a mesothelioma diagnosis, mesothelioma patients and their family members often have many questions about the contractions and treatment of the cancer. One of the most common questions is whether or not mesothelioma is a preventable disease or if there was something in the family history that caused it to develop.

One of the most important things mesothelioma patients and their families should know is that the disease is extremely rare and most commonly associated with exposure to asbestos, a flaky white mineral commonly used in insulation and other industrial applications. Companies have known for decades about the causal link between asbestos exposure and risk of developing the deadly cancer.

Despite knowing asbestos posed serious health risks to workers, many companies chose to continue using the material due to its heat resistant properties and low cost, just another example of business putting profits before people. Had companies acted in good faith on the knowledge they had for years about the dangers of asbestos, potentially thousands of lives could have been extended.

The former Environmental Health and Safety Officer for Paterson, New Jersey schools recently hit her employer with a lawsuitclaiming the defendant fired her as a retaliatory act for exposing the district’s illegal removal of asbestos from a school classroom. Since 2008, the plaintiff’s role with the school district had been to ensure the health and safety of around 23,000 students and 5,400 staff members, but she was apparently not allowed to perform her job for the sake of cutting costs.

According to her lawsuit, the plaintiff alleges she faced a hostile work environment after taking issue with the school district’s removal, storage, and disposal of asbestos and mold from several sites. Most notably, the school district allegedly hired contractors without the proper licenses to remove and dispose of the dangerous asbestos.

School Allegedly Failed to Follow State Asbestos Removal Laws

Mesothelioma is an aggressive form of cancer, usually affecting the lungs and abdomen, caused by exposure to asbestos, a flaky white insulation material once common in industrial applications as well as consumer products. One of the worst aspects of the condition is the long passage of time between exposure and the onset of symptoms that victims may recognize as a serious medical condition.

Often times, asbestos exposure victims are not diagnosed until they are older and the disease is at an advanced stage, giving patients fewer treatment options to improve their health and wellbeing. Due to the passage of time and the complex nature of litigating an asbestos mesothelioma cancer lawsuit, many plaintiffs ultimately succumb to their condition before their claim is resolved.

Situations like these leave surviving family members worried about whether they will receive the compensation necessary to make up for the loss of service provided by their deceased loved one. Fortunately, the law does allow surviving family members to continue lawsuits on behalf of their family members and hold wrongdoers accountable for their careless actions.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive, deadly cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that leaves victims with few treatment options the further the disease progresses from the lungs and abdomen. While doctors can use aggressive treatments like surgery if the disease is caught in its early stages, mesothelioma will eventually metastasize into delicate areas of the body unsuitable for surgical removal.

However, doctors and researchers around the world have committed themselves to finding better treatment options for late-stage cancer patients to help extend patient life expectancy and improve quality of life. Recently, cancer researchers meeting in Amsterdam for the annual World Lung Cancer Conference submitted a report of a promising new immunotherapy drug, nivolumab (also known as Opdivo).

According to a statement released by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the drug showed tremendous promise in treating patients battling malignant pleural mesothelioma. Pleural mesothelioma is a form of the disease affecting a thin lining of tissue around the lungs, one of the most common types of the deadly cancer victims can experience.

A mesothelioma cancer diagnosis can be devastating news and seemingly come out of nowhere to turn our world upside down. Because mesothelioma takes decades to manifest itself, victims often receive their diagnosis during retirement, but many become affected during their prime income earning years, as well.

Whatever the case, mesothelioma rears its head at the worst time and seriously affects the economic and health outlook for victims and their families. Lost wages, medical treatment, and the grind of fighting the disease all eventually take their toll on victims, leaving them wondering how they will cope with it all.

Fortunately, the law gives these affected parties legal recourse to hold wrongdoers accountable for their negligent actions and file mesothelioma cancer lawsuits to recover for economic damages and pain and suffering. Depending on the circumstances of the case, surviving family members may also pursue claims for loss of emotional, economic, and domestic support should their loved one pass on before the case is resolved.