Supreme Court Weakens Asbestos Ban

As legal challenges to the March 2024 asbestos ban mount, the Supreme Court placed another hurdle on the track for the Environmental Protection Agency to overcome.

By a vote of 6-3, the Justices overruled their landmark 1984 decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which gave rise to the doctrine known as the Chevron doctrine. Under that doctrine, if Congress had not directly addressed the question at the center of a dispute, a court was required to uphold the agency’s interpretation of the statute as long as it was reasonable. However, in a 35-page ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts, the justices rejected that doctrine, calling it “fundamentally misguided.”

Justice Elena Kagan dissented, in an opinion joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Kagan predicted that Friday’s ruling “will cause a massive shock to the legal system.”

The asbestos ban includes much ambiguous language. Under Chevron, a tie went to the runner, so to speak. The agency that drafted the rule interpreted the rule. Now, a federal judge makes that interpretation.

Over fifty nations have already banned the importation and use of asbestos. These microscopic fibers cause a number of serious illnesses, including:

• Mesothelioma: This rare and aggressive form of lung cancer begins with a tumor in the mesothelium (layer of membranes that separates the lungs and heart). Transitional imaging tests usually can’t penetrate these layers and spot tiny tumors. So, the cancer grows and spreads. Generally, by the time doctors properly diagnose mesothelioma, the cancer is at Stage III or Stage IV.
• Asbestosis: Toxic asbestos fibers burn lung airways, causing inflammation and scar tissue. Eventually, the scar tissue and inflammation block these airways. As a result, the victim has trouble breathing even while sleeping. Asbestosis is treatable, but the treatment is so radical that, frequently, the cure is worse than the disease.
• Abdominal Cancer: Asbestos fibers could also cause stomach and cervical cancer. Spiky asbestos fibers easily cling to most surfaces, including food. So, when workers have lunch at the company cafeteria, they could be eating asbestos fibers. As for cervical cancer, Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that stray asbestos fibers contaminated its talcum powder. Nevertheless, the company continued aggressively marketing this product to unsuspecting women.

An asbestos ban prevents future asbestos exposure illnesses. However, a nationwide mesothelioma lawyer obtains the compensation prior exposure victims need to fight their illnesses, prolong their lives, and extend their quality of life. Several options are usually available. More on that below.

Potential asbestos exposure victims usually include people who worked in or lived near asbestos mines, construction sites, certain manufacturing facilities, and shipyards, especially before 1980.

Usually, an asbestos exposure lawyer files a civil claim to obtain compensation for asbestos-related injuries. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are usually available in these matters as well.

To obtain this compensation, a nationwide asbestos lawyer must usually prove negligence or a lack of care. Companies have a duty to warn people about known product side effects. Asbestos-using companies, like Johnson & Johnson, clearly dropped the ball in this area.

Other civil claim theories, like defective product and public nuisance, may be available as well. Defendants are strictly liable for the injuries their defective products cause. An asbestos mine could be a public nuisance.

Other no-fault options include workers’ compensation, Social Security Disability, and bankruptcy victim compensation funds.

If the asbestos exposure was work-related, available benefits include lost wage replacement and medical bill payment, even if the victim was partially, mostly, or entirely at fault for the injury. The same principles apply to Social Security Disability matters.

If the responsible company declared bankruptcy and contributed to a VCF, the victim may be eligible for a share of approximately $60 billion.

Mesothelioma victims need and deserve significant compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced nationwide mesothelioma lawyer, contact the Throneberry Law Group. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.