Asbestos Lawsuit History

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

The first asbestos lawsuit was filed by Nellie Kershaw. She worked in a plant that spun asbestos fibers in England and developed health problems. She died at the age of 33 of fibrosis of the lungs caused by asbestos exposure.

The First Cases

Asbestos, a hazardous mineral, has sickened and killed thousands over the years. Asbestos claims are filed for a variety reasons, but they usually involve those who were exposed to asbestos at work. This includes employees who worked in factories that made asbestos-related products or at the construction sites of buildings that contain asbestos. It could also include people who were exposed to asbestos by using household products, such as talcum powder.

Exposure to asbestos can trigger many different illnesses, including mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory ailments. Many people have received compensation for their injuries, even though some of these diseases can be fatal. The majority of countries have laws that require companies that create dangerous substances warn anyone who could be injured.

The first asbestos lawsuit was filed in 1929 and included a woman named Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from a variety of ailments, including shortness of breath and the thickening of the fingertip tissue, known as clubbing. She was awarded a settlement of $75,000 in what is believed to be a first-ever class action lawsuit that dealt with asbestos.

Asbest lawsuits continued to be filed in the years that followed. Asbestos litigation became a vast area of law and many lawyers began to specialize in asbestos litigation. This meant that they were able to handle the most serious cases. One firm that was involved in this was Kazan Law, which in the late 1980s began to focus on the bringing of cases on behalf of people who had mesothelioma.

Other lawsuits were won by individuals who had suffered from other asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis or plaques in the pleural cavity. The disease that caused them was like mesothelioma which makes it more straightforward to prove for lawyers. These allegations led to the public disclosure of secret documents that revealed the ways asbestos product manufacturers attempted to hide their risks. This led to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule being enacted in 1989.

The Second Case

As the number of people suffering from asbestos-related diseases grew, patients and their families began bringing lawsuits against companies that mined, manufactured or sold asbestos-containing products. Mesothelioma patients also filed claims against the companies that designed and constructed the buildings that they worked in, including power plants, shipyards and refineries. The connection between mesothelioma and asbestos exposure is very strong.

In the early 1980s the legal battles over asbestos lawsuits became more intense and the courts began to rule on various aspects of the case process. A federal court, for example, ruled that only those suffering from asbestos-related malignancies such as mesothelioma and lung cancer were able to bring a lawsuit against the makers of asbestos products. This ruling, referred to as Borel V. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. was a major setback in asbestos litigation.

At around the same time, Nellie Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale, England, filed what is thought to be the first legal claim that is well-known against asbestos companies. Kershaw was an employee in a factory in Rochdale, England was diagnosed with lung problems caused by her close exposure to asbestos fibers in raw form. Kershaw tried to convince her employer to pay for the treatment. However, the company refused. Kershaw passed away at 33 years old from fibrosis of her lungs.

The second wave of asbestos cases centered on workers who worked at construction sites and were exposed to various types of asbestos-containing building products, including fireproofing sprays, drywall materials and textures. Asbestos attorneys also brought successful cases against companies who manufactured equipment that used asbestos-containing materials, like boilers and pumps.

During this period, a variety of incriminating documents were discovered that demonstrated asbestos companies' involvement in a scheme of fraud and. The documents included personal documents of Johns-Manville President Sumner Simpson and correspondence from the general attorney of another asbestos producer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed a conspiracy between these two companies to hide asbestos' dangers and to thwart efforts to warn the public.

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

The Third Case

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

One of the primary driving factors that led to more asbestos lawsuits in 1970s was a ruling by the courts which allowed plaintiffs to apply the legal concept of strict liability. Previously, plaintiffs in asbestos cases had to show that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in creating their exposure to asbestos. In the 1973 case of Borel v. Fibreboard a judge ruled asbestos producers liable for any injuries caused by their products if they knew their product was unsafe, but did not inform their employees or the general public about the dangers.

After this ruling, many asbestos producers filed for bankruptcy. This procedure permits a business, even though it is still operating, to reorganize its affairs in bankruptcy court and put money into trusts to pay asbestos claimants. Johns-Manville was an especially noteworthy case because it was hit with numerous lawsuits from former factory workers suffering from asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Kazan Law set several cases against the manufacturer and was able obtain punitive damages verdicts against the company.

Since then, asbestos litigation has continued to increase due to the increasing number of victims suffering from asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos litigation is often complicated due to the fact that the ailments caused by asbestos can take a long time to manifest and are not always apparent to those diagnosed.

Some victims have also been forced to wait for years for settlements from insurance companies, even after their employers were found responsible. The US Supreme Court has dealt with numerous cases involving settlements for class actions that asbestos companies offered in an attempt to limit their liability, and it has also pondered the question of whether or not it is possible to hold individual defendants liable for injuries caused by asbestos.

The Fourth Case

Asbestos is an incredibly dangerous mineral that has caused the death or sickness of hundreds of thousands of people over the decades. Asbestos was also widely used by companies who knew it was a risk however they continued to make use of it.

As the legal system deals with these asbestos lawsuits new developments are taking place all the time. One of the most significant legal developments is the decision Lubbe v. Cape Plc. This set a precedent allowing victims to sue multi-national companies in their home countries for compensation.

These cases typically involve secondary exposure to asbestos. This is when those who work with asbestos on the job transfer it to their spouses or children at home. The family members are affected by mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases.

Many lawsuits are filed by the families of victims based on this kind of case. Asbestos lawyers can help families file a claim against the company that is responsible for their loved ones' asbestos-related injuries.

The emergence of class-action lawsuits is another major development in asbestos litigation. These asbestos lawsuits provide victims the chance to seek justice with the help of an attorney familiarized with the complex legal issues these cases present.

While many asbestos attorneys have pushed for this type of litigation, there are some who oppose it. In actual fact there have been a number of attempts to pass legislation to limit the use of class actions in asbestos cases.

The most recent major development in asbestos litigation was the filing of a lawsuit by Massachusetts residents against four companies regarding how they handled asbestos removal and disposal. The lawsuit claimed that the firms in violation of state law by not properly disposing of asbestos and failing residents from the harmful dust.

Asbestos litigation has been a long-running issue that will likely continue for a long time. The asbestos industry has attempted to avoid accountability by bringing up technical legal arguments and by trying to pass legislative solutions which would stop victims from seeking justice. It appears that a lot of victims, and their lawyers are determined to get justice served.