Asbestos On The Job - Have You Been Exposed?

Working with asbestos is a pretty complicated affair. Employees are not allowed to handle more than a certain amount for a certain period of time. They need to wear the proper safety equipment and be trained to handle asbestos. Apart from that, the employer can be held liable if the proper safety precautions aren't in place. But this isn't how it used to be earlier. Today, many people have contracted Mesothelioma because of exposure to asbestos in the work place in the past.

Mesothelioma is a form of cancer that can take many years to show itself. Most cases that have emerged today are the result of exposure to asbestos sometime during the 1940s. It was during this time that many workers in the labor sector were directly exposed to large amounts of asbestos. People who worked in industries such as ship-building, construction and in direct asbestos mining are the most likely to contract Mesothelioma today. Many of the rescue workers and fire fighters who were involved in 9/11 relief work are also at risk, since they too were exposed to high levels of asbestos.

Further studies have also shown that family members of people who have worked with asbestos are also at risk. This is because they are often exposed to asbestos fibers that cling to the clothing, shoes and hair. One of the most frustrating aspects of the disease is that it can sometimes take up to 40 years to show itself. By then, it's often too late for the patient or their family to go back and find out that who is really responsible for the asbestos exposure.

$25.2 Million Asbestos Verdict in Pennsylvania

Earlier this year, a Philadelphia jury awarded $25.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages in an asbestos related lawsuit.

The case was brought by the estate of James Baccus against the Crane Company and Yarway. James Baccus had served in the United States Navy in Philadelphia, which is how his case came to be heard in the Pennsylvania courts. However, some of his exposure to asbestos occurred in Philadelphia and some occurred in Kentucky.

The court found that the defendant was “grossly negligent for failure to warn of the dangers of asbestos in reckless disregard of the safety of others." The plaintiff was awarded $7 million in compensatory damages and $18.2 million in punitive damages. The compensatory damages were for things such as loss of future income, loss of consortium, and wrongful death. The punitive damages were to punish the defendants for their mistakes.

This case is said to be the first asbestos case in more than 20 years in which punitive damages were awarded in Pennsylvania. This is likely because Kentucky law was applied to the case.

Clearly, the result was a large economic benefit to the family of James Baccus. Was it the right decision? Does Kentucky law which allows for punitive damages to be found earlier in the case than Pennsylvania law result in decisions that are fair for the family or overly punitive?

The award of damages is very likely to be appealed and we won’t know the final outcome for some time. However, the family of James Baccus already knows the outcome. They know that they lost a beloved family member to a preventable disease. That is something that is hard to tie to a dollar amount. It is the court’s obligation to try since it is the only method of compensating the families, imperfect as it may be.

Asbestos Litigation: At what price?

Asbestos litigation is important business. Many people have become seriously ill and died as a result of asbestos exposure. Many of these people have sought compensation for themselves and their families in court. However, is the way in which the courts hear asbestos cases fair?

In the past few years Congress has been considering funding a trust fund that would allow people who become sick with mesothelioma or other asbestos related diseases to get money quickly without going to court. The proposed law was called the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act. It never became law.

Many parties agree that something has to be done. Patients and their families are struggling with the high costs of medical bills and services that become necessary when there is a mesothelioma diagnosis. Most of the time, the courts do not work fast enough to provide money to patients that urgently need it.

However, some lawyers are critical of the trust fund idea and say that it protects companies who are at fault. They are also fearful that the trust fund would not help all of the people who have become ill or died as a result of asbestos exposure.

On the local level some state and county courts have initiated their own reforms. The Madison County Circuit Court in Missouri has created a deferred docket. That means in asbestos related cases, plaintiffs who are already ill will get their cases heard before other plaintiffs who might become ill.

Mesothelioma is an aggressive and most often fatal cancer. Many patients who chose to sue their former employers do not have a long time to live and very much want their day in court. They want to make sure their families are provided for before they die.

However, is it fair to move their cases ahead of others? Is a trust fund a better idea? Are the courts working efficiently? Is reform needed? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Asbestos Exposure: Protect Your Home & Family

You may have heard the headlines about the dangers of asbestos in the construction industry and other industries. You may know that exposure to asbestos can cause significant and often fatal health problems such as mesothelioma. But, did you know that there is likely asbestos present in your home if you live in a home that was built in the mid 20th century?

What can you do to protect your health?

Is Asbestos Used in Your Home?
There are many areas of your home that may contain asbestos. Asbestos may be present in your roofing or siding. Houses that were built between 1930 and 1950 often had asbestos insulation. Prior to 1977, asbestos was used in some kinds of wall compounds and paints. Older homes may also have water pipes that are covered in asbestos. Asbestos can be found in vinyl floors, gas fireplaces or in the surfaces surrounding wood burning stoves. Some oil furnaces are also known to have asbestos insulation. If your house was built or worked on prior to 1980, it is possible that the asbestos is still present in your home.

What Should You Do?
The most important thing that you can do is not to disturb the asbestos. If the asbestos is in good condition it is unlikely to be dangerous or to cause any illnesses. However, if the fibers are coming loose or if, for example, the insulation needs to be replaced or the paint needs to be chipped away, then you need to have it removed by a professional who has been well educated about the different precautions that are necessary to prevent serious illnesses such as mesothelioma from asbestos exposure.

If you require information the American Lung Association can help you learn more about how to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Asbestos Release Site: Valley Forge National Park

Studies that link asbestos to dangerous diseases such as mesothelioma have concentrated on workers who are exposed to large concentrations of asbestos over long periods of time. Many people know that asbestos is present in their home insulation, car brakes, or air conditioning units.

However, did you know that Pennsylvania’s Valley Forge National Historical Park is an asbestos release site?

Between the 1890s and the 1970s an asbestos plant dumped its waste in Valley Forge. Then, in 1997, when a fiber optic cable was being installed, asbestos contamination was discovered in the park’s soil. In April 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency determined that the asbestos contamination could be a public health threat and ordered that the site be cleaned up. The goal was to prevent visitors at the pristine national park to not suffer the ill effects of asbestos exposure, such as mesothelioma, in years to come. Mesothelioma typically presents itself decades after exposure to asbestos. It is almost always fatal and it is almost always caused by asbestos exposure.

Accordingly, Valley Forge began a long term plan to minimize the risk to public health and to the environment that could be caused by the asbestos exposure. The plan included a feasibility study, plan implementation, and remedial actions.

Valley Forge used the guidelines set forth by various federal regulations that regulate asbestos exposure in order to minimize the risk of mesothelioma and other illnesses. The Environmental Protection Agency regulates asbestos exposure through the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Superfund law and the Toxic Substances Control Act. Other agencies such as the FDA and OSHA also regulate asbestos exposure to minimize the risk of mesothelioma and other asbestos related illnesses.

Construction Workers Families & Asbestos Exposure

In 1992, a law was passed that required the government to look at contamination of workers’ homes from substances workers unknowingly brought home on their clothing and equipment from the workplace. Specifically, the law called the Worker’s Family Protection Act of 1992 directed the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to study this problem.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health worked with several other federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in carrying out its study. Information was gathered from state and federal agencies, professional associations, and published reports. The report included information from 28 different countries and 36 states within the United States.

In 1995, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health issued its report. The report found that many different contaminants have caused serious health problems for workers’ families. Asbestos was among the contaminants cited in the study. The study found that the problem of asbestos entering workers’ homes was a worldwide issue that resulted in all kinds of asbestos-related diseases including the deadly cancer, mesothelioma. The report also stated that there were at least 100 known cases of workers’ family members dying from mesothelioma in the United States. It concluded that while asbestos is used less frequently then it once was -- asbestos exposure and the potential for mesothelioma remain a risk for family members of construction workers.

The report also listed recommendations on precautions that should be taken by workers who are exposed to asbestos so that they minimize the danger to their families. It is recommended that workers shower and change out of their work clothes prior to coming home. It is further recommended that work clothes be kept separate from other clothes and remain on the job site. Family members should be discouraged from visiting job sites and, as always, workers should take every precaution to minimize their own exposure.

Center of Excellence in Environmental Technology (CEET)

What is being done to further the prevention, diagnoses and treatment of mesothelioma and other diseases that are caused by environmental toxins such as asbestos? Different organizations around the country are doing their part to aid in the research necessary to minimize the effects of mesothelioma and other dangerous diseases.

Some of these groups such as the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School are funded, in part, with grants from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences. CEET is one of 22 environmental health centers in the United States. The environmental health centers were created to build infrastructure and provide resources so that important gains could be made in diseases that are caused by environmental toxins.

The specific purpose of CEET is to understand the link between environmental exposures and the diseases they cause. It is thought that understanding that link will help with the prevention, diagnoses, and treatment of environmentally caused diseases.

CEET has several different research cores including one in lung and airway disease. The lung and airway disease core includes the study of asthma, lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other diseases. Mesothelioma, for example, is a serious and aggressive form of cancer that is most often caused by exposure to asbestos in the workplace. CEET investigators take their work wherever they might find the answers to their questions, including to patients suffering from the disease and to superfund sites.

Another important aspect of CEET is its commitment to sharing the knowledge gained from its research both with those in the medical community and those in the broader community. This commitment to shared knowledge is important and is the only way that the research will have the intended result of preventing environmental diseases and easing the impact causes by illnesses that do occur.