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Oregon Jury Considers Talcum Powder Claim in 48-Year-Old’s Mesothelioma Death
A jury in Multnomah County Oregon’s Circuit Court is hearing the case of Kung Lee, a 48-year-old woman diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma after lifelong use of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder. The case is the first to be heard since Johnson & Johnson lost a similar case last month and was ordered to pay the
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Court Confirms Mesothelioma Verdict Against Pabst, Boosts Award to $13.4 Million
In 2021, a Wisconsin court found Pabst Brewing Company liable for the mesothelioma death of Gerald E. Lorbiecki, who’d worked as a pipe fitter at a Pabst facility from the 1970s to the early 2000s. Both the widow and the asbestos company appealed the decision: The company argued that the jury was wrong in finding it
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Supreme Court Rejects Petition from Georgia-Pacific Mesothelioma Victims
Over the last 50 years, America’s asbestos companies have been forced to take responsibility for claims from mesothelioma victims, as well as those sickened by asbestos-related lung cancer, and other illnesses. After paying billions for the pain caused by their negligent management of the toxic material, some companies have adopted a controversial bankruptcy strategy meant
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Independent Contractor’s Mesothelioma Claim to Have Its Day in Court
For nearly ten years, the estate of mesothelioma victim Charles Beverage has been fighting for justice on his behalf, and now a judicial decision may finally provide it. Though the asbestos companies being blamed for exposing him to asbestos have fought to have the case dismissed, the Iowa Supreme Court recently reversed a previous grant
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Mesothelioma-stricken Brick Mason Awarded $7.4 Million
Following a two-week trial, a Chicago jury awarded former brick mason Alonzo J. Cain $7.4 million in compensation for the mesothelioma he currently suffers. The lawsuit cited asbestos exposure Mr. Cain suffered over years of working at Inland Steel. The verdict assigned 30% liability to a company that manufactured hot top boards used in the steel-making
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Judge Refuses to Bar Expert Witness Testimony in Peritoneal Mesothelioma Case
After Brian Joseph Gref was diagnosed with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in 2020, he filed a personal injury lawsuit against the companies that manufactured and sold the asbestos-contaminated talcum powder he blames for his illness. As the claim has progressed, the companies argued that testimony being offered on behalf of Mr. Gref be barred. Upon review,
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Johnson & Johnson Talc Liability Unit Attempts to Sue Doctors Over Mesothelioma Article
In March 2020, an article discussing 75 malignant mesothelioma patients appeared in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. The article, which said the patients’ only exposure to asbestos was in cosmetic talc products, spurred legal action from the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary established to hold all of the company’s talc liabilities, but this week a New Jersey
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Asbestos Contamination That Raised Risk of Mesothelioma Leads to $19.8 Million Fine
The Latitude Five25 apartment complex in Columbus, Ohio was always a source of controversy, but nothing had happened in the past compared to the negligence that occurred after December of 2022, when the owner’s failure to properly manage asbestos contamination in the building put workers and others at risk of mesothelioma, and led a Franklin
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Mesothelioma Advocates Hopeful as EPA Moves on to Part Two of Its Asbestos Risk Evaluation
On March 18th, 2024, advocates for victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases praised the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement of a final rule banning the use and import of chrysotile asbestos. But even in the face of that victory, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and others noted that there was still much work to
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Tile Installation Work Blamed for Malignant Mesothelioma
Pleural mesothelioma victim Michael Wagner blames multiple companies for having exposed him to the asbestos that caused his fatal illness. Among those named in his personal injury lawsuit is American Biltrite, the manufacturer of asbestos-contaminated vinyl tiles that he worked with in the 1960s. Though the company argued against this assertion, Justice Adam Silvera of
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Johnson & Johnson Floats New $6.5 Billion Settlement for Talc Mesothelioma Claims
There are currently more than 40,000 mesothelioma and ovarian cancer claims pending against Johnson & Johnson, accusing the consumer giant of negligently allowing their iconic baby powder product’s talc to be contaminated with asbestos and not warning of its dangers. After two unsuccessful attempts at a controversial bankruptcy filing that included a settlement for those
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Jury in Mesothelioma Claim Against BNSF Railway Awards Families $4 Million Each
Four years after their loved ones died of malignant mesothelioma, two Libby, Montana families have each been awarded $4 million in damages to be paid by BNSF Railway. Joyce Walder and Thomas Wells both lived near the company’s railyard and died of the asbestos-related disease. The families accused the company of negligently exposing their loved ones
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Louisiana Court Hands Down Decision on Mesothelioma Expert Witness Testimony
A lawsuit filed by the family of mesothelioma victim Terry Legendre is scheduled to begin next week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. As the trial date approaches, both the victim’s family and the defendant companies have sought to exclude testimony from each other’s expert witnesses. The judge hearing the arguments
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Asbestos & Mesothelioma Advocacy Group Hosts Free Webinar
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, the largest independent organization in the United States that gives mesothelioma and asbestos-related disease victims a united voice, is hosting a free Zoom webinar on legacy asbestos prevention. The event is part of the organization’s Global Asbestos Awareness Month activities.
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Asbestos Pipe Company Continues its Quest to Stop Mesothelioma Lawsuit
Last October, Justice Adam Silvera of the Supreme Court of New York ruled against Ameron International’s request for dismissal of the case filed against it by mesothelioma victim Rudolf Horvath. Unhappy with his decision, the company appealed it to the First Department, which rejected the company’s argument and affirmed the decision to allow the victim’s claim
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Railway’s Request for Sanctions in Mesothelioma Case Denied
It’s been decades since asbestos fibers blew around Libby, Montana, but malignant mesothelioma victims and others who suffered asbestos-related illnesses continue seeking justice against the companies responsible for their illnesses and deaths. In a case scheduled to be heard early next month, the family of a mesothelioma victim recently avoided sanctions being sought by BNSF
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Talc Company’s Appeal of Years’-Old Mesothelioma Verdict Fails
Sandra Reichart died of malignant mesothelioma in 2019, and her daughter, Holly Fisher, filed a claim against the companies she blamed for her mother’s death. In 2022 she was awarded $400,000, but one of the companies assigned a portion of that verdict filed a motion for post-trial relief. This month the Superior Court of Pennsylvania
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Jury Orders Johnson & Johnson to Pay $45 Million for Mesothelioma Death
For two years, mesothelioma and ovarian cancer lawsuits accusing Johnson & Johnson of negligently selling asbestos-contaminated powder have been delayed by bankruptcy proceedings. But with the hold lifted, cases have begun being heard across the country, and this week an Illinois jury awarded a victim’s survivors $45 million in compensation.
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Texas Judge Reverses Lower Court’s Decision in Favor of Asbestosis Victim
Carolyn Burford died of hypoxic respiratory failure related to her asbestosis, a condition that — like mesothelioma and asbestos-related cancer — is caused by exposure to asbestos. Though a trial court dismissed the case her family filed against Alcoa based on lack of “proof of causation,” an appellate court reversed that decision, allowing the case
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Australian Researchers Test Mesothelioma Pleural Effusions for Use in Personalized Therapies
Malignant mesothelioma is challenging for numerous reasons. Always fatal, mesothelioma remains latent for decades before appearing in an aggressive and fast-moving way. Making matters worse, the condition’s rarity limits scientists’ ability to test new treatments. To address this, Australian researchers have explored using pleural effusion samples from patients to create models called “organoids” on which
