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Former Con Ed Employee’s Lung Cancer Blamed on Asbestos-Contaminated Equipment
Malignant mesothelioma and other forms of lung cancer have both been linked directly to asbestos. Exposure to the carcinogenic mineral has sickened and killed hundreds of thousands of people globally. In the United States, victims of negligent exposure to asbestos can seek compensation from those responsible. Earlier this month, a New York court told Robert
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Talc Supplier’s “Just Following Orders” Argument Fails in Mesothelioma Claim
Facing a personal injury lawsuit from a woman diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, talc manufacturer Kolmar Laboratories filed a motion for summary judgment, asking that the claim against them be dismissed. But Justice Adam Silvera of the Supreme Court of New York County denied the company’s petition, noting that it had failed to meet the bar
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Mesothelioma Victim Awarded $63.4 Million by South Carolina Jury
In the latest legal blow against Johnson & Johnson and its talc-based products, a South Carolina state court jury ordered the company to pay $63.4 million in compensatory and punitive damages to a man diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. Michael Perry was diagnosed with the rare, asbestos-related disease at the age of 53 and blamed his
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Asbestos Lung Cancer Blamed on Electric Supplier’s Products
Paul Scandaliato was diagnosed with lung cancer after more than forty years of working for Con Edison in New York. He filed an asbestos lawsuit that named dozens of companies whose asbestos-contaminated products he was exposed to or worked with during his career. One of those companies, Kennedy Electrical Supply Corporation, asked to be dismissed
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Avon Files for Bankruptcy in Face of Talc Mesothelioma Lawsuits
Following significant jury verdicts in favor of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims, iconic cosmetic company Avon has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company’s court filings assert that it expects that there will be an increasing number of personal injury lawsuits filed against it and that it no longer has “sufficient liquidity to litigate
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Asbestos Company’s Argument Rejected by Judge in Lung Cancer Case
Guiseppe Rullo was diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer after a decade of working at Con Ed. He and his wife have filed suit against multiple manufacturers of the asbestos-containing products to which he was exposed during that time. One of those companies, Atwood & Morrill Co., Inc., attempted to evade responsibility by pointing to a
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South Carolina Jury to Decide Johnson & Johnson Mesothelioma Case
The cruel irony of malignant mesothelioma is that the asbestos that causes the disease is so often meant to protect. It happened when the military ordered asbestos to be used, leading to countless veterans’ illnesses, and more recently it’s what led to Michael Perry’s diagnosis with the fatal disease. Suffering from an allergy to most
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West Virginia Hospital Named in Asbestos Lung Cancer Lawsuit
A young woman diagnosed with asbestos-related lung cancer has filed a personal injury lawsuit against West Virginia University Hospitals, Inc. and Metropolitan Life Insurance. Her claim asserts that she was exposed to legacy asbestos during her years as a nursing student and accuses the organizations of negligence and asbestos misrepresentation.
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Biotech Company’s AI-Driven Treatment for Mesothelioma Receives FDA Clearance
A Hong-Kong-based biotech company that combines genomics, big data analysis, and deep learning for drug discovery has just received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational New Drug (IND) clearance for the use of its newest innovation for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma. The company’s pan-TEAD inhibitor, ISM6331, was created with the help of Artificial
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Researchers’ Breath Test Innovation May Be Gamechanger for Mesothelioma Diagnosis
In searching for better outcomes for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer, achieving earlier diagnosis is a top priority that would facilitate faster and more effective treatment. Two papers published by researchers from a laboratory at the Hackensack Meridian Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) may signal a real breakthrough in achieving
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Court Rejects Johnson & Johnson’s Asbestos Bankruptcy Filing Again
Facing tens of thousands of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer lawsuits and already ordered to pay billions in compensation, Johnson & Johnson has repeatedly pursued a complex bankruptcy maneuver. Despite the company’s attempts to place a subsidiary into bankruptcy, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the bankruptcy court’s decision to dismiss the case, saying there
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$2.5 Million Mesothelioma Research Grant Awarded to University of Hawaii Cancer Center
Mesothelioma researchers at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center have made significant strides in improving the diagnosis and treatment of the rare, fatal form of cancer. Their efforts have been rewarded by the National Cancer Institute, which has announced a new $2.5 million grant to further the group’s work.
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Swiss Researchers Sensitize Mesothelioma Cells to Treatment
When people are diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, the most common treatment approach is the combination chemotherapy protocol of cisplatin and pemetrexed. Researchers from the University of Bern in Switzerland set out to investigate whether a schedule-dependent approach would increase mesothelioma cells’ sensitivity to capecitabine as it does in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). They
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Chicago Jury Orders Avon Products to Pay $24.4 Million to Mesothelioma Victim’s Family
When Chicago-area resident Cipriano Ramirez was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, he traced his asbestos exposure back to the 1980s, when he worked as a janitor at Avon Product’s Morton Grove, Illinois factory. He and his family filed suit against the company for negligently exposing him to asbestos-contaminated talcum powder, and last week a jury
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Woman Blames Late Husband’s Workplace for Her Mesothelioma
After she was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, Verna Brewer filed a personal injury lawsuit against her late husband’s former employer, BOC Group, Inc. She blames asbestos carried home on his clothing after work each day for her illness, but the company believes that her asbestos exposure came in subsequent years, after his death. The
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West Virginia Court Reverses Workers’ Compensation Board’s Mesothelioma Decision
In October 2020, Spencer Thurman Cantrell died of malignant mesothelioma. His widow, Mildred, filed a workers’ compensation claim for dependent benefits against his former employer, Adams Mfg. Co. When the company’s claims administrator denied the claim, she protested the decision to the workers’ compensation board, which affirmed the administrator’s decision. Undaunted, Mrs. Cantrell appealed that
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Asbestos Violations that Risked Mesothelioma Lead to Million-Dollar Fines
Mesothelioma advocates and asbestos activists are constantly warning of the dangers of legacy asbestos, and recent events in California show that their concerns are justified. The District Attorney’s Office of Santa Clara County, along with sister offices in Monterey, Alameda, San Francisco, and Sonoma counties, recently took action against a senior living facility that failed
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Man’s Fear of Mesothelioma Leads to Firing
Cleveland Stegall was an information technology worker for Fiat Chrysler when he voiced concerns about asbestos in his workplace and the risk of malignant mesothelioma. When the company failed to act, he reported the hazards to state and federal authorities and was fired. Since then, multiple courts have weighed in on the protections offered to
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Researchers Report Positive Response to Immunotherapy in Peritoneal Mesothelioma Patient
Last week, a group of French researchers published a case study that will capture the attention of mesothelioma physicians and patients alike. Presented with inoperable malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in a 74-year-old patient, the team offered the dual immunotherapy protocol of nivolumab and ipilimumab as first-line therapy. The results were extremely encouraging.
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86-Year-Old Contractor Awarded Millions After Mesothelioma Diagnosis
In the decades that contractor Frank Gondar spent doing home renovation projects, he never dreamed that his work would lead to a diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma. When he took his story to a New York jury and asked them to punish the companies responsible, they responded with a $22 million damages award.
