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Merck Attempts to Evade Mesothelioma Liabilities
In recent years, talc-based products have been linked to asbestos-related illnesses including malignant mesothelioma, asbestosis, and ovarian cancer. Companies that sold these products have been sued for millions of dollars by victims who say they were aware of the dangers, and many plaintiffs have won. When Merck & Co. began being named in cases, they
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Discovery of Cancer “Kill Switch” May Lead to Improved Mesothelioma Outcomes
Malignant mesothelioma is a solid tumor that is extremely difficult to treat. Though immunotherapy and other innovations have been effective in treating many challenging cancers, they have yielded only modest responses in mesothelioma, as well as other solid tumors. Now researchers from the University of California, Davis and Indiana University believe they may have found
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Enjoying Thanksgiving When You Have Mesothelioma
People diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma have much on their minds, and so do their family members, friends, and loved ones. The rare asbestos-related disease can make celebrating the holidays a challenge: Your treatments are probably exhausting you and it’s hard to find things to be thankful for when facing a grim prognosis. Rather than dwell
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Johnson & Johnson Settles Mesothelioma Lawsuits for Undisclosed Amount
For the first time since having its proposed bankruptcy plan rejected twice by federal courts, Johnson & Johnson has agreed to settle two separate mesothelioma claims. The amount to be paid to the two plaintiffs is unknown, but the settlements were part of a broader agreement that resolves all of the talcum-powder-based claims brought against
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Court Upholds Mesothelioma Widow’s Right to Receive Workers’ Compensation
Malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related lung cancer are common causes of death among people who work in asbestos-contaminated work settings. There are several legal and financial remedies available to those who’ve been affected by these circumstances, ranging from personal injury litigation to filing for workers’ compensation benefits, and all-too-frequently companies object to being held responsible, no
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Cancer Patient’s Campaign Pays Off $20 Million in Medical Debt
Anybody who has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma or lung cancer, or any other type of cancer, knows that medical care is extraordinarily expensive. Even families who have good health insurance find themselves overwhelmed by medical bills, and some are driven into medical debt. With that in mind, a woman with ovarian cancer started a
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Study Links Marriage to Better Mesothelioma Survival
A remarkable study conducted by researchers in China has determined that patients diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma have better cancer-specific survival and overall survival if they are married. The researchers believe that the poorer prognosis in unmarried patients is related to insufficient treatments and socioeconomic and psychosocial factors.
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Study Spurred by Naval Vets’ High Mesothelioma Rates Confirms Asbestos Caused Lung Cancer
A recent study of asbestos’s role in naval veterans’ lung cancer relied on mesothelioma statistics to assess exposure levels onboard Australian and British ships. Using the high incidence of both mesothelioma and asbestosis as an indication of high levels of exposure, researchers confirmed that the carcinogenic material played an outsized role in the veterans’ elevated
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As Mesothelioma Trials Resume, Johnson & Johnson Considers Third Bankruptcy Filing
Johnson & Johnson has spent the last few years attempting to use bankruptcy to evade over 51,000 lawsuits filed by malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims. With a court having rejected its second attempt last July and the next lawsuit scheduled for this month, the company is considering a third filing in hopes it will
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Libby, Montana Mesothelioma Trial Scheduled for April 2024
Libby, Montana is central in the annals of asbestos contamination, lung cancer, and malignant mesothelioma because of its proximity to the W. R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine. Thousands were sickened by exposure to the carcinogen that contaminated the vermiculite, and there have been countless legal actions as a result. An upcoming trial will hear
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Hawaii Court Issues Controversial Decision in Mesothelioma Case
Randolph McCabe filed a negligence lawsuit in Hawaii’s First District Court in October of 2022, arguing that 3M’s 8710 model respirator allowed the asbestos in his work environment to enter his lungs and cause his malignant mesothelioma. 3M asked for a blood sample from Mr. McCabe for genetic testing purposes, and the victim’s attorneys objected
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Lung Cancer Victims Granted Right to Join Asbestos Lawsuits
Asbestos has caused malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer for centuries, but it’s only been in the last 50 years that experts have connected its fibers to the deaths of those exposed to it. Since then, so many victims have taken legal action against the companies that negligently exposed them that the courts are filled with
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Baylor College of Medicine and Duke University Announce New Mesothelioma Study
When people are diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, they are confronted with challenging statistics. The asbestos-related condition has a five-year survival rate of less than 10% and is always considered terminal. Facing these stark realities, researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Duke University are collaborating on a new clinical trial: They are testing whether surgery
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Pension Trustees for Mesothelioma-Plagued Workers Urge Company to Stop Importing Asbestos
Firefighters, police officers, and other first responders are among the workers most vulnerable to malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, so they have a vested interest in stopping asbestos from being imported into the United States. In furtherance of that goal, the Comptroller for the city of New York wrote a letter to Occidental Petroleum
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Flight Attendant’s Mesothelioma Claim at Issue in New York Court
The New York Asbestos Court was asked to consider an argument from Colgate-Palmolive regarding whether Texas law or New York law should be applied to a claim filed by the family of a mesothelioma victim. After weighing arguments from both sides, Justice Adam Silvera agreed that New York law should prevail, and therefore the case
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Asbestos Company’s Attempt to Overturn Verdict Fails
Many asbestos companies simply won’t accept being held responsible for mesothelioma and lung cancer deaths. Even after losing repeated decisions in court and being told to pay their victims, these companies attempt to raise additional legal arguments. In a recent example, an asbestos tile flooring company argued that a new legal standard warranted renewal of
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Los Angeles County’s Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson Cites Mesothelioma Cases
There are tens of thousands of malignant mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims with outstanding personal injury claims against consumer giant Johnson & Johnson, and their ranks have been joined by a notable plaintiff: Los Angeles County has filed suit against the company, asserting that its talc-based products are responsible for illnesses in many of the
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Phase 2 Mesothelioma Drug Study Yields “Promising” Anti-Tumor Activity
Though chemotherapy is considered the gold standard for treating malignant pleural mesothelioma, the aggressive form of cancer is notoriously resilient, and patients’ tumors invariably return. In an attempt to find an effective second-line treatment, researchers from the Netherlands Cancer Institute are combining a targeted immunotherapy drug with a drug that stops tumors from growing new
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Asbestos in Safety Gloves Blamed for Man’s Mesothelioma Death
Giacinto Pira’s mesothelioma death came after years of working as a welder in New York. Among the many defendants named in the lawsuit filed by Pira’s survivors was Steel Grip, Inc., the manufacturer of the Safety Gloves that Pira wore on the job. Though the company attempted to evade facing trial in the case, the
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Asbestos Defendant Attempts to Use “Declining” Mesothelioma Victim’s Testimony Against Him
When accused of causing a plaintiff’s malignant mesothelioma, asbestos defendants have many options available to them. Some choose to settle their case out of court. Some attempt to prove the exposure impossible. In the case of the later Rudolf Horvath, defendant Ameron International Corporation chose to argue against inconsistencies in the testimony that the victim
