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California Appeals Court Upholds $2.6 Million Award in Second-Hand Mesothelioma Case
After he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, Cornelius Williams filed a personal injury claim against several companies that he blamed for his second-hand asbestos exposure. Included among them was J-M Manufacturing Company, a pipe manufacturer whose asbestos-cement pipes his brother Nathan had worked with. A California jury awarded him $2.6 million in damages, and the company
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Positive Results From New Mesothelioma Drug Trial Announced at Oncology Conference
Massachusetts-based biopharmaceutical company RS Oncology used the opportunity of the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting to announce positive data from a Phase 1 clinical trial of RSO-021, its first-in-class therapeutic for malignant pleural mesothelioma.
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Oregon Jury Delivers $260 Million Mesothelioma Verdict Against J&J
In the latest talcum powder mesothelioma trial filed against Johnson & Johnson, an Oregon jury has ordered consumer giant Johnson & Johnson to pay $260 million in compensatory and punitive damages to a 48-year-old woman who accuses the company’s iconic baby powder product of being contaminated with asbestos and causing her deadly illness.
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Palliative Care Study May Benefit Mesothelioma Patients
Palliative care has long been known to offer significant benefits to patients suffering from malignant mesothelioma, as well as other advanced cancers. But to date, little has been known about the effectiveness of palliative care delivered virtually rather than in person. Now, a study conducted by Joseph A. Greer, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and
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Mesothelioma Patients Accuse J&J of Fraud
Mesothelioma and ovarian cancer victims and their families seeking justice from Johnson & Johnson have initiated a new challenge against the company. Beyond their claims that the company’s talc caused their illnesses, the group is now accusing the company of purposefully and fraudulently initiating corporate transactions meant to block their ability to collect compensation.
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FDA Grants Approval for Priority Review of Immunotherapy Chemotherapy Combination as Frontline Treatment for Mesothelioma
Following positive results from clinical trials, the FDA has moved forward and granted priority review approval to the investigation of a new mesothelioma protocol. The supplemental biologics license application is for a combination of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) being administered in combination with chemotherapy.
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Study Confirms Occupational Asbestos Exposure in Global Mesothelioma Deaths
A just-published study that appeared in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology confirms what advocates and victims have long known: occupational asbestos exposure is the primary cause of mesothelioma deaths. After noting a troubling rise in the number of mesothelioma deaths following occupational asbestos exposure, the authors urge “effective implementation of asbestos bans” to reduce
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Health Insurance Won’t Prevent Medical Debt for Mesothelioma Patients
A new survey from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network has revealed what mesothelioma patients and their families have long known: No amount of health insurance insures against medical debt.
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Woman Who Married Mesothelioma Victim After Diagnosis Wins Florida High Court Ruling
Jennifer Ripple and Richard Counter lived together in Florida for years before he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in May 2015. Two months after his diagnosis the two married, giving rise to a legal question that made its way to the Florida Supreme Court: Can a spouse married after injury seek damages in an asbestos
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EPA’s New Ban on Asbestos Spurs Lawsuit from Both Mesothelioma Advocates and Chemical Industry
It’s been a month since the Environmental Protection Agency handed down its ruling banning asbestos, and the agency is already facing litigation from both chemical industry lobbyists saying it goes too far and mesothelioma advocates who say it doesn’t go far enough.
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Mesothelioma Drug Development May Benefit from Artificial Intelligence
Though some have expressed misgivings about the potential misuse or lack of control of Artificial Intelligence (AI), a recent development indicates that it may prove extremely useful in speeding the development of drugs to treat challenging cancers like malignant mesothelioma. A new machine learning algorithm created by scientists at the University of California at San
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New Study Links Talc Use to Ovarian Cancer
For years, Johnson & Johnson has denied claims that their iconic talc-based baby powder product was responsible for mesothelioma and ovarian cancer diagnoses. With 40,000 lawsuits pending, the company has pushed back on scientific reports and has even filed suit against the scientists behind those reports. Now, a new analysis published in the Journal of Clinical
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Connecticut Jury Hands Down $15 Million Mesothelioma Verdict
Less than two hours after the decision was handed to them, members of a Connecticut jury ordered R.T. Vanderbilt Holding Company to pay $15 million in damages to the family of a Connecticut man who died of malignant mesothelioma. The jury also indicated that punitive damages are appropriate in the case, suggesting that the award
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Government Fails in Second Attempt at Quashing Mesothelioma Trial
Geraldine Rabb Perkins died of malignant mesothelioma after years of living downwind from her husband’s worksite — the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Her family blames both airborne asbestos fibers and exposure to the mineral while laundering her husband’s work clothes for her illness and death and has sued the U.S. government. With a court date
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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,
