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Honeywell Sues Its Own Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Over Payments to Mesothelioma Victims
Facing billions of dollars in mesothelioma liabilities, many asbestos companies that negligently exposed workers to the carcinogenic material filed for bankruptcy protection. In response, the courts required them to establish asbestos bankruptcy trust funds to ensure that victims would receive compensation for their illnesses. Among those companies affected was North American Refractories Co., or Narco,
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Set Builder’s Mesothelioma Death Blamed on BBC Corporation
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has found itself the subject of multiple mesothelioma lawsuits in recent months, with the latest being filed by the family of renowned set builder Richard Evans. Evans, whose work included the popular shows Doctor Who, The Lotus Eaters, and Hard Times, died of the rare asbestos-related disease in 2019.
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Checkmate-743 Trial Shows Durable Overall Survival in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Despite the best efforts of scientists around the globe, malignant pleural mesothelioma continues to carry an extremely poor prognosis, with a five-year survival rate of just 10%. Still, patients are benefitting from research. The Checkmate-743 trial recently yielded a report of increased durable overall survival in mesothelioma from the immunotherapy combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab.
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Judge Denies Company’s Attempt to Evade Mesothelioma Inquiry
When a person diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma decides to pursue legal action against those responsible, one of the first steps that their attorneys take is to investigate every possible source of asbestos exposure. This step is essential to the pursuit of justice, but some companies try to quash even the suggestion that they might be
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Miami Study Finds Variability in Income Levels and Survival in Mesothelioma Patients
In assessing potential risk factors and outcomes for patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, there have long been questions about whether a patient’s socioeconomic status plays a role in their access to quality care. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center examined the issue and found significant variability.
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Study Shows Significant Mesothelioma Survival Boost With Surgery
The role of surgery in the treatment of mesothelioma continues to generate controversy, but researchers in one of the largest studies of surgery’s role in mesothelioma treatment have concluded that combining tumor removal with chemotherapy has the single greatest positive impact on extending patient survival. Speaking to attendees of the virtual World Conference on Lung
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Researchers Cautiously Optimistic About “Triplet” Therapy for Malignant Mesothelioma
Researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston demonstrated cautious optimism about their recent study of a triple neoadjuvant regimen using cisplatin, pemetrexed, and atezolizumab. Speaking at the virtual World Congress on Lung Cancer, the scientists reported that sixty percent of eligible patients who received the triplet therapy moved on to surgical resection or
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Herpes Virus May Stop Mesothelioma Tumors from Growing
Researchers from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom are exploring a novel approach to stopping the growth of malignant mesothelioma tumors. They have taken an altered form of the herpes virus and delivered it directly to patients’ malignant tumors. Though the protocol did not kill the tumors, it did keep them from growing
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High Rate of COVID-19 and COVID-19 Deaths in Mesothelioma Patients
A recently released study of the impact of COVID-19 on Spanish mesothelioma patients revealed that nearly one in five contracted the disease, and of those affected, three out of four died. The research was presented at the IASLC 2021 World Conference on Lung Cancer.
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Appeals Court Grants Asbestos Victim Second Chance for Justice
Michael Benavidez was diagnosed with multiple asbestos-related diseases after years of working as a sheet metal worker. He filed suit against Fluor Corporation, accusing them of using asbestos-containing insulation, products and other building materials at an Anheuser-Busch facility in California where he had worked as a subcontractor in the 1970s. As a result of inconsistencies
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Gemcitabine and Ramucirumab Combination Slows Mesothelioma Blood Vessel Growth
In the quest to find a cure for malignant mesothelioma, one of the most promising areas of research involves stopping angiogenesis, the generation of blood vessels that supply essential nutrients to tumors and facilitate their growth. A group of Italian researchers tested the use of gemcitabine, a metabolic inhibitor, in combination with ramucirumab, a drug
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Construction Company Sues Court Over Limits on Mesothelioma Victim’s Deposition
When Edward Richards was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma at the age of 72, he and his wife filed a lawsuit against 105 defendants, accusing them of exposing him to asbestos and seeking compensatory and punitive damages. With his physician predicting he had just six months to live, his case was expedited. He submitted written discovery
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Leukemia Drug May Slow Mesothelioma Tumor Growth
Researchers and physicians are joined in the quest to slow or stop the aggressive growth of mesothelioma tumors. While physicians apply methodologies that have been tried and tested, researchers continue to look for other approaches, constantly viewing the puzzle of the disease from different perspectives in the hopes that one will hold the key. One
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Court Denies Union Carbides Repeated Attempts to Stop Mesothelioma Widow’s Lawsuit
When Charles Brannan was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2015, he and his wife Louise immediately filed a personal injury lawsuit against Union Carbide Corporation and several other asbestos companies, accusing them of failing to protect or warn him of the dangers posed by their products. He died less than a month after that claim
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Surgery After Radiotherapy Offers Significant Improvement in Mesothelioma Survival
One of the most devastating aspects of malignant pleural mesothelioma is the speed with which the disease overtakes its victims. Scientists searching for a way to slow the process and extend survival have been optimistic about a treatment known as SMART, or surgery for malignant mesothelioma after radiotherapy. A report just published in the journal Lancet
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Mesothelioma Researchers Hopeful About Cancer Discovery
Malignant mesothelioma is a deadly form of cancer that is notoriously resistant to treatment. Despite the best efforts of researchers and physicians, the asbestos-related disease continues to claim the lives of patients shortly after their diagnosis. Though the gold standard treatment for mesothelioma continues to be a combination of platinum-based chemotherapy along with surgery and
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As One Colleague Battles Mesothelioma, Philadelphia Teachers Face Continued Asbestos Risk
Once again, Philadelphia schoolteachers are confronting the very real risk of malignant mesothelioma from asbestos in their aging school buildings. This time the problem is with Center City’s Masterman School. As the school opened its doors in preparation for the new school year, sixty different areas of asbestos contamination were identified. Teachers say that they
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Ovarian Cancer and Mesothelioma Victims File Suit to Prevent Johnson & Johnson Bankruptcy Filing
Multiple law firms representing mesothelioma and ovarian cancer patients have filed an emergency motion to prevent Johnson & Johnson from pursuing a bankruptcy filing strategy that could impact thousands of victims. The move by the attorneys was prompted by fears that such a filing would shield the consumer giant from liability for the harms suffered by
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Baby Powder Mesothelioma Victim Awarded $26.5 Million by California Jury
It took the state Superior Court jury in Alameda County, California less than one week of deliberations to conclude that asbestos in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder had caused 35-year-old Christina Prudencio’s malignant mesothelioma. They awarded the young woman $26.5 million in compensatory damages and will now move on to consider whether punitive damages should
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National Cancer Institute Reports that All Types of Asbestos Raises Mesothelioma Risk
For years, asbestos companies have defended themselves against mesothelioma claims by arguing that the type of asbestos in their products poses no risk. They’ve said that only certain, other types of asbestos can cause the rare and fatal form of cancer. But a new report published by the National Cancer Institute pushes back against those
