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Companies Facing Claims for Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos Diseases Agree to $545 Million Settlement
Like many other companies whose products contained asbestos, Aldrich Pump LLC and Murray Boiler LLC have faced tens of thousands of personal injury lawsuits filed by victims of malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases. After paying approximately $100 million per year to defend and settle these claims, the companies have agreed to a $545 million
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Italian Mesothelioma Researchers Highlight Use of Focused Radiation Following Chemotherapy
In a study of the effectiveness of focused radiation following chemotherapy, Italian researchers have found that mesothelioma patients receiving the protocol enjoyed longer periods of progression-free health and a slower return of their tumors.
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Navy Veteran’s Mesothelioma Death Blamed on Foster Wheeler Boiler Parts
Harold Cox died of malignant pleural mesothelioma on October 8th, 2019, but before he died he and his wife Doris filed a personal injury lawsuit against multiple defendants they blamed for his exposure to asbestos and his subsequent illness. Doris has continued his fight, and recently won a legal victory against boiler manufacturer Foster Wheeler.
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Can Weighing Mesothelioma Cells Improve Treatment?
Every mesothelioma patient can respond differently to the https://mesothelioma.net/treatment-for-mesothelioma/available treatment protocols based on their cell type, genetics, and their overall health. Currently, doctors looking for the most effective option for an individual patient are limited to waiting to see whether tumor growth stops after a drug is administered. But a group of researchers from MIT
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Mesothelioma and Other Asbestos-Related Diseases Rising in 9/11 Responders
Days before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, an Australian research team reported a significant increase in leukemia diagnoses, as well as an increase in asbestos-related lung conditions like malignant mesothelioma, in general responders and firefighters enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Program. The study confirmed fears about asbestos contamination at the site and
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Researchers Search for Answer to Long-Term Mesothelioma Survival
A malignant pleural mesothelioma diagnosis is generally accompanied by a prediction of just 18 months to two years to live, but there are occasional reports of patients who survive for longer periods. A recent case study published by physicians from the Aix-Marseille University in Marseille, France details the 14-year survival of a man with epithelioid
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Immunotherapy/Chemotherapy Combination May Hold Key to Mesothelioma Treatment
Mesothelioma and other hard-to-treat cancers have proven resistant to nearly every treatment that scientists have devised. But a new vaccine being developed by researchers at Harvard may hold the key to longer survival times by combining the best of two different treatments: chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
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Second-Hand Mesothelioma Lawsuit Moves Forward Despite Wallboard Company’s Objections
Before Patricia Ann Dumas Jackson died of malignant mesothelioma at the age of 75 she filed a lawsuit against several companies, accusing them of having negligently exposed her to asbestos and causing her illness. Though most of the companies settled with her before trial, Hopeman Brothers, Inc. filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that
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Mesothelioma Lawsuit Filed Against Multiple Asbestos Companies in Connecticut
A mesothelioma lawsuit has been filed against John Crane Co., General Electric, ViacomCBS, Foster Wheeler and other defendants by the son of Navy veteran Fred Russel Stafford. Michael Stafford is accusing the companies of strict liability in his father’s illness and death, of negligence, of breach of warranty, and of failure to warn of the
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Could Cancer Without Chemotherapy be the Future for Mesothelioma Patients?
As is true with so many other types of cancers, the first line of treatment for malignant mesothelioma is chemotherapy. Despite its many side effects, most mesothelioma patients receive chemotherapy as part of a multi-modality protocol that adds on surgery and/or radiation therapy. But as newer drugs are developed that approach cancer cells in different
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UK Study Identifies New Test That Improves Accuracy of Mesothelioma Diagnosis
One of the biggest challenges facing doctors who treat mesothelioma is that accurate diagnosis of the disease can be difficult. The rare form of cancer shares biological traits with many other illnesses, but only responds to certain treatments. Getting the diagnosis wrong can delay any hopes for extended survival or of improving quality of life.
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eBay Samples at Heart of Appeals Court’s Mesothelioma Decision
When mesothelioma victim Richard Pifer wanted to prove that asbestos in marking chalk was the cause of his illness, he turned to eBay to purchase samples for testing. But the chalk manufacturer, Irwin Industrial Tool, objected to the samples being admitted as evidence. Though a lower court judge agreed and granted the company’s motion for
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Court Reinstates San Francisco Widow’s Mesothelioma Lawsuit Against Johnson & Johnson
Douglas Strobel and his wife Jo Ann filed suit against Johnson & Johnson shortly after he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in February of 2019. Though the judge who first heard his case had dismissed the couple’s lawsuit, an appeals court has reinstated it. Mr. Strobel died in April of 2020, but his widow will
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Careful Patient Screening Essential to Success of Newest Mesothelioma Treatment
It’s been less than a year since the FDA approved the use of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) for first line treatment of malignant mesothelioma, and with each passing day more is learned about its best uses. A report published in the journal EBioMedicine indicates that despite optimism about improved survival time, the immunotherapy drug combination is
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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
