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Court of Appeals Denies Asbestos Company Attempt to Void $2.9 Mesothelioma Award
David Hoff was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma after more than 30 years of working as a carpenter. Before his death, he and his wife filed suit again ten defendants whose asbestos-contaminated products they blamed for his illness. The couple prevailed in court, but one company objected and asked for the verdict to be overturned on…
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Can MRI Be Used in Fight Against Mesothelioma?
Patients presenting with symptoms of mesothelioma go through a series of tests and scans to confirm their diagnosis, but magnetic resonance imaging is rarely part of the process. But new research conducted by scientists in the United Kingdom suggests a novel use of the technology that may provide benefit to those with the rare, asbestos-related…
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Protein Mutation Linked to Chemoresistance in Mesothelioma Patients
Though chemotherapy is the standard first-line treatment for malignant mesothelioma, its effects are far from guaranteed. In fact, it has only proven helpful in about forty percent of patients. A group of European researchers believes that the genetically triggered loss of a certain protein is the reason behind this frustrating statistic, and their findings may…
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BBC Paid £1.64m to Families of Mesothelioma Victims
Over the last several years there have been numerous reports of mesothelioma deaths among former staffers of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). This week UK publisher the Observer reported that the media company has paid a total £1.64m to compensate 11 families that lost loved ones. The amount is the equivalent of roughly $2.2 million in American dollars.
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Law Professors Side with Mesothelioma Victims Against Johnson & Johnson
Facing thousands of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer lawsuits, Johnson & Johnson is pursuing a controversial legal maneuver aimed at helping them evade legal responsibility for the damage their products caused. Despite the company’s robust financial position, Johnson & Johnson attempting split off a subsidiary, assigned talc liability to the new company, and had it seek…
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Italian Study Calms Fears That COVID-19 Slowed Mesothelioma Diagnoses
Malignant mesothelioma is challenging enough without the added complications created by the global pandemic. Though experts had worried that patients would delay doctor’s visits during shutdowns, an Italian study has shown that diagnosis statistics mirrored those of previous years.
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Facing Millions in Mesothelioma Claims, Glass Company Files Asbestos Bankruptcy Plan
After decades of defending against mesothelioma lawsuits, Owens Illinois Inc. (O-I) has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection plan to permanently settle all existing and future asbestos-related claims against them. The plan includes the establishment of a trust that will review, approve, and process claims filed by victims of asbestos exposure.
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Researchers Identify Mechanism that Helps Diabetes Drug Control Mesothelioma
While drug company researchers work to develop new treatments for malignant mesothelioma, others are dedicating themselves to the question of whether existing drugs might prove effective against multiple conditions, including the rare form of cancer. One such drug is metformin, a medication that successfully controls diabetes. Though scientists had known that it helped control the spread…
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UK Study Points to Gender Differences in Mesothelioma Diagnosis
Malignant mesothelioma can afflict anybody who has been exposed to asbestos, but it is traditionally associated with male-dominated occupations that involved direct use or proximity to the deadly carcinogenic mineral. Researchers in the United Kingdom have concluded that this past association is hampering quick diagnosis of women and may have significant implications for their prognosis.
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Greater Understanding of the Role Mesothelioma Subtype Plays in Survival
Though a mesothelioma diagnosis is always considered terminal, there are mitigating factors that have an enormous impact on how long individual patients survive. As researchers continue to seek greater understanding of this mysterious and challenging disease, it has become increasingly clear that one of the most important determinants of prognosis is what subtype of the…
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Railroad’s Attempt to Evade Mesothelioma Responsibility Denied
Dennis Bouck was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2020 after years of working for the Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCSR). When he pursued legal action against his employer and various manufacturers whose asbestos-contaminated products he was exposed to, the manufacturers successfully had the cases against them dismissed. But when his employer attempted to do…
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Social Security Administration Offers Additional Help for Mesothelioma Victims
Patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma face significant hardship, pain, and challenge. The rare, fatal form of cancer takes many forms but is always considered fatal, and in addition to shortening victims’ lives it often leads to expensive and invasive medical interventions. In recognition of the disease’s impact, the Social Security Administration has long included pleural…
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Findings About Drug Testing May Help in Development of Mesothelioma Protocols
Every day, researchers around the world are working to develop new medications for the treatment of malignant mesothelioma, but many are abandoned due to disappointing results in the laboratory. Now researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine are suggesting that cancer drugs may be being eliminated too soon as a result of improper exposure…
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Mesothelioma Advocates Welcome FDA Committee’s Asbestos-Testing Suggestions
It has long been known that asbestos causes malignant mesothelioma and other serious diseases, but exposure to the mineral has generally been associated with working in industrial settings. In recent years, asbestos has also been found in talc-based cosmetic products and consumers have looked to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for help. Last…
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Appeals Court Gives New Life to Mesothelioma Case Against Boeing
Frank Williams Jr. died of malignant mesothelioma after years of working at a NASA manufacturing plant near New Orleans. Though a district court had granted The Boeing Company’s request to dismiss his lawsuit against them, the Fifth Circuit reversed the lower court’s decision, calling it “particularly troubling” that the court had called his claims of…
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Less Invasive Mesothelioma Surgery Provides Significant Survival Benefits
Historically, patients diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma had few options and faced a grim and abbreviated prognosis. But innovations in treatment have substantially changed their outlook, extending potential survival times from under one year to over three years in some cases. A recent study conducted by Japanese researchers has revealed that significant benefits and increased survival…
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Mesothelioma Victim Faces “Certain and Irreparable Harm”
Despite hearing that mesothelioma victim Vincent Hill would face “certain and irreparable” harm if his lawsuit can’t proceed, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michael Kaplan denied the dying man’s request to allow his talc claim against Johnson & Johnson to go to trial. The company is currently enjoying an injunction against more than 38,000 personal injury claims…
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Mesothelioma Patients Warned Against Inactivity
Malignant mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive form of cancer that has devastating effects on the afflicted individual and their loved ones. Though always considered fatal, a variety of innovative treatments offer patients hope for greater survival than was true in the past. But a recent study warns that those who have completed treatment need…
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Understanding the Newest Mesothelioma Subtype
Physicians and researchers specializing in malignant mesothelioma have long recognized three different subtypes of pleural mesothelioma: epithelioid, sarcomatoid, and biphasic. In recent years scientists have identified a fourth, pre-invasive subtype, and in 2021 the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized “mesothelioma in situ” as an official histological subtype of the rare, asbestos-related disease.
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Man’s Mesothelioma Blamed on Workers’ Asbestos-Contaminated Clothing Worn In His Grandmother’s Restaurant
Malignant mesothelioma is a disease with a long latency period. The disease remains hidden in the body for decades after exposure to asbestos. While the majority of victims worked with or near asbestos as adults, some were exposed to the carcinogen on clothing worn by others. Such was the case for Reginald A. Hamilton, who…
