Asbestos Lawsuit History

Lawyers like Stanley Levy have helped many asbestos victims. Patients suffering from mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illnesses can sue companies that mined, manufactured or used asbestos or asbestos-containing products.

Nellie Kershaw filed the first asbestos lawsuit. She worked at a factory that spun asbestos fibers in England and developed health problems. She died at the age of 33 due to fibrosis that had developed in her lungs, which was caused by exposure to asbestos.

The First Cases

Asbestos, a hazardous mineral, has sickened and killed thousands of people over the years. Asbestos claims can be filed for many reasons, but they generally involve those who were exposed to asbestos at work. This includes workers at factories that made asbestos-related products, people who worked in the construction of buildings with asbestos, or who were exposed to secondhand asbestos from household products that were contaminated, like talcum powder.

People who were exposed to asbestos may develop a variety of illnesses, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, and other respiratory diseases. Many have been compensated for their injuries even though some of these diseases can be fatal. The majority of countries have laws that require companies that produce dangerous substances to warn anyone who could be injured.

The first asbestos lawsuit that was filed in 1929 involved a woman by the name of Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from a variety of symptoms, including shortness of breath and thickening of the fingertip tissue known as clubbing. She was awarded an amount of $75,000 as a settlement and is believed to be the first class action lawsuit filed in relation to asbestos.

Asbest lawsuits continued to be filed throughout the years that followed. Some of the cases grew quite large, and a lot of attorneys began to specialise in asbestos litigation. They only accepted cases that were very important. One company that took on this was Kazan Law, which in the latter half of the 1980s began to concentrate on bringing cases on behalf of mesothelioma patients.

Other lawsuits were won by people who been diagnosed with other asbestos attorney-related diseases such as asbestosis or plaques in the pleural cavity. The disease that caused them was similar to mesothelioma making it simpler to prove for lawyers. These claims also led to the disclosure of secret documents that showed how manufacturers of asbestos products attempted to conceal the dangers. This led to the asbestos attorneys Ban and Phase Out Rule being enacted in 1989.

The Second Cases

As the number of people diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses grew, the victims and their families began to file lawsuits against companies that mined, manufactured or sold asbestos Lawyer-containing products. Mesothelioma victims also filed lawsuits against the companies that designed and constructed the buildings where they worked such as shipyards, power plants and refineries. The correlation between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma's development is strong.

In the early 1980s, the legal litigation over asbestos lawsuits started to get more intense and the courts made rulings on a variety of aspects of the process. For instance a federal court ruled that only individuals suffering from a malignant asbestos-caused disease such as mesothelioma or lung cancer are able to bring a lawsuit against the manufacturers of the asbestos products they employed. This ruling, also referred to as Borel V. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. was an important setback in asbestos litigation.

The same time, Nellie Kershaw from Rochdale in England filed what is now regarded as the first well-known lawsuit against asbestos-related companies. Kershaw was an employee in a factory in Rochdale in England, was diagnosed with lung problems due to her exposure to asbestos fibers. She tried to get her employer to cover the cost of treatment. However, the company refused. Kershaw died in her 30s from fibrosis.

The second wave of asbestos lawsuits focused on people who had been exposed to different types of asbestos-containing building products such as fireproofing sprays, and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also won lawsuits against companies who manufactured the equipment that made use of asbestos-containing materials, such as boilers and pumps.

During this time, a number of incriminating documents were discovered that demonstrated asbestos companies have been involved in a scheme of fraud and. The documents included the personal files of Johns-Manville president Sumner Simpson, as well as correspondence from the general counsel of another asbestos manufacturer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed a conspiracy between these companies to hide the dangers of asbestos and to thwart efforts to warn the public.

The discovery of these and other types of corporate fraud and collusion in the early to mid-1980s caused a surge of class action settlements as well as other attempts at limiting asbestos liability for asbestos-related companies. These efforts were met with massive opposition from plaintiffs' attorneys as well as their clients and the general public.

The Third Cases

In the 1970s, asbestos-related companies were no longer able conceal the devastating effects of asbestos-related illnesses like mesothelioma from people. This was due in large part to the fact that major national publications began paying attention to the link between mesothelioma, asbestos, and other respiratory diseases, rather than small industry newsletters and medical journals. When the link between asbestos and serious diseases was well established, victims started filing lawsuits against asbestos producers.

In the 1970s, a court ruling which allowed plaintiffs to make recourse to strict liability as a legal concept was one of the main factors that led to an increase in asbestos lawsuits. In the past asbestos lawsuits, plaintiffs required proof that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in causing their asbestos exposures. In the 1973 case Borel v. Fibreboard a judge ruled asbestos manufacturers accountable for any injuries that resulted from their products if they knew that their product was unsafe but did not inform their employees or the general public about the dangers.

Following this ruling, a lot of asbestos producers have filed for bankruptcy. This permits a business, even though it is still in operation, to organize its affairs in bankruptcy court and place money into trusts to pay asbestos claimants. Johns-Manville is a notable example. It was hit by numerous lawsuits brought by former factory employees who were suffering from asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. Kazan Law brought several cases against the manufacturer and was able obtain punitive damages verdicts against it.

Since then asbestos litigation has continued to grow as a result of the rising number of victims suffering from asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos cases can be complicated because the diseases they cause can take years to manifest and are not always evident to those who have been diagnosed.

Some victims have also been waiting for years to receive reimbursement from insurance companies even after their employers were found to be responsible. The US Supreme Court has dealt with several cases involving settlements for class actions that asbestos companies offered to try to limit their liability, and has also looked into the issue of whether it is possible to hold individuals responsible for asbestos-related injuries.

The Fourth Case

Asbestos is an incredibly hazardous mineral that has killed or sickened hundreds of thousands of people over the years. Asbestos was also widely used by manufacturers who were aware of its dangers yet continued to employ it.

The legal system is able to handle asbestos lawsuits and asbestos attorneys lawsuits, there are always new developments. One of the most important legal developments is the ruling Lubbe v. Cape Plc. This set the precedent for victims to sue multinational companies in their home countries to recover compensation.

These situations usually involve secondary exposure to asbestos. Workers who handle asbestos at work may pass it on to their families or spouses. The family members are affected by mesothelioma as well as other asbestos-related diseases.

Many lawsuits are filed by the families of victims based on this kind of case. Asbestos lawyers can aid families file a lawsuit against the company that is responsible for their loved ones' asbestos injuries.

Another major advancement in asbestos litigation has been the emergence of class action lawsuits. These asbestos lawsuits provide victims the opportunity to pursue justice with the assistance of an attorney well-versed in the legal issues these cases bring up.

While a lot of asbestos lawyers have advocated for this type of litigation, there are those who are against it. There have been several initiatives to pass legislation that limit the use class actions in asbestos lawsuits.

The most recent major change in asbestos litigation was the filing of a suit by Massachusetts residents against four companies over the way they dealt with asbestos abatement and disposal. The lawsuit claimed that the companies did not follow state laws by not properly disposing of asbestos and exposing residents to toxic dust.

Asbestos litigation has been going on for a long time and it's likely that it will continue to do so throughout the years to come. The asbestos industry has attempted to shield itself from responsibility using legal arguments that are technical and by trying to pass legislative remedies that would stop victims from seeking justice. However, it seems that a lot of victims and their lawyers are determined to get justice.