Asbestos Lawsuit History

Many asbestos victims have received help from lawyers such as Stanley Levy. Patients suffering from mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases can sue companies that produced, mined or used asbestos and asbestos-containing products.

Nellie Kershaw filed the first asbestos lawsuit. She was diagnosed with health issues while working in an asbestos fiber factory in England. 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 afflicted and killed thousands of people throughout the years. Asbestos claims can be filed for various reasons, but they usually involve those who were exposed to asbestos at work. This includes workers who worked in factories that produced asbestos-related products, or on the construction sites of buildings with asbestos. It can also include people who were exposed to asbestos by using household products, such as talcum powder.

People who were exposed to asbestos can be afflicted with a variety of diseases including mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory conditions. Many have been awarded compensation for their injuries even though some these diseases are fatal. This is largely because most countries have laws that require companies that create dangerous substances to inform people who might be hurt by them.

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

In the years that followed, more and more asbestos lawsuits were filed. Asbestos litigation grew into a broad area of law and many attorneys began to specialize in asbestos litigation. They only would take on cases that were very serious. One firm that was involved in this was Kazan Law, which in the latter half of the 1980s began to focus on taking on cases for people who had mesothelioma.

Other lawsuits have been won by people who suffered from asbestos-related illnesses like asbestosis and plaques in the pleural cavity. The disease that caused them was like mesothelioma which makes it easier to prove for lawyers. These claims also led to the revelation of secret documents that showed the way asbestos producers tried to hide the dangers. In 1989 the Asbestos Ban & Phase Out Rule was issued.

The Second Case

As the number of people diagnosed with asbestos-related illnesses grew, the victims and their families began bringing lawsuits against companies that mined, manufactured or sold asbestos-containing products. Additionally, mesothelioma patients made claims against companies that designed and constructed the buildings where they worked, such as shipyards, power plants factories and refineries. The link between mesothelioma and asbestos exposure is strong.

In the early 1980s, the legal battle over asbestos lawsuits began to escalate and the courts ruled on many aspects of the case process. A federal court, for instance decided that only those suffering from malignant asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma and lung cancer were able to take on asbestos manufacturers. products. This ruling, dubbed Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. was a major setback for asbestos lawyer lawsuit defendants.

At the same time, Nellie Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale, England, filed what is believed to be the first well-known legal claim against asbestos companies. Kershaw, an employee in a factory in Rochdale, England, was diagnosed with lung issues due to her exposure to raw asbestos fibers. She attempted to convince her employer to cover the cost of treatment. The company refused. Kershaw died at 33 years old of lung fibrosis.

The second wave of asbestos lawsuits focused on workers exposed to different kinds of asbestos-containing building materials, such as fireproofing sprays and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also filed successful cases against companies that manufactured equipment that used asbestos-containing materials, like boilers and pumps.

During this time, a variety of documents pertaining to asbestos companies were uncovered. These documents revealed their involvement in fraud and conspiracies. The documents included the personal files of Johns-Manville president Sumner Simpson, as well as correspondence from the general counsel for another asbestos manufacturer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed the scheme of these companies to conceal knowledge that asbestos was dangerous and to thwart efforts to inform the public of these dangers.

In the early and mid-1980s, when these and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy were exposed in the 1980s, a wave of class action settlements was launched, along with other efforts were made to limit asbestos liability were made by asbestos companies. These efforts were met with strong opposition from plaintiffs' attorneys, their clients and the public.

The Third Case

In the 1970s, asbestos-related companies were no longer able to conceal the devastating effects of asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma from the public. This was due to the fact that the link between asbestos and ailments such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and respiratory diseases like asthma began getting attention from major national publications instead of small medical journals or industry newsletters. When the link between asbestos and serious illness was well-established, victims started filing lawsuits against asbestos producers.

In the 1970s, a court ruling which allowed plaintiffs to make use of strict liability as a legal principle was one of the main reasons for an increase in asbestos lawsuits. Previously asbestos lawsuits, plaintiffs had to prove that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in creating their asbestos exposures. In the 1973 case Borel v. Fibreboard a judge ruled asbestos manufacturers liable for any injuries caused by their products if they knew that their product was unsafe but did not warn their employees or the general public about its dangers.

After the ruling, a number of asbestos producers were forced to file for bankruptcy. This permits a business, even though it is still in operation, to reorganize its affairs in bankruptcy court and place funds into trusts to pay asbestos claimants. Johns-Manville is an 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 win punitive damages against it.

Since then asbestos litigation has continued to grow as a result of the increasing number of victims suffering from asbestos-related ailments. Asbestos litigation can be complicated because the diseases caused by asbestos can take a long time to manifest and are not always obvious to those who have been diagnosed.

In addition there have been cases where victims were forced to wait for years to receive compensation from insurance companies after their employers were found to be liable. The US Supreme Court has addressed several cases in which asbestos companies tried to limit their liability by offering settlements for class actions. It has also considered whether individual defendants could be held liable for asbestos related injury.

The Fourth Cases

Asbestos, a substance that is extremely dangerous has killed and sickened hundreds of thousands over the decades. Asbestos was also used extensively by manufacturers who knew it was a risk yet continued to employ it.

The legal system is able to handle these asbestos lawsuits, there are always new developments. One of the most significant legal developments is a ruling called Lubbe v. Cape Plc, which set the precedent for victims to sue multinational companies in their home jurisdictions to recover compensation.

Often, these cases involve secondary exposure to asbestos. This happens when workers who handle asbestos while on the job transfer it to their spouses or children living at home. The family members suffer from mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases.

There are many lawsuits filed today by the families of victims based on this kind of case. Asbestos lawyers can assist families file a claim against companies responsible for the asbestos injuries of their loved family members.

Another big change in asbestos litigation is the rise of class action lawsuits. These asbestos lawsuits offer victims the opportunity to pursue justice with the assistance of an attorney well-versed in the legal issues these cases present.

While many asbestos lawyer attorneys have pushed for this kind of litigation, there are those who are against it. There have been several attempts to pass legislation to limit the use of class actions in asbestos lawsuits.

The most recent significant development in asbestos litigation was the filing of a suit by Massachusetts residents against four companies over the way they handled asbestos attorney removal and disposal. The lawsuit claimed that the firms did not follow state laws in not properly disposing asbestos and exposing residents to the harmful dust.

Asbestos litigation has been a long-running problem that will likely persist for a long time. The asbestos industry has attempted to shield itself from responsibility by bringing up technical legal arguments and by attempting to pass legislative solutions which would stop victims from seeking justice. But, it appears that a lot of victims and their attorneys are determined to see justice served.