Asbestos Lawsuit History

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

Nellie Kershaw was the first to file an asbestos lawsuit. She worked at a factory that made asbestos fibers in England and was diagnosed with health issues. She passed away at the age of 33 of fibrosis in the lung due to asbestos exposure.

The First Cases

Asbestos, a dangerous mineral, has afflicted and killed thousands throughout the years. Asbestos claims are filed for a variety reasons, but the majority involve people who have been exposed to asbestos in their work. This includes workers who worked in factories that produced asbestos-related products or at the construction site of buildings containing asbestos. It can also include people who were exposed asbestos through household products like talcum powder.

Anyone who was exposed to asbestos could develop a variety of illnesses, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, and other respiratory ailments. While some of these ailments are very serious and can be fatal, a lot of people have been able to receive compensation for their injuries. The majority of countries have laws that require manufacturers of dangerous substances to inform anyone who might be injured.

The first asbestos lawsuit that was filed in 1929 was filed by a woman with the name of Anna Pirskowski. She was suffering from shortness of breathe and thickening in the tissue around the fingertip (known as clubbing). She received a settlement amounting to $75,000 in what is believed to be a first class action lawsuit that involved asbestos.

Asbest lawsuits continued to be filed throughout the years that followed. Some of the cases became very large, and many attorneys began to specialize in asbestos litigation. They only accepted cases that were very important. One firm that was involved in 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 suffered from other asbestos-related diseases like asbestosis or plaques in the pleural cavity. This is because the disease that caused these was similar to mesothelioma, making it simpler for lawyers to prove. These claims led to the release of secret documents that revealed the ways asbestos product manufacturers attempted to hide the risks they carry. This led to the Asbestos Ban and Phase Out Rule being issued in 1989.

The Second Case

As the number of people diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases grew the number of victims and their families began to file lawsuits. These lawsuits were filed against businesses that mined asbestos, produced asbestos-containing products or sold products containing asbestos. Mesothelioma victims also filed claims against companies who created and built the buildings in which they worked, including shipyards, power plants, and refineries. The link between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma growth is very strong.

In the early 1980s the legal litigation over asbestos lawsuits started to escalate and the courts made decisions on various aspects of the case process. A federal court, for instance, ruled that only those suffering from asbestos-related malignancies such as mesothelioma and lung cancer were eligible to sue the manufacturers of asbestos products. This ruling, referred to as Borel V. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. was a major setback for asbestos litigation.

Around the same time, Nellie Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale, England, filed what is thought to be the first legal claim that is well-known against asbestos companies. Kershaw was an employee in a factory in Rochdale, England was diagnosed with lung issues caused by her close exposure to raw asbestos fibers. She attempted to convince her employer to cover the cost of treatment. However, the company refused. Kershaw passed away at the age of 33 from fibrosis of her lungs.

The second phase of asbestos lawsuits focused on people who had been exposed to different kinds of asbestos-containing building materials, like fireproofing sprays and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also successfully brought cases against companies that manufactured the equipment that utilized asbestos-containing materials, such as pumps and boilers.

During this time, a number of documents that were incriminating were found that revealed asbestos companies have been involved in a scheme of fraud and. These included the personal records of Johns-Manville president Sumner Simpson, as well as correspondence from the general counsel for another asbestos producer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed a shady alliance between these companies to hide asbestos' dangers and deflect efforts to educate the public.

The discovery of these and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy in the mid- to late 1980s caused a surge of class action settlements and other attempts to limit asbestos liability for asbestos-related companies. These attempts were met by strong opposition from plaintiffs' attorneys as well as their clients and the general public.

The Third Cases

By the 1970s, asbestos companies had lost the ability to conceal information about the deadly effects of mesothelioma and the other asbestos-related diseases from the general public. This was due in large part to the fact major national journals began paying attention to the link between mesothelioma, asbestos and other respiratory illnesses, as opposed to small industry newsletters and medical journals. Once the links between asbestos attorney and serious illness were well established and the victims began filing lawsuits against asbestos-related companies.

In the 1970s, a decision by the courts that allowed plaintiffs the recourse to strict liability as a legal concept was one of the primary reasons for an increase in asbestos lawsuits. In the past, plaintiffs in asbestos cases had to prove that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in causing their exposure to asbestos. In the 1973 case of Borel v. Fibreboard a judge ruled asbestos manufacturers liable for any injuries resulting from their products if they knew that their product was dangerous but did not warn their employees or the general public about its dangers.

Following this ruling, many asbestos-related companies filed for bankruptcy, a process which allows a company to reorganize itself in bankruptcy court, put funds aside in trusts to cover asbestos claims, and then continue to operate. Johns-Manville is an example. It was the victim of numerous lawsuits filed by former factory workers who were diagnosed with asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. Kazan Law set several cases against the manufacturer and was able win punitive damage verdicts against the company.

Asbestos litigation has increased in the past few years due to the rising number of asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos litigation can be complicated due to the fact that the ailments caused by asbestos can take a long time to manifest and aren't always obvious to those who have been diagnosed.

In addition certain victims have been forced to wait for years to receive compensation from insurance companies after their employers were found to be responsible. The US Supreme Court has dealt with a variety of cases involving settlements for class actions that asbestos companies offered in an attempt to limit their liability and has also looked into the issue of whether it is possible to hold individual defendants liable for injuries caused by asbestos.

The Fourth Case

Asbestos is an incredibly hazardous mineral that has caused the death or sickness of hundreds of thousands of people over the years. It's also a material that was widely used by companies who knew it was dangerous but continued to make use of it in their manufacturing processes.

As the legal system tackles these asbestos lawsuits and asbestos lawsuits, new developments take place constantly. One of the most significant legal developments is the decision Lubbe v Cape Plc. This set a precedent allowing victims to sue multi-national companies in their home countries for compensation.

Most of the time, these cases involve secondary exposure to asbestos. This is when those who handle asbestos while on the job transfer it to their spouses or children living at home. The family members then suffer from mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

This kind of case is the basis for a variety of lawsuits filed by relatives of victims of asbestos today. Asbestos lawyers can help families file a lawsuit against the company responsible for their loved ones' asbestos injuries.

The rise of class action lawsuits is a major change in asbestos litigation. These asbestos lawsuits offer victims the chance to pursue justice with the assistance of an attorney who is well-versed in the legal issues that these cases raise.

While many asbestos attorneys have advocated for this type of lawsuit, there are some who oppose it. In fact there have been numerous attempts to pass legislation to limit the use of class actions in asbestos cases.

The most recent major advancement in asbestos litigation is the filing of a suit by Massachusetts residents against 4 companies for how they handled asbestos removal and disposal. The lawsuit alleged the companies violated state laws in not properly disposing asbestos and exposing residents to the harmful dust.

Asbestos litigation has been ongoing for a long time, and it's likely that it will continue to do so throughout the years to come. The asbestos industry has tried to avoid responsibility by bringing up technical legal arguments and by attempting to pass legislative remedies that would block victims from seeking justice. But, it appears that many victims and lawyers are determined to get justice.