A jury in New York has awarded $32 million in damages to a Navy veteran who developed mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while on ships over an 18-year career.
The damages represented $16 million for past pain and suffering and $16 million for future pain and suffering.
The jury in the New York County Supreme Court found defendant Crane Co. 99 percent liable and Elliott Turbomachinery Co. 1 percent liable
Plaintiff Ronald Dummitt served on Navy Ships from 1960 to 1977. He said he worked as a fireman and boiler tender and was exposed to asbestos when he repaired valves made by Crane co. He also said he was exposed to asbestos in Elliott products when he removed and replaced lagging pads and manhole gaskets.
The city of Everett has settled a lawsuit with firefighters by agreeing to pay for lifetime medical monitoring for potential asbestos-related health problems.
The settlement allows the city to avoid paying out millions of dollars.
The firefighters were exposed to asbestos in July 2007 while conducting training exercises in city-owned houses. The buildings were known to contain the dangerous material, which has been linked to cancer.
Dozens of firefighters and their spouses filed a claim with the city last year seeking $9 million. They then filed a lawsuit.
The monitoring program is expected to cost the city no more than $15,000 next year and probably less in coming years, said the city's chief financial officer Debra Bryant.
In order to encourage participation, the city also will pay firefighters twice their base pay while they're getting their first medical exam of the monitoring program.
"It's a fair and equitable agreement," she said.
The lawsuit never was about the money, said Paul Gagnon, president of the firefighters union. What firefighters wanted was lifetime medical monitoring for all the firefighters who were exposed, he said.
"We believe it's a good deal for us and the city," he said.
The city originally offered lifetime medical monitoring to 27 of the firefighters who are named in the claim, but did not make that same offer to another 22 firefighters who also trained in the houses.
Those firefighters weren't eligible for medical monitoring, the city determined, because their levels of exposure weren't believed to be as significant as that of their colleagues.
Under this agreement, all firefighters will be offered access to the voluntary program.
The medical monitoring program does not extend to spouses.
It's not part of the settlement, but the city will still be obligated to pay for health care if problems arise. The city would pay for medical costs up to $750,000. After that, the city's insurance would pick up the remaining amount.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber made of microscopic bundles. It was commonly used in building materials and in ship construction because it resists combustion. Once disturbed, however, the fibers can become airborne and lodge in a person's lungs.
Asbestos exposure has been linked to serious health problems, including mesothelioma, an often fatal form of cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs and stomach. Sometimes problems don't surface until years after exposure, according to the National Cancer Institute.
In July 2007, Everett firefighters chopped holes in several old homes the city owned on N. Broadway and Tower Street. They were engaged in a training exercise.
Unlike what happens at an actual fire, the crews were not wearing their self-contained breathing gear.
At least one fire official knew the houses contained asbestos before the training, but the exercise went on anyway, apparently because of miscommunication.
A state consultant with the Department of Labor & Industries concluded in a December 2007 report that the asbestos exposure problem was serious enough that firefighters who had "significant exposures" should be checked by a doctor on a regular basis to monitor their health.
The consultant also concluded that all Everett firefighters at sometime during their careers likely have been exposed to the potentially dangerous fibers because the department has lacked a policy to inspect training areas for possible hazardous materials exposure.
Since then, the city has taken steps to prevent asbestos exposure, including inspecting buildings for hazards before firefighters tear them apart during training. Crews are required to wear breathing protection during the drills and undergo decontamination afterward. Firefighters also have been provided training on avoiding asbestos and other airborne risks.
The story can be viewed at
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20111223/NEWS01/712239906/-1/HeraldNetMSNBC
Islander with terminal cancer wins significant asbestos suit.
Islander Roger Hammett has spent his career on the water. For decades Hammett, 84, worked as a deckhand aboard naval boats, commercial ships and ferries throughout the Puget Sound. He even met his wife as a deckhand on the north end ferry.
About a year ago Hammett learned that it was his maritime career that would ultimately cause his death.
In August of 2010, Hammett was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a terminal lung cancer that resulted from his exposure to asbestos on ships. Hammett was in good health before the cancer, and now doctors say he can expect to die in the next year.
Last week, however, there was a bright spot in what Hammett says has been a “psychological disaster” since he learned his fate.
On Thursday Hammett and his wife Anita, 64, won a lawsuit against Sea-Land, the owner of a boat Hammett worked on for just 67 days in 1966. They were awarded $1.45 million for pain, suffering disability and loss of enjoyment in life.
“I was elated,” Hammett said of the win. “Now I know my wife will be taken care of, and my grandchildren.”
A few months ago Hammett also won a smaller, undisclosed amount when he settled out of court with Washington State Ferries, where he worked for 28 years and was also exposed to asbestos.
Matthew Bergman, Hammett’s attorney, said that although Hammett was exposed to asbestos on several of the ships he spent time on, his exposure was most intense on the SS Seattle, owned by Sea-Land Service, Inc., now Residual Holdings.
A jury determined that Sea-Land didn’t take proper safety precautions regarding asbestos — which was used as insulation on ships until the 1970s — and was 70 percent responsible for Hammett’s disease.
Bergman, whose Seattle-based law firm files around 50 asbestos-related cases a year, said that it’s a common misconception that the risks of asbestos weren’t known until recently. On the contrary, he said, asbestos’ harmful properties have been known since the 1930s, and Sea-Land was in violation of government health regulations regarding the material.
“Whether (Sea-Land) knew, it should have known, because there was a wealth of information available,” Bergman said.
Mesothelioma symptoms usually don’t appear until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Bergman said there is now a generation of elderly people who have developed the terminal disease after being exposed to asbestos decades ago on ships, as well as at aluminum smelters and paper mills. In fact, Bergman said, Washington now has the highest rate of mesothelioma in the country because those industries were prevalent in the state.
“So many people worked in one of those industries,” Bergman said.
Hammett began having trouble breathing nearly 20 years ago, a symptom he attributed at the time to asthma. He learned his condition was much worse after he fell in his garden last year, couldn’t breathe and was rushed to the hospital.
Though a surgery Hammett had helps prevent his lungs from filling with liquid, he said the disease has caused him much pain and many sleepless nights.
“It’s a slow, painful death. It’s not like a heart attack,” Hammett said on Sunday as he sat with his wife in their home on Monument Road, where the two have lived for more than 30 years.
Hammett, who is friendly with a dry sense of humor, says he still tries to garden — his favorite hobby — but it’s becoming more and more difficult.
“I use a shovel as a walking stick, and I do OK,” he said.
According to Bergman, most people die within a year of being diagnosed with mesothelioma. Roger says he’s thankful to have made it past that mark, but still feels as if he’s been robbed of life.
Statistics used in court showed that on average a man Hammett’s age will live seven more years.
“That’s what he was looking forward to before he got diagnosed,” Bergman said.
Before going to court, Sea-Land offered the Hammetts a $5,000 settlement, which Roger Hammett called “chicken feed.”
Hammett praised Bergman for his work on the case and said he is glad that his large award will cover hospice care so he can eventually die at home. He also hopes to finish remodeling his house and to build a music room for his wife, who plans to stay on in their home for as long as she can. He’ll leave the rest to his wife, five children and six grandchildren.
Anita Hammett, who is warm and soft spoken, said the ordeal has been difficult for her as well.
“I love Roger deeply, and I wish he didn’t have this disease,” she said. “We just don’t know what the next day is going to bring forth.”
The story can be viewed at
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/News-Vashon-mauryIslandBeachcomber-PnwLocalNews/~3/_7Q8H64WFJU/135950838.html
Our client, a Vashon Island man who was exposed to asbestos, has been awarded $1.45 million after a jury ruled that his former bosses were to blame for exposing him to asbestos.
It was 45 years ago that Roger Hammett worked as a messman aboard the SS Seattle.
During his 67-day stint on the ship, Hammett breathed in asbestos fibers from pipe insulation. More than 40 years later, that exposure led to him developing mesothelioma, a rare cancer in the lining of protective tissue around the lungs.
Three years ago, the 84-year-old first experienced bouts of what he thought was asthma. The issues got worse, and last year Hammett collapsed while working in his garden.
"I was out in my garden working and fell over, couldn't breathe, and I crawled up on a pile of dirt and I pulled myself up," he said.
After getting his grim diagnoses, Hammett was in pain and had trouble sleeping. Instead of staying quiet about his illness, Hammett decided he wanted justice.
He sued his former employers, and after a week-long trial that ended Thursday, he was awarded $1.45 million.
Hammett's attorney, Matt Bergman of Bergman Draper & Frockt, said his client's case was rare.
"This was the first case of such a short period of exposure that went to trial, at least in the Puget Sound area," he said.
It's a bittersweet victory for a man who was told he only has another year to live.
"I will say it's a psychological disaster to know that you have something that can't be operated on, there's no cure and you are going to die someday," said Hammett.
For now he'll enjoy moments in his garden with his wife, Anita, knowing he won the biggest legal battle of his life.
To view the video on KomoNews.com click on this link:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Vashon-man-exposed-to-asbestos-awarded-145-mil-135771633.html
Tacoma City Hall Will Survive Despite Asbestos Contamination
The historic downtown Tacoma City Hall seems to be safe once again after its appearance on the endangered historic buildings list. After a severe freeze caused pipes to burst last winter in the 118-year-old building, water damage and the presence of asbestos materials threatened the survival of the beautiful old building. With the investment of $1 million, asbestos abatement and mitigation of water damage have been completed, however. The building has been stripped of its sheetrock, flooring and some walls, and its grand spaces will see new life.
Many of the old historic buildings in our region are at risk because of asbestos contamination. As this story makes clear, removing the asbestos materials from these buildings can be very expensive, time consuming and difficult. But as asbestos materials age, they can begin to break down, releasing dangerous fibers into the air. Fire, water damage and renovation all increase the risk that asbestos fibers will be released into the air. Inhaling asbestos fibers causes a risk of developing mesothelioma and other serious diseases.
The widespread use of asbestos in building materials for much of the twentieth century has become a serious threat to the future of many grand old buildings in our region. Sadly, asbestos has come to threaten the historic landscape around us as well as our health.
Learn more about the work being done to revitalize the Tacoma City Hall from the Tacoma Daily Index
http://www.tacomadailyindex.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=88&cat=23&id=1987455&more=0
Eugene Developer Under Federal Indictment for Asbestos Violations
Eugene developer Dan Desler was already facing state charges in Oregon related to asbestos violations that occurred during efforts to redevelop the Willamette Industries sawmill in Sweet Home. He now faces nine federal counts as well.
The plan was to build a residential housing development along the South Santiam River. In 2004, however, inspectors found asbestos in the debris from a fire at the mill site. In 2007, Desler began demolition and redevelopment at the site. Despite clear notice of asbestos, however, it seems that Desler failed to investigate the asbestos situation, provide proper notice to the authorities, or do anything to clean up the asbestos to protect workers and others in the vicinity from the risk of asbestos exposure.
Demolition of older buildings like the Willamette Industries mill can create serious risk of asbestos exposure because asbestos was common in building materials for many decades, and when these materials are disturbed in demolition or renovation, asbestos fibers can be released into the air. The resulting asbestos exposure creates a risk for workers, as well as others living or working in the area. Exposure to asbestos is known to cause mesothelioma, a lethal cancer of the lining of the lungs, abdomen or heart.
In this case, tons of unsecured asbestos materials were found on the ground very close to neighboring homes. Again, according the indictment, Desler knew about the asbestos problem, but he hired unlicensed workers to tear down the mill and ignored the risk. The property has since been designated a superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency, and the federal government has placed a lien against the property for more than $1 million based on the cleanup that has already been done. The mill site is now owed by Linn County, which claimed the property in lieu of more $500,000 in unpaid taxes.
The federal indictment alleges multiple violations of the Clean Air Act, carrying a maximum sentence of two to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Read more from Albany’s Democrat-Herald
http://democratherald.com/news/local/article_c8768c58-85ce-11e0-8f2e-001cc4c002e0.html
Study: Photodynamic therapy with surgery effective mesothelioma treatment
A study published in the June issue of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery reports that patients with pleural mesothelioma who undergo surgery to remove the pleura—the sac or lining of the lung—combined with intraoperative photodynamic therapy may have an improved survival rate compared to patients undergoing surgery to remove the lung and pleura. Intraoperative photodynamic therapy uses light and chemotherapy during surgery to kill cancer cells in the tissue.
Titled “Photodynamic Therapy and the Evolution of a Lung-Sparing Treatment for Mesothelioma,” the study compared the survival rates of 14 patients undergoing a radical pleurectomy and intraoperative photodynamic therapy to those of 14 patients undergoing a modified extrapleural pneumonectomy. The median overall survival rate for the patients undergoing the extrapleural pneumonectomy was 8.4 months, while the median survival rate had not yet been reached for the other group of patients after an average follow-up of 2.1 years. In other words, the patients undergoing surgery to remove the pleura, combined with the photodynamic therapy, had a higher survival rate as a group compared to the patients undergoing the other procedure. The patients in both groups underwent surgery between 2004 and 2008.
The study concluded that surgical removal of the pleura combined with photodynamic therapy is a reasonable surgical option for some mesothelioma patients. In addition to the survival rates studied, the authors noted the added advantage of sparing the lung compared to an extrapleural pneumonectomy.
The study was conducted by a group of researchers affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. For an abstract of the article, go to
http://ats.ctsnetjournals.org/
Philomath Fire Department Faces Fine for Asbestos Violations
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has recommended a $6,000 fine against the Philomath Fire Department for improper asbestos removal on its property. The DEQ has recommended a $4,000 fine against the unlicensed company that performed the removal. The removal of old asbestos products may release dangerous asbestos fibers into the air, which if breathed in, may cause mesothelioma.
The fire department was having a 32-square-foot piece of linoleum removed from the fire station. While the fire chief admits he did know there was a small amount of asbestos in the linoleum, he did not realize that it was necessary to hire a company licensed to remove the asbestos.
The fire department plans to appeal the fine because the violation was unintentional. The appeal may lessen the fine levied against the fire department if the fire department is able to convince state officials with the DEQ that it was not being reckless in its asbestos removal decisions.
The situation in which the Philomath Fire Department has found itself underscores the need to be informed about asbestos regulations governing inspection, removal, renovations, and notice. Knowing what you are facing can help keep you on the right side of the law and keep you safe from asbestos exposure!
Read more in the Claims Journal
http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/west/2011/06/13/186931.htm
Coming up in April - National Asbestos Awareness Week.
Washington Senator Patty Murray Supports "National Asbestos Awareness Week" in April.
Senator Patty Murray, a long time advocate for workers suffering from mesothelioma and other occupational diseases, has joined with Senator Max Baucus of Montana, who has introduced a Senate resolution recognizing the first week in April as National Asbestos Awareness Week. For the seventh consecutive year, the week will serve as a time to increase the public's awareness concerning asbestos-related diseases and the hazards of exposure to asbestos. The resolution was applauded by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), a national group that serves asbestos victims through education, advocacy and community.
The other co-sponsors and key supporters of the measure include: Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California; Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois; Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont; Senator Harry Reid of Nevada; and Montana's other Senator, Jon Tester.
We in Washington state are all too aware of the risk for mesothelioma posed by exposure to asbestos in the many shipyards that have lined our coastline. In Senator Baucus' home state of Montana, however, one of the deadliest risks for asbestos exposure has been the W.R. Grace mine near Libby, Montana, which exposed mine workers and town residents to hazardous levels of asbestos. Senator Baucus played a central role in convincing the EPA to declare a health emergency in Libby.
In connection with this year's seventh annual resolution, Senator Baucus explained: Asbestos Awareness Week is a rallying cry to keep the tragedy of Libby from happening again. Its also an opportunity to remind people that much more work lies ahead to help victims of asbestos-related diseases. According to Senator Baucus, [a]lthough we can never fully right the outrageous wrong that took place in Libby, we can fight to make sure the community has the tools it needs to heal. And, we can keep working hard to make sure the public is aware of the tragic impact of asbestos exposure.
Asbestos has long been recognized as a human carcinogen that causes mesothelioma and other cancers, including lung cancer. Researchers have estimated that over the next decade, asbestos related diseases will take the lives of 107,000 workers worldwide.
For the complete story, go to
http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20110218006058/en/asbestos/asbestos-disease/mesothelioma
Posted on website
http://www.bergmanlegal.com
The Seattle Public Utilities and the Solid Waste Division of King County, Washington are working on a strategy to increase the practice of carpet recycling in the local area. The agencies believe that the program will lead to the recycling of 50,000 tons of used carpet in the region each year.
The Northwest Carpet Recycling Strategy is collaborating with Washington state manufacturers to identify local end markets for the commodities derived from recycled carpet fiber. One of the challenges faced by the agencies is the presence of asbestos in used carpet.
Carpets do not customarily contain asbestos, but the fibrous backings on some types of carpets do contain the dangerous substance. Carpet mastic may contain asbestos even when the carpet fibers themselves are asbestos-free. In particular, black asphaltic carpet mastic may contain 2% to 5% asbestos. The brown carpet mastic generally does not contain asbestos. But because of the risk involved, workers and homeowners should test old carpet for the presence of asbestos, particularly where the black mastic is found.
When old carpet mastics are found to have an asbestos component, the carpet can be deceptively dangerous. The carpet fibers tend to retain small particles, like asbestos dust, and release the fibers when the carpet is disturbed or replaced. Licensed asbestos abatement professionals should be retained to remove asbestos contaminated carpet. When asbestos particles are released into the air through careless handling of contaminated carpet, the hazardous fibers may be inhaled and lodged in the lungs, causing asbestosis, lung cancer or mesothelioma.
For more information, go to
http://www.cdrecycler.com/carpet-recycling-northwest-plan.aspx
Posted on
http://www.bergmanlegal.com
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