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› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
The Minnesota Health Department released its report Friday detailing a study of 58 miners who contracted mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, which is usually associated with asbestos exposure. According to Minnesota Public Radio, the report shows that the men worked in mines scattered across the entire Iron Range and reveals that nearly a quarter of the workers were employed in the mining industry for less than a year.
An Associated Press report Nov. 2 announced Dana Corp. has agreed to pay a total of $2 million to more than 7,000 personal injury claimants to settle asbestos lawsuits. The company, an auto-parts supplier, produced gaskets containing asbestos. A Nov. 15 hearing was set to review the proposed settlement.
A Superior Court in Los Angeles awarded former Navy sailor John R. “Jack” Davis $35.1 million in compensatory damages for his diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer linked to asbestos. Davis was diagnosed in January 2007.
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an organization dedicated to serving as the voice of asbestos victims, has praised the passage of a bill sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA). The Ban Asbestos in America Act of 2007 was passed by the U.S. Senate. The Act is an effort to ban all production and use of asbestos in America, launch public education campaigns to raise awareness about its dangers, and expand research and treatment of diseases caused by asbestos.
In October 2007, the Government Accountability Office conducted an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency’s role in investigation and clean-up of factories that once produced asbestos-contaminated vermiculite insulation.
In April 2007, the LA Weekly reported that answers were still needed for a number of important questions regarding downtown developer Meruelo Maddux Properties, Inc., accused of illegally dumping asbestos-tainted material. Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo filed criminal charges against the developer in the matter.
On March 1, 2007, John Thayer, the supervisor of the U.S. Capitol power plant tunnel crew, addressed the U.S. Congress to bring to light the hazardous working conditions affecting his staff, including daily exposure to asbestos. He spoke in support of the Ban Asbestos in America Act, which was presented in the Senate by Sen. Patty Murray. Here is an excerpt of his remarks:
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