Christy Refractories Files Bankruptcy, Citing Asbestos Lawsuits
Monday, November 10th, 2008The Christy Refractories Co. LLC filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition in October 2008 in the bankruptcy court in St. Louis because of mounting asbestos lawsuits, according to a court filing. Christy Refractories makes heat-resistant products. The asbestos lawsuits cited as part of the problem aren’t a result of the company’s current operations. […]
Should Asbestos Victims Be Able To Claim Twice?
Friday, November 7th, 2008Under new laws to be introduced into the Australian Parliament in October 2008, asbestos sufferers will have greater access to compensation.
The bill will allow sufferers to have their damages case fast-tracked if their condition deteriorates.
Currently, a worker has to make a decision as to whether to claim damages at the point at which they are […]
W.R. Grace Seeks to Exit Bankruptcy March 2009
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008Should be good news, right? W.R. Grace, who is responsible for single-handedly polluting the town of Libby, Montana, with asbestos and making its employees and residents sick with asbestos-related diseases, is seeking to come out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Now lawyers for people who have been injured by W.R. Grace’s asbestos are trying to […]
Asbestos Victims Compensated for Small Exposure While Waiting for Death Sentence
Friday, October 10th, 2008A recent ruling in favor of a claimant seeking damages for contracting an asbestos-related cancer could pose a significant challenge to the medico legal sector.
The family of Robert Earl, who died of the asbestos-related disease mesothelioma in 2005, have succeeded in their claim against his former employer, County Garage Limited.
Having worked for almost eight months […]
UK Asbestos Victims Pay For Compensation Fund
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008A new government scheme to pay a lump sum to all mesothelioma sufferers, irrespective of occupational exposure, went into effect October 1, 2008.
It sounds like a Robin Hood gesture; however, some asbestosis sufferers and some mesothelioma sufferers will lose compensation in order to fund the scheme.
Alan Robinson, who suffers from asbestosis and […]
Denial and Fear in Asbestos Towns
Monday, October 6th, 2008Thetford Mines, Quebec, Canada and Libby, Montana are both cursed with asbestos mines, but there is a difference in attitude toward asbestos in the two towns.
Thetford Mines
An anonymous resident of Thetford Mines was interviewed in 2007 for the Montreal Gazette as she watched children at St. Louis public school chasing each other around the schoolyard. […]
Australian Court to Hear Case for Civil Penalties Against James Hardie Directors
Friday, October 3rd, 2008The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is seeking civil penalties against the directors of James Hardie in a landmark case it hopes will set a precedent governing the actions of all company directors.
ASIC alleges those directors and executives mislead investors as to the size of a compensation fund for asbestos sufferers to allow it to […]
ALCOA Sued for Death of Former Worker’s Daughter
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008In September 2008, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that ALCOA Inc. can be sued for the asbestos-related death of a former worker’s daughter.
The Pittsburgh-based company had argued that it should not be held responsible for Maryville resident Amanda Satterfield’s mesothelioma. She died in 2005 at age 25.
She originally sued the company in 2003, claiming […]
Do You Have Zonolite Insulation In Your Home? Too Bad.
Thursday, September 18th, 2008A court settlement described as “absurd and disturbing” would give Canadians owning homes contaminated with asbestos-containing Zonolite insulation virtually nothing, while their lawyers would get millions from W.R. Grace.
In the United States, where as many as 35 million homes and business are contaminated with the cancer-causing product, few people know that the federal bankruptcy court […]
Asbestos Workers’ Comp Award Reduced for Cigarette Use
Thursday, August 28th, 2008The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that a laborer’s lung damage from smoking can be segregated from respiratory problems caused by asbestos work, and his workers’ compensation award reduced by the portion of his ailment caused by cigarettes.
Workers’ comp plaintiffs lawyers say that before the decision in George Deschenes v. Transco, such blended injuries had […]
