Mesothelioma Asbestos Exposure

Filmmaker Douglas Bollinger wants people to learn more about the day-to-day struggles and triumphs that individuals who were born withcerebral palsy deal with regularly, and he’s using his friend as the protagonist to do so.

In an attempt to shed light on the life of his friend Glen Haerle, as well as two other men who were born with cerebral palsy, Bollinger’s first documentary film will focus on the medical condition and the challenges it can bring to the everyday lives of those who are afflicted with it.

Called The Cohesion Project, the film is independently produced between Bollinger and Kim Surowicz and is expected to have a budget of approximately $20,000.

In addition to documenting events such as a hike Bollinger took with Haerle up the 6,288-foot Mount Washington, the documentary will also feature New York comedian Josh Blue and hedge fund manager Rich Donovan, both of whom have cerebral palsy. The film will also include interviews with other notable individuals who were born with cerebral palsy, such as Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor David Olney and author John Quinn.

“John Quinn has cerebral palsy and he summed it up like this: I want to be judged on my ability and not dismissed because of my disability,’’ Bollinger said, according to the Asbury Park Press. “One of the things I get from all the people we have interviewed is they want to be judged on what they do and who they are, and that’s it.’’

Hopefully Bollinger’s film will help to reveal the issues that cerebral palsy victims must regularly endure and raise awareness for a condition that is sometimes caused by medical error. If you or a loved one have a child who was born with a birth injury such as cerebral palsy that may be attributable to medical error, contact a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn more about your legal options.

Cerebral Palsy

The University of Hawai’i Cancer Center has received a generous gift of more than $3 million to continue its important research regarding the causes of mesothelioma as well as potential cure for the disease.

An anonymous donor has given a $3.58 million donation to the Hawaii cancer center to help aid the mesothelioma research work of its director, Dr. Michele Carbone, and her colleagues.

“Mesothelioma is a serious public health problem,” said Dr. Virginia Hinshaw, Chancellor of UH Mānoa. “We’re proud that Dr. Carbone’s team is leading the world in this area of discovery. This gift validates their efforts and will help them remain at the forefront of thoracic oncology research.”

The gift is the second largest one ever given to the UH Cancer Center. Dr. Carbone’s and researchers at the center recently released new findings relating to the presence of erionite – a material that causes mesothelioma – in rock materials that are used to pave roads in North Dakota.

The center has also conducted studies in Capadoccia, Turkey, a region where nearly 50 percent of the residents die of mesothelioma. There are currently plans for Dr. Carbone and collaborators to conduct a clinical trial co-sponsored by the Early Detection Research Network of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the Turkish Ministry of Health to validate serum biomarkers they discovered for the early detection of mesothelioma.

“Private support is essential to solidify the UH Cancer Center’s role as the world leader in mesothelioma research,” said UH System President MRC Greenwood. “We look forward to furthering our work with donors to help the UH Cancer Center fulfill its vast potential as a transformative research enterprise for our state.”

Mesothelioma and asbestosis are both deadly illnesses that are caused primarily by prolonged exposure to asbestos fibers. If you were exposed to asbestos while working for a company and have since developed one of these illnesses, it may be worth pursuing amesothelioma lawsuit that could potentially result in a substantialasbestos settlement. If you think that a mesothelioma attorney could help prove your illness was caused by a specific entity’s negligence, please contact Sokolove Law for a free legal consultation.

Mesothelioma

A pair of recently released documentary films are attempting to help the public gain awareness regarding the dangers of the asbestosindustry and the benefits that legal action can have for individuals who want to get back at companies that have harmed them.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) recently announced it would be hosting an “international livestreaming” of the film Breathless on its website on September 26 at 6:30 pm EST. The film, which was directed by Canadian filmmaker Kathleen Mullen, details the death of her father from asbestos diseases caused by work in Canadian mines.

The film also addresses the controversy surrounding the Canadian asbestos industry. The screening will precede a fifteen minute question and answer session via Twitter with Mullen and ADAO Co-Founder Linda Reinstein.

“ADAO is thrilled to be able to bring this critical issue to the forefront through the incredible film, Breathtaking. It is through the new avenues of digital technology and social media that we are seeing awareness about asbestos hazards expand rapidly around the globe,” said Reinstein.

Hot Coffee is another film that recently premiered on HBO as part of the network’s Summer Documentary Series. While not dealing with asbestos lawsuits directly – it tells the story of Stella Liebeck, an elderly woman who sued McDonald’s for money she needed to cover medical costs after the restaurant’s coffee severely burned her – mesothelioma support groups have come out in support of the film since mesothelioma lawsuits are similar in many ways to Liebeck’s suit and faced similar criticism over the years.

For those who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer that can be linked to asbestos exposure caused by a product or former employer, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney to learn more about your rights, and to see if pursuing a mesothelioma settlement is in your best interest.

Asbestos

Both plaintiffs and defendants in asbestos lawsuits agree that asbestoscauses 80 to 90 percent of all mesothelioma cases. You would think that it naturally follows that 80 to 90 percent of mesothelioma lawsuit plaintiffs do not have to prove to a jury that asbestos exposure caused their mesothelioma. Until recently, that was not the case. Instead, through a legal process called reverse bifurcation, most if not all mesothelioma lawsuit plaintiffs had to first prove in court that their mesothelioma diagnosis is tied to past asbestos exposure. Once this was proved – and it usually was — most cases settled out of court.

Now, as reported by the Legal Intelligencer, after nearly a quarter of a century of trying asbestos lawsuits with reverse bifurcation, the Philadelphia Common Pleas Court’s mass torts program for asbestos began “straight-through trials” of asbestos cases in which it is uncontested that plaintiffs have mesothelioma because of asbestos exposure.

“Straight through trial” basically means that the plaintiffs do not first have to prove to the court – with documents and records and other evidence – that asbestos exposure caused their mesothelioma. Instead, the court takes for granted that it did, in which case most lawsuits settle out of court. So far though, even those that have gone through to trial have ended favorably for plaintiffs. One such mesothelioma patient and his family won $4.5 million in a recent trial verdict.

It’s good news for mesothelioma victims and not so good news for some defendants who make or have made asbestos-containing products. Examples of companies that had ready defenses to disprove asbestos exposure from their products as the cause of mesothelioma in a plaintiff include break pad manufacturers and insulation companies. These defendants would use reverse bifurcation to fight off taking responsibility for the victim’s illness. Hopefully, more states will follow PA’s lead on this.

If you or a loved one has suffered from asbestos exposure and later developed mesothelioma, call an asbestos attorney at Sokolove Law today for a free consultation.

Asbestos

A new study financed by a section of the National Institutes of Health has made the first potential connection to an individual’s genetics and susceptibility to eventually developing deadly asbestos illnesses such as mesothelioma.

The study, which was recently published online in Nature Genetics, found evidence that people with BAP1 gene mutations may have an increased chance of developing multiple cancer types such as mesothelioma, breast, ovarian, pancreatic and renal cancers. The study highlighted two U.S. families with members who have the BAP1 gene mutation. Both families also have “a high incidence of mesothelioma.”

Dr. Joseph R. Testa, another study co-leader and the Carol and Kenneth E. Weg chairman in Human Genetics at Fox Chase Cancer Center, said the study was the first to “demonstrate that individual genetic makeup can greatly influence susceptibility to mesothelioma.”

While only a first step, the discoveries noted in this study could one day lead to fundamental progress in mesothelioma care. Thanks to Drs. Carbone and Testa and their crew for the hard work. We hope this is just the beginning of bigger breakthroughs to come.

Living with the day-to-day hardships of mesothelioma – whether it is you or a loved one who has been diagnosed with the illness – is both emotionally and financially taxing. If you feel that a company or former employer may be responsible for the asbestos exposure that led to an illness, contact a mesothelioma attorney to learn about filing amesothelioma lawsuit.

Mesothelioma

Medical liability cases against obstetricians and other doctors who participate in the birthing process are most often spurred by errors in clinical judgment, miscommunication between doctors, and technical mistakes.

All of these errors can potentially result in a birth injury occurring that may remain with the newborn child for their entire lives.

According to a study released this month by CRIGO Strategies that analyzed more than 800 OB medical liability cases filed between 2005 and 2009, the three most common allegations in the lawsuits were as follows: Delayed treatment of fetal distress, improper execution of vaginal delivery, and improper management of pregnancy.

“Obstetrics has some unique vulnerabilities, most often involving situations in which a sequence of errors or oversights cascade into a crisis that can put mother and baby in jeopardy,” said Robert Hanscom, CRIGO’s senior vice president.

Obstetrician errors can result in a number of birth injuries that can affect the mother and/or the child being born. Among the more serious birth injuries a newborn can suffer from is cerebral palsy, which can affect a newborn for the rest of his or her life and often relegate them to a wheelchair and constant medical care.

If you or your child was born with a birth injury that can be attributed to medical error, such as cerebral palsy, there may be legal options available to you. Contact a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn about your options regarding a lawsuit against the doctors who caused your injury.

Birth Injury

Aside from legal ads on TV, many Americans don’t know what asbestos is or where it can be found, let alone that exposure to this dangerous material can result in the development of an asbestos-related cancer such as mesothelioma. In fact, mesothelioma occurs in such a small number of patients – it’s estimated that only 2,500-3,000 new patients are diagnosed every year – that the disease is often referred to as an orphan disease. And while new mesothelioma treatments can alleviate symptoms and improve a patient’s quality of life, to date there is no proven cure for the disease.

Perhaps most troubling is the fact that despite these known health risks, asbestos is still not banned in the United States and is manufactured and used every day.

But you can help change this. There are a number of easy ways for you to join the fight to ban asbestos and beat mesothelioma forever, and it all begins with one simple goal: raising awareness.

Each year, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (MARF) recognizes September 26 as National Mesothelioma Awareness Day in order to educate the public about the dangers of asbestos exposure and raise much-needed financial support for research towards improved treatments of the disease. The first Mesothelioma Awareness Day was started in 2004 by a group of volunteers and every year since has been larger and more widespread.

Want to participate, but don’t know where to start? Here are some ideas:

• Write a letter to Congress urging them to ban asbestos. We have a pre-written letter on our homepage you can sign and send digitally in minutes. (Yes, your representatives really receive them and sometimes they’ll even write you back!)
• Spread the word! You can click the Facebook and Twitter buttons on the top or bottom of this page to easily share the news about Mesothelioma Awareness Day with your friends.
• Join MARF’s social media campaign. They have ready-to-use facts and updates for you to share online.
• Plan or attend a fundraising event. You can check MARF’s event calendar to see if there’s anything planned in your area, and if there isn’t, they have otherideas how you can become involved – both on 9/26, as well as throughout the year.
• Make a donation to a non-profit organization like MARF or the Asbestos Disease Organization (ADAO).
• Check out the Mesothelioma Resource Center’s list of ways to raisemesothelioma awareness, which include contacting local news outlets, meeting local government leaders, fundraising and more.

Whether it’s the click of a mouse or a dollar in a donation jar, you CAN make a difference on National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. By raising awareness, we can save lives through safety education and prevention, as well as gaining support for the movements to ban asbestos and secure additional funding for improved treatments.

So take action and spread the word! Together, we can ban asbestos and beat asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma

With Mesothelioma Awareness Day coming up on Monday, September 26th, we thought it apt to highlight the top ten products we were surprised to find that are still being manufactured today with the use of the known carcinogen, asbestos. Asbestos exposure has long been known to cause mesothelioma as well as other cancers and diseases. Mesothelioma Awareness Day is an annual day devoted to raising awareness about mesothelioma and raising funds for mesothelioma research.

In this post — the first in a series of Mesothelioma Awareness Day posts designed to help raise awareness – we present our top ten asbestos-containing products to be aware of:

Baby powder? Baby powder!

Baby powder and other adult cosmetic powders and talcum powders often contain talc. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies talc that contains asbestos as “carcinogenic to humans” and talc not containing asbestos as “not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans.

2. Cigarette Filters

As if smoking cigarettes wasn’t already bad enough, asbestos has been known to be present in the filters.

3. Hair Dryers

Check with the manufacturer of your specific model, as some hair dryers have asbestos-based insulators.

4. Mittens

Are your hands really that cold? Some fire or heat-proof mittens have linings that contain asbestos.

5. Yarn

Typically, you don’t have to worry about the yarn you’re using to knit a scarf, unless it’s known to contain heat-proof threads, which contain asbestos.

6. Popcorn Poppers

As with hair dryers, most small electronics and appliances manufacturers have discontinued the use of asbestos. If yours is an older model or if you have concerns, contact the manufacturer.

7. Brake Pads

Many automotive parts are still manufactured with asbestos today, especially brake pads, to help prevent overheating.

8. Cork Board

If you have an old cork board and you can’t verify its safety with a manufacturer, think twice before tacking up your next picture or note.

9. Duct Tape

Many electrical tapes contain asbestos to help prevent melting or catching fire.

10. Rope

Although many ropes are asbestos-free, some that are heat or fire resistant do contain asbestos.

When asbestos fibers are inhalable, they are breathed into the lungs where the microscopic fibers embed into the tissue and accumulate. The inhalation of asbestos fibers is the leading cause of mesothelioma.

Speak to an Asbestos Attorney Today

For those who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer that can be linked to asbestos exposure caused by a product or former employer, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Contact an experienced mesothelioma attorney to learn more about your rights, and to see if pursuing a mesothelioma settlement is in your best interest.

Asbestos

A Kentucky man who spent nearly 30 years in the U.S. Navy as a fireman and boiler tender and is now suffering from mesothelioma has won a $32 million asbestos settlement for injuries and pain/suffering he has endured.

According to WSAZ-TV, a New York jury awarded Ronald Dummitt $16 million for past pain and suffering, along with an additional $16 million for future pain and suffering he must endure as he battles mesothelioma that was caused by asbestos exposure in the Navy.

During the eight-week trial, it was determined that Dummitt was exposed to asbestos while working in the fire and boiler rooms of U.S. Navy ships between 1960 and 1977. Much of this exposure occurred when he had to repair Crane Co.-manufactured valves that utilized asbestos-containing pads, gaskets and packing. Furthermore, the jury found he was also exposed to asbestos when working with Elliott Turbomachinery Co., Inc.-manufactured deareating feed tanks that also used asbestos pads and manhole gaskets.

“Mr. Dummitt may not have been awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor or a Purple Heart but I, and all that have come to know him, recognize that he is a true American hero… Unfortunately, no man can give Ronald Dummitt’s health back to him. This verdict represents all that a just and civil society can do to redress the harm caused by culpable companies who fail to protect innocent workers whether on the job or in the line of duty,” said Timothy Eves, Dummitt’s attorney.

Navy veterans who previously worked in naval bases and have now been diagnosed with mesothelioma may be able to bring a mesothelioma lawsuit against companies who manufactured or sold asbestos products that were used on the ships. Contact amesothelioma lawyer in order to learn more about asbestos law and find out if you or a loved one may be able to receive an asbestos settlement.

Mesothelioma

If you read the last article we posted about asbestos trust funds, you’ll remember the clever hammock analogy used to describe what they are. If you didn’t read it, you can do so here.

Now, the Government Accountability Office (GOA) – a sort of congressional watchdog group that keeps an eye on government spending of taxpayer dollars – has published a report that reveals the somewhat secretive system of asbestos trust fund payouts.

The report looked at 52 asbestos trust funds that have paid out over 3,000,000 claims for a total of about $17.5 billion. The investigation was prompted by the fact that these asbestos trust funds don’t publish details about their activities, yet do make general information available. Attorneys representing asbestos companies or defendants — in asbestos lawsuits filed by mesothelioma victims – raised a stink about the secrecy of the details and implored congress to get involved. The investigation proceeded to determine if, in fact, these asbestos trust funds were keeping details secret.

The investigation revealed only “one trust’s financial report contained claimant names and amounts paid to these individuals.”

The defendants in asbestos lawsuits have been the critics of asbestos trust fund secrecy. They allege that asbestos lawyers and mesothelioma law firms oversee the operation of these asbestos trust funds to prevent them from revealing how much their clients have been paid. This, they further allege, allows some asbestos attorneys to file claims with multiple trusts that could contradict each other.

The GAO report stated that 98% of asbestos trust fund claims go through what is called an expedited review process, which requires a claim form and some documentation that asbestos exposure happened. Perhaps the lawyers representing the asbestos companies want mesothelioma victims to have to go through much more than that to get the compensation they deserve?

According to the report, 65 percent of asbestos trust funds treat claims information as confidential and privileged. Defendants and insurers want the details to be available to them so they can reduce the value of the claims awarded to mesothelioma victims in court.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mesothelioma and suspect it’s due to asbestos exposure, contact a mesothelioma attorneyat Sokolove Law for a free consultation. Also, write to your local congressman about keeping the details of asbestos trust fund settlements confidential and out of the hands of the asbestos companies

Asbestos