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14 Common Misconceptions About Asbestos Lawsuit History
Asbestos Lawsuit History

Many asbestos victims have received help from lawyers like Stanley Levy. Patients suffering from asbestos-related diseases, such as mesothelioma, can sue companies that mined or manufactured asbestos.

Nellie Kershaw filed her first asbestos lawsuit. She suffered health issues while working in an asbestos fiber factory in England. She died at the age of 33 of fibrosis of the lung caused by asbestos exposure.

The First Cases

Asbestos, a hazardous mineral, has afflicted and killed thousands of people throughout the years. Asbestos claims can be filed for a variety of reasons, but they typically involve people who were exposed to the substance at work. This includes workers at factories that made asbestos-related items, people who worked in the construction of buildings with asbestos, or who were exposed to secondhand asbestos from household products contaminated with asbestos like talcum powder.

People who were exposed to asbestos may develop a number of different illnesses like mesothelioma, lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. Many have been awarded compensation for their injuries even though some these diseases are fatal. The majority of countries have laws that require companies that produce dangerous substances to inform anyone who might be injured.

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

Asbest lawsuits continued to be filed in the years following. Asbestos litigation became a very large area of law, and many attorneys started to specialize in asbestos litigation. This meant that they took on the most serious cases. Kazan Law was one firm that specialized in this area in the late 80s.

Other lawsuits were won by people who suffered from other asbestos-related illnesses such as asbestosis or plaques in the pleural cavity. The condition that caused them was like mesothelioma making it easier to prove for lawyers. These allegations led to the public disclosure of secret documents that showed how asbestos manufacturers tried to conceal their risks. In 1989 the Asbestos Ban & Phase Out Rule was issued.

The Second Cases

As the number of people diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases grew the families and victims began to file lawsuits. These lawsuits were brought against companies who mined asbestos, made asbestos-containing products or sold asbestos-containing products. Additionally, mesothelioma patients made claims against companies that designed and constructed the buildings they worked in including shipyards, power plants, factories and refineries. The connection between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma growth is very strong.

In the early 1980s, the legal fights over asbestos lawsuits got more ferocious, and courts began to rule on many aspects of the case process. A federal court, for example decided that only those suffering from malignant asbestos-caused diseases like mesothelioma and lung cancer could take on asbestos manufacturers. products. This ruling, known as Borel v. Fibreboard Paper Products Corp. is an important setback for asbestos lawsuit defendants.

Around the same time, Nellie Kershaw, a factory worker from Rochdale, England, filed what is thought to be the first well-known legal case against asbestos-related companies. Kershaw, an employee in a factory in Rochdale in England, was diagnosed with lung problems due to her exposure to asbestos fibers in raw form. She attempted to convince her employer to pay for the treatment. But, the company was unable to agree. Kershaw died at 33 years old of fibrosis of her lungs.

The second phase of asbestos lawsuits centered on people who had been exposed to different types of asbestos-containing building products such as fireproofing sprays and drywall products. Asbestos lawyers also prevailed in cases against companies that made the equipment that used asbestos-containing materials, like pumps and boilers.

During this period, numerous documents that implicated asbestos companies were discovered. These documents proved their involvement in fraud and conspiracies. These included the personal records of Johns-Manville president Sumner Simpson, as well as correspondence from the general counsel of another asbestos producer, Raybestos Manhattan. These documents revealed the scheme of these companies to hide the fact that asbestos was hazardous and to deflect efforts to inform the public about these dangers.

In the early and mid-1980s When these and other forms of corporate fraud and conspiracy were discovered in the 1980s, a wave of class action settlements was launched, along with other efforts were made to limit asbestos liability were made by asbestos companies. These attempts were met with massive opposition from plaintiffs' attorneys and their clients as well as the public.

The Third Case

By the 1970s asbestos companies were no longer able cover up the dangers of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma from the general public. This was due to the fact that the connection between asbestos and diseases like asbestosis, mesothelioma and other respiratory ailments began receiving attention from major national publications instead of just small medical journals or newsletters for industry. As soon as the link between asbestos and serious illness was established, patients began filing lawsuits against asbestos producers.

In the 1970s, a court decision that allowed plaintiffs to recourse to strict liability as a legal theory was among the major reasons for an increase in asbestos lawsuits. Previously, plaintiffs in asbestos cases required proof that asbestos manufacturers were negligent in causing their exposure to asbestos. In the 1973 case Borel v. Fibreboard a judge ruled asbestos manufacturers liable for any injuries resulting from their products if they knew their product was unsafe but did not warn their employees or the general public about the dangers.

Following this ruling, many asbestos manufacturers were forced to file for bankruptcy, a process which allows a company to be reorganized in bankruptcy court, set money in trusts to pay asbestos claims and still continue to operate. Johns-Manville was a particularly noteworthy case because it was hit with numerous lawsuits from former factory workers suffering from asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Kazan Law brought several cases against the manufacturer and was able win the company punitive damages in a number of cases.

Asbestos litigation has grown since then due to the rising number of asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos lawsuits are often complicated due to the ailments they cause can take years to manifest and aren't always evident to those who have been diagnosed.


Additionally certain victims have been forced to wait for years to receive compensation from insurance companies after their employers were found liable. The US Supreme Court has dealt with several cases involving settlements for class actions that asbestos companies offered in an attempt to limit their liability, and it has also considered the issue of whether it is possible to hold individuals responsible for asbestos-related injuries.

The Fourth Cases

Asbestos is a highly dangerous mineral that has sickened or killed hundreds of thousands of people over the many years. It's also a product that was used extensively by companies who knew it was dangerous and they continued to employ it in their manufacturing processes.

As the legal system handles asbestos lawsuits new developments are taking place every day. One of the most important legal developments is a decision known as Lubbe v. Cape Plc, which set an example that allows asbestos victims to sue multinational companies in their home jurisdictions to recover compensation.

These cases typically involve secondary asbestos exposure. Workers who work with asbestos work can transfer it to their families or spouses. You Tube suffer from mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related diseases.

Many lawsuits are filed today by the families of victims of this type of case. Asbestos lawyers can assist families bring a claim against the companies that caused the asbestos-related injuries suffered by their loved family members.

Another major advancement in asbestos litigation has been the rise of class action lawsuits. These asbestos lawsuits allow victims to pursue justice with the help of a lawyer who is familiar with the complex legal issues these cases bring.

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

The most recent major advancement in asbestos litigation is the filing of an action by Massachusetts residents against 4 companies for how they handled asbestos removal and disposal. The lawsuit claimed that the companies did not follow state laws by not properly disposing of asbestos and failing residents from the harmful dust.

Asbestos litigation is a long-running issue that will likely continue for many decades to come. The asbestos industry has tried to shield itself from responsibility using legal arguments based on technicalities and also by attempting to pass legislative solutions that would prevent victims from seeking justice. But, it appears that many victims and their lawyers are determined to get justice.

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