Oklahoma woman claims mesothelioma in asbestos filing

An Oklahoma woman who suffers from mesothelioma filed an asbestos suit against 84 defendant corporations in Madison County Circuit Court May 10, alleging she was exposed to airborne asbestos fibers from her father's and husband's clothing.

Lisa Rawlings claims her husband, Luke, was employed as a welder at various locations across the country including McCombe, Ill.

Her father, Harold Winton, worked as a mechanic.

"Dust created by working with and around asbestos and asbestos-containing products would permeate the person and clothing of the plaintiff's family members," the complaint states. "This dust contained asbestos fiber."

Rawlings claims her father and husband would carry the asbestos dust on their clothing home with him where it would again become airborne.

"The plaintiff would be repeatedly exposed to this asbestos dust from her family members' person and clothing," the complaint states.

Rawlings was employed as a postal worker and teacher at various locations including Illinois.

She claims she was also exposed to asbestos during non-occupational work projects including home and automotive repairs, maintenance and remodeling.

Rawlings was diagnosed with mesothelioma on Feb. 21, and subsequently became aware that her illness was wrongfully caused, the suit claims.

The complaint alleges that defendants failed to require and advise their employees of hygiene practices designed to reduce or prevent carrying asbestos fibers home.

As a result of the alleged negligence, Rawlings claims she was exposed to fibers containing asbestos, and developed a disease caused only by asbestos which has disabled and disfigured her.

She also claims that she has sought, but has been unable to obtain, full disclosure of relevant documents and information from the defendants leading her to believe the defendants destroyed documents related to asbestos.

"It was foreseeable to a reasonable person/entity in the respective positions of defendants, that said documents and information constituted evidence, which was material to potential civil litigation-namely asbestos litigation," the complaint states.

Rawlings claims that as a result of each defendant breaching its duty to preserve material evidence by destroying documents and information she has been prejudiced and impaired in proving claims against all potential parties.

"Plaintiff has been caused to suffer damages in the form of impaired ability to recover against defendants and lost or reduced compensation from other potentially liable parties in this litigation," the complaint states.

Represented by Nicholas Angelides, John Barnerd, Perry Browder, Tim Thompson and Richard Saville of SimmonsCooper in East Alton, Rawlings is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $300,000, plus punitive damages.

"An award of punitive damages is appropriate and necessary in order to punish defendants for their willful, wanton, intentional and/or reckless misconduct and to deter defendants and others from engaging in like misconduct in the future," the complaint states.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Dan Stack.
Courtesy Reference.com

MESOTHELIOMA SYMPTOMS UPDATE

Early symptoms of mesothelioma are generally non-specific, and may lead to a delay in diagnosis, sometimes resembling viral pneumonia.

Asbestos disease or mesothelioma has been documented as the result of even minimal exposure, affecting family members of workers who came into contact with asbestos and brought it home on their clothing, skin or hair.

Less common symptoms of mesothelioma include fever, night sweats and weightloss, pain or swelling in the abdomen due to a build-up of fluid, nausea,weight loss, bowel obstruction, and anemia.

One of the most common symptoms of mesothelioma is a pleural effusion, oran accumulation of fluid around the chest wall, diaphragm and lungs.

Symptoms include shortness of breath, pain ranging from mild to stabbing,and dry cough.
Doctors may recommend chest tube drainage and chemical pleurodesis.

New statistics unveiled by the Health and Safety Executive show an increase in the number of people who have died from mesothelioma

1. The figures released this week show more than 2,000 North East people died from the disease from 1985 to 2004. The figure is increased from 1701 deaths from 1981 to 2000.
2. Additionally the statistics from the Mesothelioma Register show more women than ever are affected by the disease, with 251 deaths during the period compared to 216.
3. Ian McFall, head of asbestos policy at Thompsons Solicitors, said: "These figures once again highlight the devastation asbestos has inflicted on people in the North East. Many of those affected worked in shipyards, factories or building sites and were given no protection or warning about the risks of asbestos exposure despite their employers being fully aware of the dangers.
4. "Although shocking, these figures come as no surprise given the widespread use of asbestos in the past. Sadly, the number of people who will die from this disease will continue to rise until 2020."

Above report is courtesy Reference.com

IMPORTANT DECISION IN MESOTHELIOMA CASE AGAINST FORD COMPANY

1.On March 5, 2007, New York County Supreme Court Justice Karen S. Smith ruled that training manuals from Ford Co., and other companies, can be submitted at trial as admissions of Ford that its asbestos-containing brakes are hazardous and can cause cancer.

2.This ruling was handed down in case #05/115887 CARLOS CEPEDA v. AC&S, INC., et al., filed at the Supreme Court in New York County, a case involving some complex asbestos litigation filed in New York City by the mesothelioma lawyers of Levy Phillips & Konigsberg, LLP.

3.The Ford training manuals' references to the asbestos hazards contradict Ford's litigation position that asbestos-containing brakes are safe. Before the ruling was issued, Ford argued the its training manuals should not be admitted into evidence at trial because the warnings, with regard to the dangers of asbestoses containing brakes and asbestos-containing brake parts, were involuntarily included solely to meet the requirements of the Occupation Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA").

4.Justice Smith rejected this argument in light of the fact that Ford disseminated its training materials to the public at large, whereas the OSHA requirements were only applicable to the employer-employee setting.

5.Furthermore, Justice Smith observed that the warnings contained in Ford's training manuals, in many respects, exceeded the relevant OSHA requirements. Justice Smith also noted that no where in Ford's training materials does it state that its warning about asbestos-containing brake parts have been given solely for the purposes of complying with government regulations. The training materials, at issue, are part of Ford's nationwide training program for independent Ford dealership employees, vocational instructors, and automotive students. Ford offers its training materials to these groups as well as the public at large through the sale of publications, videos, and web-based training. In these materials, whenever Ford addresses asbestos in brakes, it warns of the asbestos hazards to health and often warns that asbestos from brakes can cause diseases including cancer.

MESOTHELIOMA SUFFERER STORY FROM HORSES MOUTH:MESOTHELIOMA-ASBESTOS-LAWYER-CLAIMS.BLOGSPOT.COM

'We had no masks, no gloves, no nothing...'

'I began work in the shipyards in 1955 as an apprentice engineer at the age of 17,' says Peter McIntyre, a 69-year-old with mesothelioma cancer. 'I was fitting the engines into ships and the laggers were working over us and stuff would come down like snowflakes. At the end of the day, my overalls were absolutely white.' Tragically, the 'stuff ' was the deadly dust asbestos and McIntyre recalls workers, unaware of the dangers, throwing it around as though it were 'snowballs': 'We had no masks, no gloves, no nothing.'

McIntyre was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2006, 47 years after he left the dockyards in Scotland and moved to Kendal, Cumbria. Unlike other sufferers who were exposed to asbestos in English shipyards, Peter is entitled to free chemotherapy drugs.

'When I was first diagnosed, Morecambe Bay Primary Care Trust wouldn't fund the treatment,' he says. 'They were prepared to let me pay for it and the costs could have been £50,000.' However he was advised that, because he had been exposed to asbestos in Scotland, he qualified for publicly funded treatment there.

He describes the chemotherapy as 'six months of absolute torture'. 'I wanted to give up many times and it was my family who kept me going. But if I hadn't had the treatment I wouldn't be here now.'

McIntyre is also able to pursue his claim for compensation through the Scottish courts. On his death, his wife Margaret would be able to claim up to £30,000, his two children - in their 40s - would also be able to claim up to £15,000 each, and his five grandchildren potentially have a claim. If he had work ed in a shipyard in England, only his wife would have been able to claim - and then only £10,000. 'Somebody getting mesothelioma in England is the same as somebody getting it in Scotland, what's the difference? Why can't we all get what's due?'

DRUG THREAT FACES VICTIMS OF MESOTHELIOMA

1.Families who are fighting for compensation over work-related cancers now fear withdrawal of NHS funding for a new treatment.

2.Former workers suffering from asbestos-related cancer are facing medical bills of £24,000 and the prospect of having to remortgage their homes, pending a final decision by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) to withdraw approval from the only drug licensed to help sufferers.

3.Every year about 2,000 people die of mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lung that arises from exposure to asbestos, which is nearly always terminal. The numbers are expected to peak between 2011 and 2015.

4.Nice denied approval for the life-extending chemotherapy drug Alimta in June last year, subject to consultation which closed last month. Final guidance is due for publication in September. The uncertainty over NHS funding for chemotherapy treatment (which is still available in parts of the country, including Manchester, Liverpool and certain London boroughs) comes at a time when campaigners are increasingly concerned about the financial security of families blighted by the disease, despite new government proposals for fast-tracking financial support for those diagnosed with the devastating illness.

5.'No amount of money will ever make up for the suffering and loss to individuals and families caused by mesothelioma,' John Hutton, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said last month. 'But no one should have to worry that they, or their family, will have to wait years before they see a penny of compensation; especially as in many of those cases people don't have years to wait.'

6.On average, sufferers die within 12 to 18 months of diagnosis. Hutton has promised everyone should get a state benefit within six weeks of making a claim, rather than just those exposed at work, as was once the case.

7.Ministers had been forced to step in and overrule a judgment by the law lords in the case of Sylvia Barker (reported in The Observer last May), the latest in a series of attempts by insurers to evade liability by deploying technical legal arguments. Five years ago, they attempted to strike out thousands of claims from sufferers by arguing that responsibility couldn't be shared if more than one employer exposed a worker. The Lords overruled that judgment. But last summer insurers did a U-turn, successfully arguing in the Barker case that if there was more than one employer, compensation should be split between them all. As some have now gone out of business or are impossible to track down, this would have meant some families missing out on part or all of their compensation.

8.Alarmed at this prospect, ministers stepped in to protect ex-workers by amending the Compensation Bill, which was then going through parliament. The new law is now on the statute books and makes negligent employers 'jointly and severally liable', so sufferers can recover full compensation from any employer or insurer. However, the non-availability of Alimta on the NHS seriously compounds the financial problems of sufferers already anxious about challenges over modest levels of compensation paid out. The treatment is available privately at a cost of around £24,000 for the entire course, including hospital costs, although some sufferers have been quoted double that amount.

9.'People have been contacting us who have remortgaged or sold their homes to pay,' reports Chris Knighton, founder of the Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund. Her husband died of the disease in 2001, aged 60, after exposure to asbestos while serving in the Royal Navy. He died seven months after diagnosis. 'When I heard that there was a drug being licensed that would give people a better quality of life for longer, I thought it was a lifeline. There was nothing for my husband,' she says.

10.The charity is funding a study at the Northern Institute for Cancer Research to find out which patients will benefit most from Alimta. 'For a condition where there's no cure, it's so important that it's offered. It's so devastating and cruel for it to be denied,' adds Knighton.

11.Nick Thatcher, professor of oncology at the Christie Hospital NHS Trust and Wythenshawe Hospital, describes Nice's decision as 'crazy'. 'It's the only proven licensed treatment and isn't that expensive [for the NHS] - only £7,000 for the complete treatment course.'Nice insists that Alimta is not 'superior to other, far less costly treatment regimens', but Thatcher disagrees. He believes the treatment significantly increases life expectancy, alleviates pain which cannot be lessened by opiates, and helps with breathlessness. 'One in four people on Almita survive two years and more, and generally have a good quality of life,' he says. 'They wouldn't have that with other chemotherapy that's cheaper and not as effective. In terms of social justice, to not treat an industrial disease is extraordinary, especially when the cost is pretty minimal.' Alimta is widely available throughout the EU.

12.The trade union law firm Thompsons has launched a campaign to highlight the difference in the treatment of mesothelioma sufferers north and south of the border. In England and Wales, the level of bereavement compensation is fixed at £10,000 under the Fatal Accidents Act. In Scotland, payments of up to £30,000 have been made to widows by the courts, plus payments of between £10,000 and £15,000 to other family members.

NEEDS OF PATIENT MUST DRIVE THE PROCEDURE FOR MESOTHELIOMA

1.The adage Less is more does not necessarily apply when it comes to surgery for pleural mesothelioma. In fact, more extensive surgery can give some patients the best shot at increased longevity and quality of life.

2.In a 2006 article*, thoracic surgeon David J. Sugarbaker, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital stated that the goal of surgery for pleural mesothelioma should always be the complete removal of all tumor tissue visible to the naked eye.

3.A complex disease, an ongoing debate“Because mesothelioma can take on many forms and involve different parts of the lung, people have been comparing apples and oranges for many years” when weighing the pros and cons of surgeries for the disease, says Sugarbaker.“We’re used to asking, ‘Do we perform a more extensive procedure or a more conservative one?’ when it comes to surgery, but that debate doesn’t apply as much to mesothelioma,” he says. “The goal should always be to remove all of the visible cancer, and then to follow the surgery with drugs that kill the cancer cells that we couldn’t see.”The fewer mesothelioma cells that remain, the fewer cells post-surgical drug therapies will be tasked with killing – which is clearly a good thing.What surgeons should strive for, Sugarbaker says, is a macroscopic complete resection (MCR).

4. A few brief definitions may help explain the issue:• Macroscopic complete resection (MCR) – The surgical removal of all tumor tissue visible to the human eye• Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) – The surgical removal of the affected lung, the covering of the heart, and the diaphragm• Pleurectomy (P/D) – Also known as decortication, the surgical removal of tumors confined to the surface (cortex) of the lung• Pleural mesothelioma – Mesothelioma that occurs inside the chest cavity, and makes up 90% of cases of the diseaseSome tumors are limited to the surface of lung, and in those cases, MCR often can be achieved with a pleurectomy, explains Sugarbaker. But for patients with tumors that have grown down into the fissures of the lung, between the lobes, an EPP – a much more extensive procedure – may be the best choice.“Physicians familiar with the disease process of mesothelioma understand that EPPs are not interchangeable with pleurectomies,” he says.

5.“The needs of the patient must drive the procedure”So where does this leave people diagnosed with mesothelioma?“They should understand that if a surgeon performs only one type of operation to remove mesothelioma, that surgeon may not be able to provide the most appropriate treatment for them,” Sugarbaker stresses. “Because each procedure requires specialized knowledge and experience, patients with a potentially removable tumor should look for a surgeon skilled at performing whichever procedure is necessary to achieve MCR.”In short, “the needs of the patient – not the services offered by the surgeon – must always drive the procedure that is chosen,” he says. “My research has shown that when treated appropriately for their disease state, mesothelioma patients can live for a long time – which tells us that appropriately selected surgical procedures can make a difference.”