Personal Injury Case Law

Asbestos and politics

Frank — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 18:48:00 +0000

A Washington Post article on Fred Thompson's connection to asbestos interests has driven some to contact me as a result of my last two posts. Tort Deform.com blogs on this and so does Congresspedia on Fred Thompson. My assessment is that though this may be somewhat inconsistent with Thompson's true conservatism, it's not completely as asbestos in Wisconsin and elsewhere is more of a national issue, then say medical malpractice or car accidents. For example, many who were in our U.S. Navy suffer from asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma.

This isn't to say that I'm not curious about this, but at the moment it doesn't dissuade me from an interest in Fred Thompson.

Wisconsin Personal Injury Attorney

First Jury Verdict in Asbestos Talc Case

William G. Pintas — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 23:22:00 +0000

"NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Industrial talc, an open-pit- mined mineral used in ceramic, paint, and paper manufacturing contains lethal, cancer-causing asbestos fibers responsible for a pottery artisan's fatal mesothelioma, a jury ruled today in the first-ever U.S. verdict connecting industrial talc with asbestos-related cancer."
"More than $3 million in compensatory damages were awarded by a Middlesex County Superior Court jury to a New Jersey widow whose husband operated pottery studios in Skillman, Lawrenceville and Lambertville, New Jersey before contracting the agonizingly painful, always fatal disease."

Jury Awards $13.5 Million in Retrial of Texas Asbestos Case

William G. Pintas — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:01:00 +0000

"A jury in Dallas, Texas, last week awarded $13.5 million to the survivors of a man who contracted an asbestos-related cancer decades after being exposed to a joint-compound product manufactured by Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corp.

Attorneys from Dallas-based Baron & Budd told jurors that Timothy Shawn Bostic, who died of mesothelioma on Sept. 5, 2003, had been exposed to the fire-retardant mineral as a child and teen working with his father. According to Baron & Budd lawyers Charla G. Aldous and Chris Panatier, evidence at trial included documents showing that Georgia-Pacific officials knew of the health hazards caused by asbestos as early as 1966, but the company continued to manufacture asbestos-containing products until 1977.

Bostic’s wife and child had been awarded $9.3 million in March 2005 in the case. But, said Aldous, because the trial judge expressed concern over the way the jury had calculated punitive damages, she offered the plaintiffs the opportunity to either accept a reduced award or face a new trial.

'We decided to take a chance on a new trial,' said Aldous. 'As it turned out, that was a good decision.'"

Read the full article at Law.com here.