Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

This week a Los Angelels, Calif., county jury ruled in favor of former U.S. Navy machinist Charles H. Cundiff, saying his mesothelioma is a result of the asbestos he handled during his service from 1962-1966. The jury awarded Cundiff and his family $12.1 million in damages from two firms, John Crane, Inc. and Lone Star Industries.

According to a report by AHN Media Corp., it was determined that Cundiff, now 66, handled Insulag cement, manufactured by John Crane Inc. and distributed by Lone Star Industries, when he worked for nine months on a project to overhaul the USS Kitty Hawk during his Navy career as a machinist. The insulating cement was laced with asbestos.

Mesothelioma is attributed exclusively to asbestos exposure. It is a rare cancer that most often affects the lining of the lungs, but which can also attack the lining of the stomach and/or the heart. There is no known cure for mesothelioma at this time.

A Wisconsin appeals court has ruled that a woman who lost her husband to mesothelioma in 2004 is within her rights to sue his former employer. The man, Walter Tatera, worked in a machine shop, where he ground brake linings to be installed in automobiles. His widow claims the manufacturer failed to warn her husband that the parts contained asbestos and could pose a health hazard.

When inhaled, asbestos fibers can become lodged in the body and cause serious health problems, such as asbestosis, a severe scarring of the lungs, and mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that affects the lining of the lungs and, sometimes, the stomach and/or heart.

The mesothelioma lawsuit was filed by Vicki Tatera of Greenfield, and was reinstated on Tuesday by the District 1 Court of Appeals. The defendant is FMC Corp. The case will now go to trial.

Source: Chicago Tribune

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently fined five Arizona charter school operators for violations of the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act. There is no immediate danger to students, faculty or the community, but the schools failed to conduct federally required safety inspections to ensure there was no asbestos-containing material present, and did not have in place an asbestos management plan, also a requirement. Fines totaled close to $40,000 for all five schools.

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According to a recent report in the Insurance Journal, a former Anheuser-Busch employee will have the opportunity to reopen his claim against the company for an asbestos-related lung disease. On May 4, the New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed a decision by the New Hampshire Compensation Appeals Board (CAB), which had earlier ruled the man had waited too long to file a complaint.

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This week a Bay County, Florida, jury awarded $995,600 to Betty McBride of Lynn Haven, whose husband, Woodrow McBride, died of mesothelioma in 2006 at the age of 67. Mr. McBride filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Aug. 10, 2006, but passed away on Sept. 20, 2006, before seeing the case go to trial. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma one year prior to his death.

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