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

A jury in Newport News, Virginia, Circuit Court awarded the family of a former Navy sailor $1.2 million, finding that his death from mesothelioma was linked to the asbestos fibers he inhaled during his career. Gerald Gray died in April at age 75, after battling mesothelioma for 16 months. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that most often affects the lining of the lungs, but which can also affect the lining of the abdomen or, more rarely, the heart. It is caused by asbestos exposure.

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A story published last week in the Daily Press, which serves Newport News, Virginia, reports a new approach to litigation on behalf of mesothelioma victims injured by asbestos exposure on the job. The story involves Stanley Morton, who worked in the shipyard for 33 years as an electrician. He contracted mesothelioma in 2005 after being exposed to asbestos fibers throughout his career, and died at age 72 in 2007. His family sought compensation from Exxon (now Exxon-Mobil) – the company that owned some of the ships Morton worked on – instead of any parts suppliers, a groundbreaking departure from the usual path for such suits.

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The discovery of a vein of asbestos on the site of the $100 million state prison in Grayson County, Virginia, has halted construction, according to a report published today by the Winston-Salem Journal. The project is on hold while developers determine how to remove or contain the mineral. Exposure to asbestos fibers is linked to the development of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

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In August 2007, Occupational Health & Safety magazine reported that a Virginia man was jailed for using homeless people to do improper asbestos removal in a government building in Roanoke.

According to the report, two-time convicted felon John Edward Callahan was sentenced to 21 months in prison for improperly removing cancer-causing asbestos from a government building in Roanoke, Va., without following federal environmental laws according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Callahan also used homeless men to conduct the work.

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