Mesothelioma & Asbestos Cancer

Congress is currently wrestling with a bill to reconcile a multitude of asbestos cancer lawsuits while thousands of mesothelioma sufferers wait for an outcome. In the meantime, these thousands afflicted with mesothelioma wait without the compensation they so rightfully deserve. The most recent studies released by the nation’s leading and foremost authority, the American Thoracic Society (ATS), documents that asbestos in the workplace is currently a danger for nearly 1.5 million construction industry workers and maintenance workers specializing in buildings and heavy equipment. This same asbestos research study also provides a stern warning that even new products may contain the known carcinogen, asbestos. These products are of an everyday nature and include automotive parts, construction materials, synthetic sheeting (industrial), and cement pipe and conduit that have been produced overseas. The fact that these products even exist creates a clear and present danger in the workplace, unknowingly exposing thousands of workers to asbestos exposure and unfortunately, mesothelioma or asbestos cancer.

In 2000 legislation was first introduced to deal with the topic of asbestos-related cancers, particularly mesothelioma. The initial concern was that the majority of asbestos-related cancers, particularly mesothelioma, were a thing of the past. The nature of this primary legislation was to deal only with the remaining cases of those who had been exposed to this potent carcinogen, initially thought to have been born between 1924 and 1929. Nearly five years has passed and the Asbestos Bill has yet to be resolved. Simultaneously, an entirely new generation of asbestos victims and mesothelioma suffers have come forward, and government researchers are wary that the tremendous influx of those afflicted with this terrible, and preventable, disease may bog down the system the next twenty years.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Orin Hatch, and his focus is mainly on malignant asbestos cancers. Unfortunately, in the unlikely event that this bill is approved, many common asbestos-related illnesses may be excluded. One very common form of asbestos related disease is asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs that creates respiratory problems, heart failure and another condition known as pleural plaque, a fibrous thickening of the chest cavity lining. Although technically not a cancer, asbestosis is lethal and even more prevalent than the majority of asbestos-related cancers. The disease may not legally fit the category, but the results are still devastating.

This quagmire of congressional red tape means that asbestos cancer victims may experience even greater difficulty collecting well-deserved settlements with government assistance. Legislation may go on indefinitely as mesothelioma sufferers experience mounting medical bills or even the complete inability to receive any medical treatment.

Large corporations understand that this bill will most likely serve their financial interests since the life expectancy of those diagnosed with mesothelioma is relatively short and the bill would create a reparation fund for the living. These same corporations would rather have to deal with the loved ones of the deceased as opposed to having to make reparations to a living mesothelioma sufferer. It’s all dollars and cents when it comes to the multinational conglomerates that are responsible for exposing tens of thousands of unsuspecting workers to this documented carcinogen, asbestos. In some cases, these corporations are attempting to wipe the slate clean by providing a blanket settlement to this class of mesothelioma cancer sufferers. This settlement would equate to pennies on the dollar in relation to the medical expenses of the victims and the damage done to the families that have been destroyed in the process. insert recent Business Week article;

"Betting Against the Asbestos Bill

USG's willingness to cough up $4 billion to settle victims' claims underscores the poor chances for passage of the Senate's mammoth legislation

As the Senate prepares for a marathon debate over an industry-paid $140 billion fund to compensate victims of asbestos exposure, at least one big corporation with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake is casting a vote of no confidence in the bill.

On Jan. 27, USG (USG ) is expected to announce a $4 billion deal to settle victims' claims that some of its products caused cancer or other lung-scarring diseases, say several sources familiar with the deal. The settlement amount equals 10 times what USG would have to pay into the trust fund under consideration in Congress. USG executives did not return a phone call late on Jan. 26 for comment.

"UNTENABLE" SITUATION. Its announcement of a settlement just two weeks before the Senate is set to take up the legislation, suggests that USG is betting the $140 billion fund lacks enough support for passage, asbestos litigation experts say. And it has probably made the right choice: After three years of negotiations among industry players, insurers, workers, and victims' lawyers, the asbestos trust fund, led by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), has grown into a mammoth and complex piece of legislation that would financially penalize insurers and small companies with limited legal liability while giving a handful of large manufacturers, such as USG, a huge break.

In recent months, onetime supporters of the legislation, including the American Insurance Assn., have withdrawn their support. In a Jan. 20 letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), AIA President Marc Racicot said the trust fund would leave insurers with "an even more untenable, expensive situation than that posed by the current, highly dysfunctional litigation system." Debate on the legislation is set to begin Feb. 6, but fiscal conservatives, led by Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), are expected to make quick work of it with a procedural vote that would kill the bill on the grounds that it violates budget rules.

Asbestos fibers are linked to mesothelioma, an especially acute form of lung cancer, as well as other respiratory illnesses. Hundreds of thousands of claims logged in the last 35 years have clogged courtrooms and pushed more than 70 companies into bankruptcy. In 1999, the U.S. Supreme Court called on Congress to fix what Justice David Souter called an "elephantine mass" of litigation clogging U.S. courts.

AN UNFAIR SHARE? Under the Senate bill, asbestos victims would give up their right to sue, then get a fixed amount according to the severity of their illness. But the fund, which would receive financing from asbestos defendant companies and their insurers, has come under fire on several fronts.

Small companies claim they'll have to bear an unfair share of the fund's costs. Companies that already have settled their asbestos liability with multibillion-dollar trust funds would have to turn that money over to the global fund, a requirement they intend to challenge in the courts as unconstitutional, should the bill pass. And if the fund runs out of money, as some predict, asbestos claims would revert back to the courts, leaving companies exposed to further liability.

In settling its asbestos claims, USG joins a growing list of corporations that have settled asbestos liability even as the global trust fund moves through the Senate. On Jan. 18, a U.S. District Court judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana approved a $1.4 billion asbestos settlement by McDermott International (MDR ). And in February, 2005, Halliburton (HAL ) reached a $4.3 billion settlement with asbestos victims."

The only common sense alternative for these mesothelioma sufferers is to retain aggressive and competent legal counsel, whether it is a mesothelioma law firm, asbestos cancer litigation attorney or any lawyer experienced in asbestos cancer litigation and settlements. These “asbestos attorneys” or “mesothelioma law firms” can help to collect damages for the victims of those exposed to asbestos in the workplace while they are still alive.

Although a rare form of cancer, mesothelioma kills victims in a relatively short period of time and currently there is no cure for this dreaded disease.

Although Congress has the ability to create a segregated or nominee fund to compensate mesothelioma cancer victims, the legislation currently seems insurmountable. Those afflicted with mesothelioma or other asbestos related cancers must take action independently in order to collect the compensation they deserve, and hopefully curb the use of asbestos-based products in the workplace, saving tens of thousands of lives in the future.

Some of that nation’s premier asbestos law firms and mesothelioma lawyers are joining forces and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote mesothelioma awareness. While the Democrats and Republicans debate over a bill that may or may not benefit those exposed to asbestos, these socially minded legal professionals are taking on the corporate giants in separate litigations and class action asbestos lawsuits in order to help mesothelioma suffers live out the remainder of their lives as comfortably as possible and also to help the families they leave behind.

Due to the fact that asbestos cancer symptoms can go unnoticed for years until the cancer has metastasized, or spread to other vital areas of the body, the time to secure legal representation is now if you believe you or a loved one has been exposed to asbestos in the workplace. There are many reputable, compassionate and experienced asbestos litigator and mesothelioma law firms who can provide you with the help you deserve. Even if you currently have no symptoms, you still may be at risk to contract this dreaded form of asbestos cancer.

Contact an experienced asbestos attorney and/or mesothelioma specialty law firm to learn more about your rights, Be sure to exercise due diligence when retaining legal counsel and always make sure the mesothelioma attorney or asbestos law firm you are dealing with is experienced in mesothelioma litigation cases as well as appeals.

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