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Mesothelioma and Asbestos Updates for April
The mesothelioma lawyers at the Simmons Firm have brought together some of this month's headlines, offering information on asbestos exposure, mesothelioma research, and support.
- Proposed Budget Cuts Could Impact Public Health:
As reported by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), “The U.S. Administration has announced a new budget that will significantly decrease funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government agencies.” Cutting the EPA’s budget by 1/3, the impact of these cuts may result in a reduction in critical environment and health programs, halt updates to existing protective guidance, and eliminate the fibers program activities. In their posting, the ADAO warns that more than 10,000 Americans die every year from preventable asbestos-caused diseases, and is concerned of the negative impact these cuts will have on the health and safety of the American public. - Hidden Killer Campaign:
In effort to raise continued awareness about the negative effects of asbestos exposure, The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has launched an awareness campaign entitled the “Hidden Killer.” According to the HSE, research indicates a number of tradespeople, including plumbers, electricians, joiners, tradesmen, and construction workers, are uninformed about the risks they face. The objective of the Hidden Killer campaign is to raise awareness of the risks of asbestos and to encourage tradesmen to take positive action in educating and protecting themselves. - Optimism Surrounding Pleural Mesothelioma Treatment Case Study:
During a recent case study, a patient with Stage II pleural mesothelioma responded positively to chemotherapy prior to surgery. While it is important to note this is not a typical response, it demonstrates the potential ability of chemotherapy to eradicate the tumor. - Mesothelioma Victims Deserve Better Than Wasteful Legal Maneuvers:
This Los Angeles Times article reviews the tactics used by asbestos industry lawyers. Citing the case of Michael Hiltzik, a Marine veteran and mesothelioma patient, the article asks the question, “Did asbestos industry lawyers deliberately drive Johnson to his death by putting him through a brutal series of depositions so their clients would save money?” According to the Los Angeles Times, Johnson’s family, lawyers and doctors believe that defense attorneys intentionally used “’delay tactics and stalling,’ in the expectation that he would die before he reached the finish line.” - Fred Couples Designates Portion of the Presidents Cup Proceeds to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation:
Fred Couples, a 15-time PGA TOUR event winner and six-time Champions Tour event winner, recently designated $25,000 of the proceeds from The Presidents Cup golf tournament to the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation (Meso Foundation). The President Cup does not offer a cash prize to participants. Instead, team captains allocate certain portions of the proceeds to charitable causes. The Meso Foundation is a leading organization, dedicated to eradicating mesothelioma as a form of life ending cancer. In addition to funding peer-reviewed mesothelioma research, the Meso foundation offers personalized and up-to-date information to patients and their families. - Crucial Supreme Court Ruling in "Take-Home" Asbestos Case:
An Illinois Supreme Court ruling offers a mesothelioma law firm, the Simmons Firm, a chance to prove in court that a railroad had a duty of care to a Granite City woman who died of cancer. The women allegedly died of asbestos related cancer after her husband brought home toxic dust on his work clothing. According to Ted Gianaris, a partner in The Simmons Firm, "The implications are great and very important.” This ruling upholds precedence in Illinois case law that employers have a duty to warn the immediate family members of their employees who are at risk of being exposed to asbestos.
Asbestos Awareness Conference Exposes Startling Truth of Asbestos Use in India
Over the weekend, I attended the 8th Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference, hosted by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization in Los Angeles. The event was the kickoff to National Asbestos Awareness Week here in the United States and Global Asbestos Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday. We’re proud to support the important asbestos awareness content and programs ADAO has scheduled for this week.
Learn more about National Asbestos Awareness Week events >>>
Last week, I posted about Keynote Speaker Matt Peacock’s presentation about India’s Toxic Trade. Peacock, an investigative reporter with the Australian Broadcasting Company, compared his investigation to being in a time warp from 30 years ago when developed countries imported the deadly fiber by tens of thousands of tons.
“I was amazed that exactly the same of lies were being peddled,” Peacock told conference attendees.
As an asbestos attorney who has worked with hundreds of asbestos victims, I have seen firsthand the devastating effects an asbestos-related disease has on individuals and their families. Mr. Peacock’s presentation was eye-opening. He showed image after image of Indian workers, wearing only flimsy face masks as protection, physically transporting piles of asbestos fibers. Comparatively, in the United States, workers would be clothed head to toe in white haz-mat suits.
I’ve linked Peacock’s video clip below. In honor of Global Asbestos Awareness Week, I encourage you to take a few minutes and watch it. Asbestos is not a problem of the past. Instead, it’s become an international public health crisis that causes the death of thousands of people, including Americans, around the world every year.
Watch “India: The Toxic Trade” >>> Comments (0)
ADAO Meets with Surgeon General Days Before Annual Asbestos Conference
Linda Reinstein, co-founder of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, is truly a woman on the go.
She is incredibly busy with the 8th International Asbestos Awareness Conference coming up this weekend in Los Angeles. Yet last Friday she and ADAO co-founder Doug Larkin still found time to visit with the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin and her Deputy Surgeon General Boris Lushniak in Washington, DC.
The meeting, as Linda wrote in her blog post, was crucial because it gave them a chance to inform Dr. Benjamin how critical the Surgeon General’s office is to protecting U.S. lives from asbestos exposure. In 2009, the Surgeon General issued a National Asbestos Week statement. Linda has hopes this visit will motivate a 2012 statement that provides critical support in raising awareness of the harmful effects of asbestos exposure.
The work Linda and ADAO are doing to help raise awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure makes a difference. This is why the Simmons Firm is proud to be the organization’s longest supporter. She is always willing to trek across the country if it means one less family doesn’t have to experience the tragedy of a preventable death from an asbestos-related disease.
It’s people like her who continue to make the world a better place for us all. Comments (0)
An Early Congratulations to Meso Survivor Larry Davis, Others Honored by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
On behalf of the firm, I would like to recognize this year’s ADAO Asbestos Awareness Conference honorees, including our client Larry Davis, a mesothelioma survivor from Pompano Beach, Fla. We would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners for the selfless work they’ve done not just this year, but in many cases over decades of their careers.
Giving out awards to recognize the work done to promote asbestos awareness is so important because it give the mesothelioma community a reason to celebrate. This year’s winners not only give us hope but they prove that together the mesothelioma community is making a difference.
Larry has been awarded the Alan Reinstein Award for his commitment to education, advocacy and support to countless patients and families. Since 2010, he has organized the South Florida Miles for Meso 8K race in Boca Raton, Fla., which has cumulatively raised nearly $100,000 for mesothelioma research.
This award couldn’t have gone to a better person. Larry’s ability to preserve against such a tough diagnosis like mesothelioma is inspiring. He never gives up. He has confronted his disease head on and has built the South Florida Miles for Meso race into a spectacular event. How can you not be inspired by his story?
Additional award winners are:
- U.S. Representative Steve Cohen, (D-TN), Tribute of Hope Award
- Dr. Richard Lemen, Dr. Irving Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award
- Dr. Arthur Frank, Dr. Irving Selikoff Lifetime Achievement Award
- Joel Shurfro, Tribute of Inspiration Award
- Associazione Familiari Vittime Amianto (AFEVA) Tribute of Unity Award
- Debbie Brewer, Alan Reinstein Award
ADAO will also posthumously honor well-known actor Steve McQueen who died of mesothelioma. McQueen’s widow Barbara McQueen will accept the Warren Zevon Tribute Award in her husband’s honor. A tribute banquet will be held to honor Steve McQueen’s memory on March 30 and is open to the public. The evening will include cocktails, a performance by Jordan Zevon, a book signing by Barbara McQueen and a silent auction.
Click here to learn more about the Steve McQueen Tribute Banquet.
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Roxana Village Takes on Shell Oil, ConocoPhillips Over Chemical Contamination of Community
Yesterday our law firm filed suit on behalf of the Village of Roxana against Shell Oil Company, ConocoPhillips, and WRB Refining LP, alleging toxins such as benzene were released into the surrounding residential area, polluting the groundwater, land and air of the small community of less than 2,000 residents. Attorney Mike Stewart I have been investigating this case since last summer.
In an Alton Telegraph article, Stewart talked about how this case is personal for our firm.
Simmons Firm in Alton owner John Simmons graduated from Roxana High School, and the firm also has several ties to the community, with one of the attorneys living there; so for him, it is personal, said Simmons attorney Michael Stewart.
"We have become very close to the village of Roxana and the homeowners, residents and taxpayers through this process," Stewart said. "The village has rights, and so do the others. The village came to us with a problem, and this is where the road has taken us."
Click to read more from the Telegraph >>>
Click here to read coverage by St. Louis Public Radio >>>
Comments (0)Asbestos Conference Features Internationally Known Anti-Asbestos Advocates
In just two short weeks, myself and other attorneys and staff with the Simmons Firm will attend the 8th Annual International Asbestos Awareness Conference in California from March 30 to April 1. We’re proud not only to once again be a platinum sponsor of the event, but are also proud to be ADAO’s longest sponsor.
With so little accurate information available about the dangers of asbestos exposure and asbestos-related diseases, events like the ADAO conference are vital for getting the most up-to-date information about the work being done to spread awareness of this international public health crisis.
This year several sessions will focus on international asbestos problems. ABC Investigative Reporter Matt Peacock will present on India’s toxic asbestos trade. Peacock has spent decades covering the toxic scandals caused by asbestos trade, but even he was shocked by what he uncovered in India.
While developed countries are struggling to rid themselves of asbestos and are grappling with the tragedy of latent asbestos-related diseases, India has ignored the lessons learned by countries like the United States and plunged head-first into manufacturing the deadly fiber. Peacock has covered the hazards faced by Indian workers exposed to asbestos, the majority of which is imported from Canada. Sadly, we know all too well what the consequences of unregulated exposure will mean for India’s workers and families.
Learn More about Matt’s Coverage of India’s Toxic Trade >>
Labor Inspector Fernanda Giannasi will update attendees on her battle against asbestos manufactures in Brazil. Called by some as the “Brockovich of Brazil” Giannasi has spent her 25-year career with the federal Ministry of Labor and Employment trying to shut down the asbestos industry in the South American country. I’m looking forward to learning more about this courageous woman’s story.
Learn More about Fernanda’s Fight Against Brazilian Asbestos Manufactures >>>
As a trial attorney, I have seen the pain caused by mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases time and time again. A global, total ban on asbestos is needed.
Closer to home, Dr. Joel Shufro, executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health, a non-profit organization, will also be sharing information about the health status of the rescue workers, employees and residents of New York impacted by the World Trade Center attack. Thousands of tons of toxins, including asbestos, were released into downtown New York on Sept. 11, 2001. Since the attack, NYCOSH has been involved in helping the thousands of people who participated in the rescue, recovery and clean up efforts surrounding the attack who are now becoming sick with asbestosis and other respiratory illnesses because of their exposure on that day.
Linda Reinstein, president of ADAO and her staff, have secured a stellar line up of speakers for this year’s conference. Since the ADAO Conference started eight years ago, it has continually provided in-depth content unavailable elsewhere. With presentations by Matt Peacock, Fernanda Giannasi and Dr. Shufro, plus many more, this year’s ADAO conference is shaping up to be one of the best.
Whether you are a trial lawyer, activist, medical practitioner or have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease, this conference has something for everyone.
Click here to view the agenda or to register. Comments (0)Protect Missouri Workers Website Launched to Protect Worker Rights
Simmons Firm Urges Missourians to Visit Non-Profit Group & Ask Gov. Nixon to Veto Anti-Worker Bill, SB 572
A grass roots movement called Protect Missouri Workers has been started to oppose a harmful bill that sits on the desk of Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. Senate Bill 576 seeks to prevent patients suffering from serious occupational injuries like mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases from receiving full and fair compensation from their employers who negligently exposed them to asbestos in the work place.
Protect Missouri Workers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the rights of Missouri residents who have invested years into building successful careers and were then injured on the job through no fault of their own. Comprised of Missouri workers, families, physicians and ordinary citizens, Protect Missouri Workers’ purpose is to support workers and their families severely injured, killed or otherwise harmed by exposure to deadly asbestos and other toxic contaminants in the workplace. Several of the featured stories on the site come from Simmons Firm mesothelioma clients.
The Simmons Firm encourages all Missouri residents to visit the organization’s website to learn more about this harmful legislation. On the site, visitors can take action by clicking on the “Make Your Voice Heart” button. A letter will be generated that they can then personalize and send to Gov. Nixon, asking him to veto the bill.
Please join us in opposition of Senate Bill 572 and make your voice heard. Comments (0)
