Every year more than 10,000 Americans die every year from asbestos related diseases, like mesothelioma. As asbestos attorneys, we see the hardship this disease can cause on individuals and families first hand.

The worst part is that this is a preventable disease. Many people think prevention steps have already been taken through an asbestos ban, but that’s not true. Asbestos is still used in certain products in the United States. In Canada, it’s legal to mine and export this deadly mineral to developing countries like India.

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization has organized a petition against asbestos use in North America. Released today, the goal is to collect 10,000 signatures to send to President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Please give a few minutes of your time to sign and pass the petition on to your friends and family.

We’re having a busy week here at the firm getting ready for our annual Miles for Meso 5K race, which is happening this Saturday.

This year we’ve increased the prize money for the race to more than $6,000. That’s the largest 5K race purse in the Midwest. And it’s gotten a lot of attention. As of yesterday we have over 500 people registered to attend, including about 30 elite runners.

If you’re not planning on attending, but live in the Alton area, I would encourage you to come out and watch. The elite runners, who’ve come from all over the country and even Kenya, should make for an exciting event to watch. Here’s the Alton course map, if you’re interested.

The firm held the first Miles for Meso race in 2009 as a way to celebrate Mesothelioma Awareness Day and raise awareness about mesothelioma, a deadly cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Cumulatively the Alton race has fundraised over $50,000 for mesothelioma research. 

Huge thanks go to our Platinum sponsor STL Communications and our Gold Sponsors Clover Leaf Bank and Jenner & Block. (See the complete list over at the Miles for Meso sponsorship page.)

2011 Alton Miles for Meso Press Release

Alton Telegraph Article about Miles for Meso

If you still haven’t signed up to attend, registration will be open 7:30-8:45 a.m. on Saturday before the race at our new building, One Court St., in Alton. To learn more, visit the Alton Race page on the Miles for Meso web site.

Breathtaking, a documentary on the deadly consequences of asbestos exposure, tells the story of filmmaker Kathleen Mullen's father who died of mesothelioma as a result of Canada's asbestos mining industry. 

The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization will give a free, online screening of Breathtaking at 6:30 p.m. EST on Monday, Sept. 26, 2011.

The 45 minute screening will begin with a short introduction from Mullen and conclude with a thirty minute question and answer session via Twitter with the filmmaker and ADAO President and Co-Founder, Linda Reinstein.

Mullen uses heartbreaking clips of her dying father’s legal testimony, together with family photos, and home movies to take the audience on an investigative journey.  From her family home in British Columbia to Quebec, India and Detroit, Mullen paints a global, yet still personal picture of the many lives affected by the continued use of asbestos.

“ADAO is thrilled to be able to bring this critical issue to the forefront through the incredible film, Breathtaking. It is through the new avenues of digital technology and social media that we are seeing awareness about asbestos hazards expand rapidly around the globe,” said Reinstein in a press release about the livestreaming event.

Watch Breathtaking on Sept. 26 by visiting the ADAO blog.

This Sunday, Julie Gundlach, a client of the firm, will organize an asbestos awareness booth at the 22^nd Annual St. Louis Earth Day Festival in Forest Park. The booth is called the International Mesothelioma & Asbestos Awareness booth and is located under the covered walkway by the St. Louis Muny.

Julie will distribute information about asbestos and mesothelioma and collect signatures to support a U.S. ban on asbestos. She will then take those signatures to our congressional representatives later this summer when she travels to Washington for the MARF conference.

She is looking for additional volunteers to help gather signatures or for people to stop by and sign the petition anytime between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. They'll be there all day. If you don’t have plans, please consider attending and helping out as this is a great opportunity to tell people about the environmental dangers of asbestos exposure.

St. Louis’ Earth Day is reputed to be one of the largest celebrations of the holiday in the country. This year more than 200 artists, educational exhibitors, food vendors, businesses and organizations will set up booths throughout Forest Park. Other special events include live musical performances, a Mississippi River barge trip and a recycling extravaganza.

Earlier this month, Julie was awarded the Alan Reinstein Award by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization for her commitment to spreading awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. The St. Louis Earth Day is one of the many advocacy initiatives, like Miles for Meso, that she does in the St. Louis area.

During the 7th Annual Asbestos Disease Awareness Conference, Julie shared her story and encouraged others to get involved through a presentation called "The Power of Public Health Advocacy: A Patient's Perspective." It's easy for everyone to dismiss the power they have to make a difference, especially when they're going up against businesses who have been using asbestos for decades. But Julie's story, and this presentation, is encouraging. She's only one person, but through her work, a difference is being made.

The Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation has partnered with another major university in its quest to support medical experts and researchers working to improve the quality of life for mesothelioma patients and their families.

The foundation will be awarding the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute $350,000 over three years. The funding will improve UPCI’s Comprehensive Mesothelioma Program and the UPMC Cancer Centers work specifically relating to the study of mesothelioma and treatment of this deadly disease. UPCI is the only NCI designated comprehensive cancer center in western Pennsylvania.

“We are incredibly thankful for the generous gift from the Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation to expand our program, which will positively impact the lives of so many people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their families,” said Dr. David Bartlett, chief of surgical oncology, in UPCI’s official release.

The amount of research dollars for orphan diseases like mesothelioma is scarce. This is why benefit races like Miles for Meso, Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation initiative, are so vital to the effort of finding a cure.

This Sunday, the Simmons Law Firm will sponsor the first Miles for Meso of 2011 in Boca Raton, Florida. It’s organized by meso survivor and advocate Larry Davis. Four years ago, Larry was told he had six months to live. Larry believes he’s winning his battle against mesothelioma because of his willingness to think outside the box when it came to his treatment options and his love of running.

Now, four years years later, Larry has run multiple marathons and hosted several events to promote mesothelioma awareness. For this year’s South Florida race, he’s recruited his physician, Dr. Richard Alexander, a mesothelioma clinical researcher from the University of Maryland Medical Center, to speak the night before the event about his research and the importance of fundraising events like Miles for Meso.

“This type of support is going to be increasingly important,” he told a reporter with the Sun Sentential. “The competition for research dollars is fierce these days.

According to the article, fewer than 10 percent of the research projects submitted to the National Institutes of Health receive federal funding. Less than one percent of the funded projects benefit mesothelioma or lung cancer projects.

Thanks to efforts by nonprofits like the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and the Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation, alternative funding is available for medical experts who are working toward finding a cure.

Visit Miles for Meso website to learn more about how you can organize your own race and start making a difference in the fight against mesothelioma today.

Watch the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s video about Miles for Meso

For me, December and the holiday season has always been a time to reflect on the past year. A time to remember the challenges we’ve overcome; the projects we’ve spearheaded; and the goals we’ve achieved. Below I’ve compiled highlights from 2010.

Throughout the year, our attorneys continued to fight on behalf of victims of mesothelioma and their families. This summer, we secured a favorable appeal in Simpkins v. CSX Transportation for all Illinois families impacted by a mesothelioma diagnosis. The Appellate Court of Illinois ruled that employers do have a duty to inform their employees’ family members about the dangers of take home asbestos exposure. The ruling established an important precedent for mesothelioma victims and their families.

The firm’s success did not stop with our mesothelioma practice. This spring the commercial litigation department secured a $32 million dollar settlement in an antitrust lawsuit. Then throughout the year, the intellectual property department secured two preliminary injunctions in separate cases, including one involving camouflage sports apparel and vampire welding helmets. This year once again proved that partnering with clients, instead of billing exorbitant hourly rates, gets better results, faster.

Our pharmaceutical litigation department gained momentum early on in 2010 by attaining leadership roles in the Yaz and Chantix cases, both examples of high-visibility litigation the firm has handled over the years. I expect momentum to only increase as our phrama team continues to advocate for consumer rights and investigate drugs pulled from the market by the Food & Drug Administration through 2011.

The mesothelioma community made great strides in 2010 by ramping up efforts to improve awareness of mesothelioma and the dangers of asbestos. We were pleased to celebrate several victories with our friends at the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation. In April, the U.S. senate passed a resolution declaring the first week of April as National Asbestos Awareness Week. Then, in November, after many months of hard work educating congressional leaders about the need for more awareness about mesothelioma, the U.S. House passed a resolution making Sept. 26, National Mesothelioma Awareness Day. The mesothelioma community has also moved into the social media world. You can now fan the Simmons firm, Miles for Meso, Ban Asbestos Now! and ADAO & MARF on Facebook.

In 2010, the firm tripled our own ongoing efforts to promote awareness of mesothelioma by becoming the national sponsor of Miles for Meso, starting the Simmons Mesothelioma Foundation, and celebrating the opening of the Simmons Cancer Institute.

The firm’s non-profit endeavors did much during 2010 to help our community and cancer patients across the county. The Foundation formed critical partnerships with leading medical mesothelioma experts throughout the country, which provides mesothelioma patients with cutting-edge treatment options regardless of where they’re located in the United States. In addition, the firm hosted the Second Annual Alton 5K Miles for Meso Run & Walk, and sponsored additional Miles for Meso races in Florida, Indiana and Virginia. The three races combined raised approximately $40,000 for mesothelioma research and drew just under 1,000 participants.

I’m also proud of the work our employees, through the Simmons Employee Foundation, have done this year to improve life in our local community. This spring, they hosted their 4^th Annual Dinner Auction, which raised more than $200,000 for two area charities. Then this fall, the employee’s annual golf tournament raised just over $15,000 for two other local charities. These two events, while the most visible, represent only a portion of the work and donations the firm’s employees contributed to their communities throughout this economically difficult year.

Looking back, the firm has had a very busy 2010. Yet, looking forward, life at the firm is going to get even busier. If you haven’t heard, the firm is relocating its headquarters to Alton, Illinois. Since the summer we’ve been renovating the old Jefferson Smurfit building in downtown Alton. It’s a beautiful location surrounded by historic brick streets and stunning views of the Clark Bridge and Mississippi River.

 As we literally move into 2011 and into our new building, we’ll continue to fight for the rights of patients and their families. We’ll work to raise awareness about mesothelioma, generate funds for mesothelioma research, and call for legislation banning the use of asbestos. We are grateful for 2010 and look forward to the challenges of the coming year.