The Illinois Personal Injury Weblog of Schaeffer & Lamere P.C.

Asbestos Company Is Indicted

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "Asbestos Indictments Are Called a First Step," by Andrew Schneider--

The federal indictment announced Monday against W.R. Grace & Co. should be used as a blueprint for criminal investigations in at least 40 other states - including Missouri - where Grace operated, public health and worker safety leaders said.

Grace and seven of its current and former officials were accused of knowing that the asbestos-contaminated vermiculite being mined in Libby, Mont., was endangering workers and residents.

--Posted by Alton Illinois Workers' Compensation Attorney T. Evan Schaeffer of Schaeffer & Lamere, P.C.

Kelly-Moore Goes After Union Carbide

From the Houston Chronicle: "Asbestos lawsuits create U.S. legal crisis," by Mike Tolson--

Burdened by 48,000 asbestos lawsuits, Kelly-Moore wants to prove to a jury that Union Carbide lied to it in the 1960s and '70s about the safety of asbestos. Company executives say its survival may rest on its verdict.

Kelly-Moore's David-and-Goliath assault on Union Carbide and its deep pockets is being widely watched because of the size of the damage claim — about $1.4 billion — and the precedent it could set. Reduced to basics, however, it is one more front in the war over a mineral that for much of the last century was viewed as a godsend.

Asbestos Bill No Longer a Priority for Senate

From Reuters: "Outlook Dims for Asbestos Reform in Senate"--

The outlook dimmed for establishing a fund to compensate asbestos victims this year after the Senate majority leader on Monday left it off a list of priorities for the few days left in the legislative period.

Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist said he had not given up on the legislation. But he wants the Senate to finish work by Oct. 8, so lawmakers will have time to campaign for Nov. 2 elections.

His priorities for the eight or nine remaining legislative working days are intelligence reform, spending bills and other bills already at the "conference" level of negotiations between the Senate and House, Frist told journalists.

AFL-CIO Opposes Latest Asbestos Compromise

From The Hill: "AFL-CIO opposed to Daschle’s new asbestos compromise," by Klaus Marre--

After months of wrangling, the Senate appears closer to an agreement on how much money should be poured into a trust fund that would be used to settle asbestos compensation cases.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) yesterday informed Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) that he would accept a trust fund size of $140 billion, a figure Frist has pushed.

But organized labor, one of the Democrats’ core constituencies, will not support legislation that includes a trust fund of $140 billion.

AFL-CIO Director of Health and Safety Peg Seminario said organized labor would “strongly oppose” a $140 billion trust fund, pointing out that legislation on the issue that was passed out of the Judiciary Committee last year had earmarked $153 billion for the fund.

The Post-Dispatch on Asbestos in Madison County

Yesterday, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a series of articles about asbestos lawsuits in Madison County. You can find links to the articles, as well as my comments about them, here.

Pfizer-Quigley Asbestos Bankruptcy

From Law.com, "Pfizer Settlement Clears Asbestos Litigation," by Soma Biswas--

Pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer Inc. announced Friday, Sept. 3, a $965 million settlement to end all current and future asbestos litigation against the company and its Quigley Co. subsidiary.

The agreement, which would involve putting Quigley in Chapter 11 protection, is the latest in which a company mired in asbestos litigation decides to settle with plaintiffs lawyers and then file for bankruptcy.

ABB Ltd., Congoleum Corp. and Halliburton Co. have used similar prepackaged asbestos bankruptcies in an effort to put their asbestos problems behind them for good.

Asbestos Information on C&D Site

Evan Schaeffer of Schaeffer & Lamere is now "of counsel" to Carey & Danis in St. Louis for the limited purpose of pursuing asbestos litigation. The Carey & Danis website contains this information about asbestos lawsuits.

A Short Summary of the Asbestos Tragedy

From Paul Brodeur: "The Asbestos Tragedy"--

Asbestos, which comes from a Greek word meaning inextinguishable or unquenchable, is a broad term embracing a number of fibrous silicate minerals that are found in practically every country in the world. Although known to mankind as early as the Stone Age, when it was used in pottery, asbestos was considered a novelty until the late 1870s, when it began to be mined on a commerical basis. It soon achieved enormous industrial importance because of its unique and astonishing physical properties.

Brodeur's article is well worth reading. For books about asbestos by Paul Brodeur, see here.

Asbestos: A Key Public Health Threat, Even Today

From Healthfinder.com: "Asbestos Remains Key Public Health Threat," by Amanda Garnder--

The asbestos crisis is far from over and the United States can expect to see at least 10,000 asbestos-related deaths each year for the next two decades or so.

So says a new report released Thursday by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Action Fund in Washington, D.C. The report includes the first maps to disclose asbestos-related deaths on both the county and national levels since 1979. Los Angeles County in California and Cook County in Illinois top the list.

If you're looking for a Madison County, Illinois, mesothelioma attorney--or an Alton, Illinois, asbestos lawyer--you can call Schaeffer & Lamere at (618) 467-8200 or toll free at (888) 783-9679. Our firm, Schaeffer & Lamere, has asbestos lawyers and attorneys for Alton, Illinois; Godfrey, Illinois; Edwardsville, Illinois; and all of Madison County, Illinois. For more about Schaeffer & Lamere, please visit our website.

Asbestos Problems at Lambert

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "EPA halts asbestos removal method," by Andrew Schneider--

The Environmental Protection Agency reversed course Friday and permanently banned the use of a controversial demolition method near Lambert Field that critics say increased the risk of exposure to potentially deadly asbestos fibers.

More than 260 homes and eight buildings had been torn down using the untested demolition process, dubbed the "wet method" because water is sprayed on the structure as it is torn down rather than first removing asbestos by hand.

The EPA said in a 51-page report obtained by the Post-Dispatch that it had reviewed air samples taken at about a tenth of the destroyed property - all the samples the airport could provide - and could reach no conclusion on whether neighbors or demolition workers were exposed to asbestos fibers.