Illinois court reverses $17.8M asbestos verdict against Honeywell, Pneumo-Abex and UNARCO

The Illinois Fourth District Appellate Court has reversed a $17.8 million verdict in an asbestos conspiracy case.

It concluded that plaintiff Jayne Menssen did not present sufficient evidence to prove that Honeywell International and Pneumo-Abex conspired with other manufacturers to suppress the serious health hazards of inhaling asbestos.

Her suit sought to damages for the pleural mesothelioma cancer that Menssen alleges she contracted as a result of being exposed to asbestos while working at the Union Asbestos and Rubber Company (UNARCO) in Bloomington.

Menssen worked at UNARCO, a manufacturer and distributor of asbestos and asbestos products, from 1967 to 1969 and claimed that during her time there, she inhaled asbestos fibers manufactured by Abex and Honeywell, among other companies.

Her suit accused Abex, Honeywell and UNARCO of entering into a civil conspiracy by agreeing to suppress information about the effects of asbestos and falsely asserting that exposure to asbestos was safe.

To bolster her conspiracy argument, Menssen presented evidence that Abex allegedly conspired with eight other corporations to conceal information from a study that Dr. LeRoy U. Gardner conducted on the effects of asbestos more than seven decades ago through the use of mice.

Two years after Gardner died, the Saranac Laboratory prepared the final report of Gardner's findings and sent it to Johns-Manville, which supplied asbestos to Abex and was one of the nine corporations that financed the study.

The general counsel of Johns-Manville passed on the draft report to the other financing corporations, the majority of which later met and voted to delete references to cancer and tumors from the final published report.

The Saranac Laboratory in 1951 published the report, which did not include any references to tumors and malignancies in the mice, according to the appellate court opinion.

In February 2010, a McLean County jury returned a verdict in favor of Menssen and against Abex and Honeywell. It awarded Menssen $3.5 million in compensatory damages, $4.37 million in punitive damages against Abex and $10 million against Honeywell for a total verdict of about $17.8 million.

The two companies appealed, alleging numerous deficiencies.

Source: LegalNewsLine.com

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Asbestos alert for renovators and DIY homeowners

Do it yourselfers and contractors alike are being warned that they could become the next generation to fall victim to asbestos exposure.

That’s what’s already happening in Australia, the country with the highest recorded rate of asbestos-related deaths from the cancer, mesothelioma.

"Now we are seeing a new wave of these preventable diseases from people exposed to asbestos ... through the home-renovation boom," says Susan Wallace, CEO of Asbestos Free Tasmania.

Every house built before 1990 in that county can have some asbestos, and many renovators still have little idea of the dangers.

Tasmanian Labor senator Lisa Singh told an asbestos summit in Sydney that without a national approach, thousands of Australians would continue to be diagnosed with the condition.

"Without a co-ordinated approach to asbestos awareness and management, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Australians will be diagnosed with asbestos-related disease in the next 20 years," Senator Singh said.

"Most of these cases will result from poor management of asbestos in the home."

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Source: TheMurcury.com.au
Photo: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Regional asbestos payouts in the UK South West top 1.5 million dollars

Compensation payouts for asbestos-related deaths and illnesses in the South West of England have topped 1.5 million dollars (1 million pounds).

The settlements are linked primarily to employees who worked at the former British Railways Board’s engineering plant in Swindon.

Asbestos-related illnesses and diseases – which could take up to 60 years to develop – have become so common in the region that they have been referred to as ‘Swindon disease’. Workers in the area have described how asbestos used to blow around like ‘snow’ at the former GWR works, part of which is now the Steam museum.

A charity group, The Swindon and South West Asbestos Group, has been actively lobiying for local families suffering with asbestos diseases. They now offer home visits to sufferers in the Swindon area to advise on benefits available. For further details, contact the group on 01793 532995 or email info@asbestosgroup.co.uk or visit at www.asbestosgroup.co.uk

 

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