Archive for the ‘Florida’ Category

A decision from the 4th District Court of Appeal may help thousands of people with pending asbestos-related lawsuits, by invalidating a retroactivity law which was designed to limit the number of people who were eligible to sue.

The ruling was a reversal of thirteen decisions previously made by Palm Beach Circuit Judge Elizabeth Maass, which upheld the retroactivity law. Some of the cases on which the ruling was based date back as far as 1999. This week’s decision now allows plaintiffs the chance to revive those cases.

Not surprisingly, plaintiffs’ attorneys say the ruling is a new victory for thousands of people who are still waiting to have their cases heard in court.

“It certainly means that there are thousands of cases that were in the pipeline that were retroactively thrown out by this legislation that now may see new life,” said one attorney. Another said that the new ruling could revive as many as four thousand asbestos-related lawsuits across Florida.

On the other hand, lawyers working for defendant companies are less than thrilled. One said, the law was created to “put people who were sick at the head of the line,” but now that it’s been overturned, there is the potential for “people who aren’t really sick…[to be] cutting in the line ahead of people who are sick.”

If the decision is appealed, it would likely be based partially on a conflict between District Courts of Appeal in West Palm Beach and Miami. The 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami concluded that the retroactivity law was valid, and since the 4th District Court ruling in West Palm Beach disagrees, the conflict could allow for an appeal and review by a higher court.

Judge Gary Farmer wrote for the 4th District Court’s unanimous decision that the Florida Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act “may not constitutionally be applied to eliminate the existing vested rights in the lawsuits pending when the act became effective [on July 1, 2005].”

The Florida Asbestos and Silica Compensation Fairness Act set new impairment standards on which plaintiffs’ eligibility to file suit became based.

People affected with asbestosis (a non-malignant disease) must have lost at least 20% of their breathing capacity, and people with lung cancer would have to have diminished breathing capacity and asbestosis (to rule out the effects of smoking as a causative agent in the cancer).

Madison County, Illinois - A resident of Florida who was diagnosed with mesothelioma has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, Illinois, on May 22.

The man is Leo Flynt, who alleges that during the course of his employment as an electrician between 1946 and 1977 in Florida, Indiana, and Illinois, he was exposed to inhalable asbestos fibers which were released by asbestos-containing products he worked with or near. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma on January 1, 2008.

Leo Flynt names a total of 59 defendants in his suit, including Bondex International, CBS, Chrysler, Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Trust, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Goodyear, Honeywell International, Ingersoll-Rand, International Paper, Lucent, John Crane, MetLife, Owens-Illinois, Philips Electronics and Trane US.

The lawsuit claims that the defendants either knew or should have known that asbestos is a dangerous substance, and that asbestos exposure has a toxic effect which can lead to the development of asbestos cancer and other serious diseases. “The plaintiff’s exposure and inhalation, ingestion or absorption of the asbestos fibers was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants.”

In addition, Leo Flynt’s lawsuit claims that the defendants continued using asbestos in their manufactured products even though substitutes for asbestos were available to be used.

Flynt also claims that the defendants failed to warn that asbestos was dangerous, failed provide any instructions about working safely with or around asbestos, and failed to warn employees that asbestos fibers could be carried home on clothing.

As a result, Leo Flynt alleges that he was negligently exposed to dangerous asbestos fibers, and developed deadly mesothelioma.

Finally, the lawsuit also alleges that some of the defendants in the case destroyed documents relating to the use of asbestos, and that as a result Leo Flynt’s ability to build an effective case has been damaged. “Plaintiff has been caused to suffer damages in the form of impaired ability to recover against defendants and lost or reduced compensation from other potentially liable parties in this litigation.”

Leo Flynt is seeking compensation to pay for treatment and lost income and for the physical pain and mental anguish he has suffered as a result of being diagnosed with mesothelioma. In addition he is seeking damages of at least $300,000 in punitive damages, due to the “damages for negligence, willful and wanton acts, conspiracy, and negligent spoliation of evidence” of the defendants.

Lee County, Florida – Posen Construction, a Florida contractor that was recently fined after admitting to asbestos-related violations, is being kept under close scrutiny as the company completes its latest project.

Over the past couple of years, Posen Construction has gained a number of large contracts, and a reputation for getting its work completed quickly.

However, Posen Construction also has a reputation of running afoul of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and other environmental agencies.

The asbestos incident occurred at a Three Oaks construction site in December 2007. Employees of Posen Construction claimed they had been ordered to cut up and crush pipes that contained asbestos, and also that the waste was disposed of at sites that were not equipped to safely deal with asbestos waste. Some employees complained to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

State and County officials began to investigate when employees provided sworn statements saying they had been ordered to crush the asbestos-containing pipes, load the crushed asbestos into trucks, and then dump the waste at sites located north of Alico, including at a recently-constructed retention lake.

Florida Department of Environmental Protection inspectors found asbestos fragments on the banks of a nearby retention lake, as well as buried asbestos pipe sections. A total of twenty bags of fragments, as well as two five-foot sections of pipe, were eventually recovered.

As a result the company was fined $6,500—and the job itself was worth $27.5 million. According to state officials, $6,500 was the maximum fine that could be imposed in this case. Posen Construction also paid $12,000 to clean up the waste, and $6,000 on site assessments.

In addition to the DEP fine of $6,500 the company has also been cited by the county for illegally handling de-watering, and for discharging dirty water into two Lee County rivers. The company received a warning and two citations, but was fined only $4,000.

Another citation early in April came after the Posen Company failed to maintain ‘best management practices’ by allowing contaminated water to leach from a construction site into downstream waterways.

County Commission Chairman Ray Judah says that the small size of the fines means the state has an enforcement problem, saying “The state formula to hold polluters responsible is woefully inadequate.”

Judah also says that Posen Construction will be kept under close scrutiny as its completes its current county project, and that the company won’t win any more county contracts if it violates any environmental regulations.

Miami, Florida – In what is the largest jury verdict involving a single defendant in a Florida asbestos case, a doctor has been awarded a total of $24.2 million by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court jury.

The man is Dr. Stephen E. Guilder, who alleged that he developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos from Honeywell asbestos-containing brakes in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Guilder, 50, was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma in September 2007. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a relatively rare type of asbestos-related cancer. Around 20-25% of all cases of mesothelioma originate in the lining of the abdominal cavity, called the peritoneum.

Guilder, whose practice involved treating disorders of the head and neck, had to close his medical office in November.

Rob Ferris, a spokesperson for Honeywell, said that the company is disappointed by the jury’s verdict, and said an appeal would be imminent. Ferris said that there was no supportable evidence that Stephen Guilder’s mesothelioma cancer was caused by exposure to Honeywell brake products.

Stephen Guilder’s attorney, David A. Jagolinzer, said he was very pleased that Honeywell had been held accountable for the harm that it had caused to Stephen Guilder and his family. Guilder’s family includes his wife Sheila of more than twenty years, and three children aged 18, 16, and 14.

During the trial, which lasted for two weeks, the plaintiffs argued that Stephen Guilder had been exposed to asbestos from Honeywell’s brake products, and that this exposure caused Guilder to subsequently develop peritoneal mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma cancers tend to have long latency periods. Even though Guilder was allegedly exposed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, it is normal that the cancer did not develop and show noticeable symptoms until more than twenty years later.

These cancers are particularly devastating because they are difficult to diagnose early, and because mesothelioma tumors are often resistant to treatment.

The award of $24.2 million is the largest amount ever awarded in a Florida case involving a single defendant.

Okaloosa County, Florida - asbestos was recently discovered by surveyors during the renovation of the County Commissioner chamber in the Okaloosa County, Florida courthouse.

The renovation is being carried out to expand the commission chamber and allow more people to attend meetings. A survey for harmful materials was completed before renovations began, according to Okaloosa County facility maintenance director Donald Turner.

However, while most samples came back negative, a few showed that asbestos is present in the courthouse. Most of the asbestos is located in floor tiles in the building. Turner says that the courthouse is safe for visitors and employees as long as the asbestos is not disturbed.

Inhalation f asbestos is the sole cause of two lethal diseases: asbestosis and mesothelioma. The former is a chronic lung disease that causes pain and difficulty breathing for its victims. Mesothelioma, a type of asbestos cancer, is a highly aggressive disease that is not responsive to current treatments.

Current asbestos legislation requires that in most states, an asbestos survey must be carried out before a public building or commercial can be renovated or demolished. This is necessary because asbestos must be removed from a building before these activities can be carried out. Renovations or demolition of a building where asbestos is present can potentially lead to the release of large quantities of airborne fibers, posing a significant health risk to people in the area.

The Okaloosa County Courthouse was built in 1955, and is therefore of an age to have been built using asbestos-containing materials. The peak period of asbestos use in America was between the 1940s and 1980s. In these decades the substance was added to some three thousand products, including many different types of construction materials.

While asbestos was cheap to use at the time, the true cost is now being seen in the poor health of people who worked with asbestos last century, and in the greatly increased cost of renovations and demolition due to the necessity of removing asbestos prior to such activities.

The County Commission has allocated some $40,000 for the removal of the asbestos from the courthouse commission chambers. Asbestos was actually discovered in other locations in the building as well as in the commission chambers, but it will only be removed from the commission chambers. In most cases, asbestos can safely be left where it is, as the only danger is when fibers are disturbed and become airborne.