Archive for the ‘Illinois’ Category

A man diagnosed with mesothelioma has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court in Illinois.

Raymond Hostert filed the lawsuit on July 23. Hostert says he was employed as a drill press operator, machine operator, truck driver and mechanic between 1952 and 1999 in several different locations throughout Illinois, and at some point was exposed to asbestos. He has filed suit against a total of 79 defendant companies, claiming his disease was wrongfully caused.

Among the 79 defendants are Bondex International, CBS, Chrysler, Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Trust, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Goodyear, Honeywell International, Ingersoll-Rand, International Paper, John Crane, MetLife, Monsanto, Pfizer, Philips Electronics and Trane US.

Raymond Hostert claims that at some point during his employment history, or during home or automotive repairs, he was exposed to airborne asbestos fibers being emitted by products he was working with or around. Inhalation of the fibers caused him to develop mesothelioma decades after the exposure.

According to Hostert’s lawsuit the defendants either knew or should have known of the dangers associated with asbestos exposure. The suit claims that his exposure was foreseeable and should have been anticipated by the defendants.

Raymond Hostert’s lawsuit also claims the defendants continued to use asbestos in their products even though adequate substitutes for asbestos were available and could be used. The lawsuit also claims that the defendants failed to provide warnings about asbestos exposure, or any instructions on how to work safely with their asbestos-containing products to prevent exposure from occurring.

As a result, Dennett alleges, he unknowingly continued to work with and around asbestos unaware he was being exposed to a dangerous substance, and without taking any safety precautions.

Due to the alleged negligence of the named defendants, Dennett claims he developed mesothelioma as a direct result of the asbestos exposure.

Dennett is seeking damages to help pay for medical expenses, as well as compensation for physical and mental pain and suffering, lost income, and lost earning capacity. He asks for at least $400,000 in compensatory damages. In addition his lawsuit seeks punitive damages to punish the defendants for “willful, wanton, intentional and reckless” behavior.

A New Jersey man with mesothelioma has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County, Illinois. The lawsuit claims that he was diagnosed with mesothelioma in April 2008, and that his disease was wrongfully caused.

The lawsuit was filed on July 17 in Madison County Circuit Court, and in it John Scarduzio claims that during the course of his employment as a plant manager and materials processor between 1949 and 2000, he was exposed to asbestos. In addition, he claims he may have been exposed while carrying out home and automotive repairs.

Scarduzio names a total of 75 defendant companies in the lawsuit, including Bondex International, CBS, Chrysler, Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Trust, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Goodyear, Honeywell International, Ingersoll-Rand, International Paper, John Crane, MetLife, Philips Electronics and Trane US.

According to the lawsuit filed by Scarduzio, his “exposure and inhalation, ingestion or absorption of the asbestos fibers was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants.”

Scarduzio claims that the named defendants either knew or should have known that the asbestos in their products could have a serious and potentially lethal effect on people who were exposed.

In addition, the lawsuit claims that the defendants continued to use asbestos in their products even though adequate substitutes for asbestos were available, and also that the companies failed to provide warnings about asbestos exposure, or any instructions on how to work safely with asbestos to prevent exposure from occurring.

As a result, Scarduzio alleges, he continued to work with and around asbestos without knowledge of the dangers he was exposed to, and without taking any safety precautions which could have prevented exposure.

Due to the alleged negligence of the named defendants, Scarduzio claims he was exposed to deadly asbestos fibers, and developed the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma as a direct result of that exposure.

Scarduzio is seeking damages to help pay for medical expenses, as well as compensation for physical and mental pain and suffering, lost income, and lost earning capacity. In addition the lawsuit is seeking punitive damages to punish the defendants for “willful, wanton, intentional and reckless” behavior.

Madison County, Illinois - The estate of Bernard Lichtenstien has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, alleging that Lichtenstien’s death was caused by asbestos exposure.

The lawsuit, which contains two counts, was filed on June 30 and lists two companies as defendants. They are Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Injury Trust (successor to Felt Products Manufacturing), and Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Injury Trust (successor to the former Vellumoid Division of Federal-Mogul).

According to the complain, the Madison County venue is appropriate even though neither defendant does business in Illinois, because gasket-maker John Crane does business in that state.

The Lichtenstien estate claims that the deceased was exposed to asbestos during the course of his employment, and also during home and automotive repairs. Lichtenstien was employed as a laborer in several different locations between 1957 and 1978.

Lichtenstien’s estate claims the deceased was diagnosed with mesothelioma on June 1, 1998. He died November 10, 1999, and at the time of his death was residing in California.

According to the petition filed by Lichtenstien’s estate, the defendants either knew or should have known about the harmful consequences of asbestos exposure, and that exposure could cause serious diseases such as mesothelioma.

In addition, the suit alleges that the defendants used asbestos in their products despite the availability of acceptable substitutes. The suit also claims that the defendants failed to provide safety instructions or equipment for working with or around asbestos, and that the defendants failed to advise employees that asbestos fibers could potentially be transported home on work clothes.

Lichtenstien was exposed to asbestos as a result of the alleged negligence, the suit claims, and developed a form of asbestos cancer called mesothelioma as a direct result of the exposure.

After developing mesothelioma he suffered from great mental and physical pain, and was prevented from working. His estate is seeking damages of $100,000 or more to compensate for mental and physical pain, loss of income, and funeral expenses.

The family of a former Illinois man were disappointed this week after an sbestos lawsuit failed to provide them with the compensation they had hoped for. After a three-week trial, the jury decided in favor of the defendants.

The family of Robert C. Scott sued Honeywell International and Pneumo Abex, claiming that Scott had come into contact with asbestos-containing products manufactured by the companies during the course of his employment. Robert C. Scott worked for thirty years as a maintenance supervisor at Passavant Area Hospital, where the lawsuit claimed he was exposed to asbestos.

However, despite the family’s claims, the lawsuit was unsuccessful. The lawsuit which had asked for $1.5 million in damages was decided in favor of the defendants, and the family received no compensation for Robert C. Scott’s death.

Scott died from lung cancer, a disease which is known to be caused by asbestos exposure. However, since lung cancer can develop in response to other carcinogens—such as cigarette smoke—it can be difficult to pin down the exact cause in a case where asbestos is a risk factor.

In this case, the issue was confused by the fact that Scott had once been a heavy smoker, although he had quit a few years before his death in 2004.

The central issue in the trial itself, therefore, was whether Robert C. Scott’s lung cancer was a result of cigarette smoking only, or could have developed due to a combination of smoking and exposure to asbestos.

According to testimony given during the trial, Scott had never been diagnosed with asbestosis or any other lung diseases known to be caused by asbestos. In addition, tissue samples which had been taken and analyzed after Scott’s death showed no signs that he had developed asbestosis.

People with asbestosis develop obvious lung disease: the asbestos exposure causes the development of scar tissue known as pleural plaques, due to the chronic irritation and inflammation which asbestos causes.

Without this characteristic symptom of asbestos exposure evident in the samples from Scott’s lungs, the jury found it impossible to say that his lung cancer had even partially been caused by exposure to asbestos.

Joliet, Illinois -  A full day after state health officials shut down a section of the Marycrest Shopping Center in Joliet, Illinois, some businesses were still operating in the center, unaware of the possible asbestos dangers.

One business was ordered not to open due to the possible asbestos threat, but stores on either side were not told of the danger and were allowed to remain open.

Marycrest Shopping center is made up of multiple buildings each with its own ventilation system, and all stores in one of the buildings were supposed to be ordered closed, while stores in other separate buildings could remain open.

However, it was subsequently discovered that many of those businesses were supposed to be ordered shut, but had not received the order due to an oversight.

A section of the Maycrest Shopping Center in Joliet, Illinois was closed after state health officials became concerned about the possibility of asbestos exposure. Officials ordered that work on the now-closed section of the shopping mall be stopped on Wednesday June 4, as they believed flooring was being removed without proper safety precautions being taken.

The shopping center was built in the 1950s, is now half empty, and is undergoing renovations. However, this week sees the second time that officials have ordered that renovations be stopped due to concerns over possible asbestos exposure, said Joliet director of inspectional services David Mackley.

Mackley said that a state inspector called health authorities to the renovation site on Wednesday after the inspector noticed that work had been carried out in an office area which was known to contain asbestos.

Site inspectors subsequently ordered that the work be stopped, as they believed the tiles which were being removed were of a kind that was glued to floors with an asbestos-containing adhesive. Tests carried out by the Illinois Department of Public Health subsequently showed that asbestos was in fact present in the adhesive.

An Illinois Department of Public Health spokesperson said the owners of Maycrest will be required to hire contractors who are licensed to handle asbestos. Another health department spokesperson, Melaney Arnold, said the law would require an inspection to be carried out before work could start.

Whether or not those in the stores which were supposed to be closed were exposed to asbestos won’t be known for some time, possibly decades, as asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma cancers have long latency periods.

Homewood, Illinois - Test results from samples taken at Homewood Fire Station in Homewood, Illinois show that there is no asbestos present in the air, meaning that no exposure risks have occurred as a result of recent renovation work.

Asbestos was discovered at the Homewood Fire Station at 17950 Dixie Highway around two weeks ago, and testing was carried out to determine whether airborne asbestos was present in the building.

Village manager Mark Franz said a small amount of asbestos may have been disturbed during renovation work carried out on a water-damaged wall on the north side of the fire station. The work was carried out two weeks ago by a Homewood-based business, Rickoff Remodeling.

“It was just a small amount [of asbestos] discovered,” said Franz after the asbestos was found. “Unless a major problem is discovered through testing, we don’t anticipate closing down any other part of the building. But if there is more asbestos found than expected we’ll do whatever cleaning is necessary to make the building safe.”

The asbestos was removed by environmental consulting and contract service RCM soon after its discovery. Following the removal air samples and other tests were carried out by RCM to determine how high asbestos levels are and whether exposure risks are present in the building. According to Mark Franz, early asbestos tests indicate that one room on the north side of the fire station building may be above the threshold for permissible levels of asbestos.

Since the discovery and removal of asbestos the fire station has been inspected by the Illinois Department of Public Health, and officials have requested that a large part of the building be cordoned off until the results of the asbestos tests are in. Four administrative buildings in the fire station were cordoned off to carry out the “aggressive” air tests which were recommended by the Department of Public Health.

Asbestos was so commonly used in construction up until the 1980s that the discovery of asbestos inside the Homewood fire station is not a surprise. In fact, recent reports indicate that asbestos may be a common fixture in older fire stations.

In Newton, Massachusetts, for example, the town’s fire stations will all be renovated over the next ten years, partly for the purpose of removing asbestos from the buildings. Recent renovation work in Newton’s Fire Station 3 exposed several firefighters to asbestos, and asbestos was also discovered at the town’s Fire Station 2.

In the case of the Homewood, Illinois station, the asbestos was discovered without any apparent exposure risks occurring. According to Mark Franz, “The entire area has been cleared for occupancy by the Illinois Department of Public Health.”

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.

Montclair, New Jersey – More than two hundred students and staff members were evacuated from Renaissance Middle School in Montclair, New Jersey on Friday May 16 after asbestos was discovered in the plaster of a newly-installed set of fire doors.

According to Laura Federico, the Montclair Public School District Public Information Officer, most students were relocated to other schools located nearby, where they remained for the rest of the day. Federico said that the safety of students and staff was the most important concern of the school district.

A recent asbestos inspection that was carried out in the school building indicated that asbestos was present in some of the plaster. However, the plaster was judged to be not dangerous at that time.

On Thursday May 15, it was discovered that the asbestos-containing plaster may have been disturbed during recent after-hours installation of a set of fire doors. At that point, Detail Associates, a local asbestos consultant, was called in to test the school’s air and clean up any problematic asbestos-containing materials.

According to the letter sent home with students, when air quality tests were carried out in the building, “Of the four samples collected, one, taken from the third floor hallway showed a level of airborne asbestos fibers that exceeded the acceptable range.”

“As soon as we were notified of the increased levels of fibers on Friday morning, we sealed off the affected area and moved the children to parts of the building that were cleared by our consultant or to off-site locations.”

“Detail Associates will thoroughly inspect the building this evening and develop a cleaning protocol, which will take place tomorrow. The building will be cleaned and tested until all samples indicate appropriate levels of fibers. Detail Associates has advised us that the building will be cleaned, tested and cleared for occupancy by Monday morning.”

Many schools have had asbestos problems this year, including Bethel High School in Connecticut, which had to send students home on more than one occasion when asbestos was discovered during a series of abatement and renovation projects. A preschool in Cary, Illinois was temporarily closed when asbestos was discovered in the walls, and asbestos abatement is an ongoing and expensive project for many schools.

Asbestos was widely used in public, residential, and industrial construction up until the mid-1980s, and many schools built before this period contain asbestos, particularly in insulation and fire-proofing materials.

What to do about the asbestos has become an increasingly serious issue for many schools as those materials deteriorate and become an exposure risk during renovation and remodeling projects.

Madison County, Illinois – A Washington man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma has filed a lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, Illinois, claiming wrongful cause.

James Regal claims, employed in the U.S. Army as a machinist between 1962 and 2003, worked in Illinois and other locations. He also worked as a maintenance man in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington.

In the lawsuit, filed May 7, James Regal claims that during the course of his employment he inhaled or otherwise ingested asbestos fibers that were airborne as a result of the products he worked with and around. In addition he claims that asbestos exposure occurred during home and automotive repairs.

Regal has named a total of 68 defendants, including Bondex International, CBS, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Honeywell International, Ingersoll-Rand, International Paper, John Crane, Philips Electronics and Riley Stoker.

The suit claims that James Regal’s asbestos exposure “was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants.” In addition, the suit claims that the defendants either knew or should have known about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

Regal, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma on February 8, 2008, claims that the defendants in the suit used asbestos in their products despite the fact that adequate asbestos substitutes were available for use.

In addition, he claims that the defendants failed to provide necessary warnings on the dangers of asbestos and also failed to provide information on how to work safely with and around asbestos. Finally, he claims that the defendants failed to provide their employees with information on how to prevent transporting asbestos fibers home, and failed to require employees take hygiene measures to prevent them doing so.

As a result, the suit alleges, James Regal was exposed to asbestos fibers that caused him to develop mesothelioma, a disease caused only by exposure to asbestos. He is seeking damages to cover the costs of medical expenses and income he has lost as a result of being unable to work.

In addition, Regal’s suit claims that Regal was unable to obtain full disclosure of relevant documents from defendants, and believes that the documents were destroyed. As a result, he claims that his lawsuit was prejudiced and his ability to prove his claims was impaired.

Regal seeks compensation of at least $300,000 for negligence and other allegations, as well as punitive damages.

Madison County, Illinois – The estate of a deceased Ohio man has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court in Illinois, claiming wrongful death.

The man was Paul Bowen, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma on October 8, 2007, and died on December 31.

According to the complaint laid by Bowen’s estate, he worked between 1951 and 2004 as a laborer, kiln operator, truck driver, miner, and mechanic. In addition, the complaint refers to Bowen’s wife, who was employed as a maintenance worker, finisher and stripe, and machine operator.

The complaint says that during the court of her employment, Bowen’s wife often worked with and around asbestos and asbestos-containing materials. The dust that was generated as a result permeated her clothing, and she would then transport the dust home on her work clothes. At home, the dust would become airborne, where Paul Bowen was able to inhale it. According to the complaint, “The plaintiff would be repeatedly exposed to this asbestos dust from his wife’s person and clothing.”

In addition, the complaint says that Paul Bowen was repeatedly exposed to asbestos during home projects such as automotive and home repairs, remodeling, and maintenance work.

The lawsuit names a total of 73 defendants, including Bondex International, CBS, ConocoPhillips, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Goodyear, John Crane, Owens-Illinois, Pharmacia, Shell Chemical and Yarway Corp.

The complaint said that the inhalation of asbestos was foreseeable and should have been anticipated by the defendants. Further, the complaint says that the defendants knew or should have known about the dangers of asbestos, and should have warned employees or users of their products that the danger existed.

The complaint also says the defendants failed to warn employees that asbestos fibers could be transported home. In addition, the complaint says that the defendants used asbestos in their products even when substitutes existed. Paul Bowen’s estate also claims that he had sought full disclosure of documents relevant to his case, but believed that the defendants had destroyed the documents.

The suit alleges not only that Paul Bowen suffered needless asbestos exposure due to defendant negligence, but also that his ability to claim compensation had been reduced due to actions taken by the defendants.

The estate is seeking a minimum of $250,000 in compensation, as well as punitive damages.