Archive for the ‘West Virginia’ Category

Charleston, West Virginia – A Barbour County, West Virginia man has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit, naming 25 different companies as defendants.

Jennings Bartlett and wife Beulah filed the suit on February 20 in Kanawha Circuit Court. Among the companies named is U.S. Steel, where Jennings Bartlett’s father once worked. Bartlett claimed he was exposed to asbestos dust because his father would arrive home after work with asbestos dust still present on his clothing.

This type of exposure is called secondary exposure, and typically occurs when workers bring asbestos dust home because they did not have access to protective equipment at work to prevent dust adhering to their clothing.

Bartlett says he was exposed to asbestos as a child, during a period in which his father worked at U.S. Steel as a welder. In addition he claims that performing mechanical work at several different automobile dealerships, garages, and similar businesses has contributed to his asbestos exposure.

The peak period of asbestos use was between the 1940s and 1980s, when the substance was a common component of several thousand construction and other materials.

Asbestos was commonly used in the automotive industry in brake pads and other components that required high heat resistance and thermal stability. Some industrial processes in the automotive and other industries also involved the use of heat-resistant protective clothing that was made with asbestos fabric, ironically exposing workers to harm via the same equipment that was supposed to be protecting them.

Bartlett has developed both asbestosis and mesothelioma. Both diseases are known to develop solely as a result of exposure to asbestos, and both are difficult to treat and ultimately incurable. Mesothelioma can develop after asbestos exposure of relatively short duration, while asbestosis tends to develop during periods of repeated exposure to inhalable asbestos dust.

The asbestos lawsuit filed by the Bartletts includes a total of twelve counts, and specifically names the following companies: Unarco, Johns-Manville, Raybestos, Manhattan, H.K. Porter, American Asbestos Textile Corp., Asten Hill Manufacturing Co., and Pneumo Abex Corporation, Friction Products Division and American Brake Block.

The lawsuit claims that these companies were part of a conspiracy that deliberately tried to suppress information relating to the hazards of asbestos exposure.

In addition to the claims made in conjunction with Jennings Bartlett’s asbestos-related diseases, Beulah Bartlett claims she has suffered loss of general services, companionship, and the society of her husband. They are seeking punitive as well as compensatory damages for the injuries they have suffered as a consequence of Jennings Bartlett’s asbestos exposure.

Bridgeport, West Virginia - Dr. Ray Harron, the missing radiologist who has been missing for several months, has reappeared. The Bridgeport doctor is now asking the federal courts to dismiss a lawsuit against him. Dr. Harron built a strong reputation as an expert witness in asbestos and other lawsuits by providing expert testimony relating to reading x-rays of people involved in the suits.

The lawsuit was filed in 2005, and alleges that a Pittsburg law firm made improper asbestosis claims against railroad company CSX Transportation.

Since then, the plaintiffs had expanded the suit to include Dr. Harron, alleging that the radiologist was paid to diagnose asbestosis and silicosis in CSX workers who may not have had those diseases. However, Dr. Harron’s attorneys say that CSX have failed to demonstrate that he acted with criminal intent when diagnosing the railroad workers involved in the suits.

CSX, they said, did not supply evidence that Harron had plotted or worked with any other party to defraud CSX, and furthermore did not supply evidence that Harron had any knowledge that there were any illegal activities taking place.

CSX responded by saying that Harron did not need to know all the details to have committed the fraudulent acts. They also indicated that the method by which Harron was paid to read x-rays was suspicious. Harron was paid a flat rate per x-ray read, rather than being paid on an hourly basis. CSX attorneys say that means Harron had a financial incentive to read x-rays as quickly as possible, with less attention paid to protocols for reading the images.

In response, Harron’s lawyers say that these allegations can’t be proven. They also point out that CSX could have asked for copies of the x-rays and hired their own radiologist to read them, but chose not to do so.

The allegations are centered on a total of eighteen x-ray readings from nine different people. The x-rays were taken between 1999 and 2003. CSX alleges that Dr. Harron reversed his findings for those nine.

The key point that Dr. Harron’s attorneys point out is that the radiologist reversed his findings after reading the second x-ray for each person, which was taken at a later date than the first. This means that in all nine cases, it’s possible that the radiologist read the x-rays accurately in all eighteen cases, because each person may have begun developing the diseases between the time the first x-ray and the second were taken.

In addition, in each case where the doctor reversed his findings, the people whose x-rays were involved showed very low levels of asbestosis, which is consistent with the disease having developed during the years that elapsed between the first x-ray and the second.

These arguments, say Harron’s attorneys, should be enough to have the case against the radiologist dismissed. CSX, however, believe that dismissal of the case isn’t warranted.

March 13, 2008, Charleston, West Virginia – A West Virginia man has filed an asbestos lawsuit against a total of 42 different companies that he claims are responsible for having exposed him to dangerous asbestos dust.

Charles Edward McLane filed the suit in the Kanawha Circuit Court, naming DuPont, Union Carbide, Goodrich Corporation, and others in the twelve count lawsuit.

McLane claims that his exposure to asbestos occurred as a result of dust created by the use of products manufactured by these companies. McLane also alleges in the suit that using the products caused injury to his lungs, respiratory system, and cardiovascular system, as a result of the exposure to asbestos and other harmful dusts.

In the short term, inhalation of asbestos dust causes lung irritation, but there are more serious consequences as a result of long term exposure. Exposure to asbestos is known to cause diseases such as asbestosis, a chronic lung inflammation, and mesothelioma, a rare but very aggressive and treatment-resistant cancer.

Another big name specifically mentioned in the suit is Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, commonly known as 3M. The company was formerly a manufacturer of dusts masks as well as asbestos-containing products.

In the lawsuit McLane claims that he has suffered damage to his health because the masks manufactured and marketed by 3M did not provide the protection that the company claimed in their marketing material.

Among the allegations made by McLane is that 3M marketed the masks in such a way that he believed using the masks would protect him from asbestos and other harmful dusts, as well as fumes and other potential toxins. McLane says, however, that because he has developed health problems as a result of inhalation of asbestos and other harmful dusts, that the 3M products he used to provide protection did not work as 3M claimed.

In addition to the charges laid against 3M in the suit, McLane alleges that the other companies named, including DuPont, Union Carbide, Goodrich Corporation, and others, failed to warn him that there were dangers associated with exposure to asbestos and the other products he was working with.

The suit includes a total of twelve counts, including claims that McLane suffered serious injury, and great pain, suffering, and mental anguish. The suit also claims McLane has lost both earnings and income potential as a result of the damage done to his health.

McLane is seeking punitive as well as compensatory damages for loss of earnings, and physical pain and mental anguish.

CHARLESTON, West Virginia – A Fayetteville couple have brought suit against DuPont and 37 other companies, alleging that exposure to asbestos in their products caused his mesothelioma.

Houston and Patricia Wendell filed an asbestos lawsuit on January 28 in Kanawha Circuit Court. Houston Wendell was employed by DuPont for 39 years, and worked in a variety of positions there. His suit states that he was not aware that he was being exposed to asbestos, and that his exposure to asbestos caused him to develop mesothelioma.

Wendell worked at the DuPont plant from 1941 to 1980. Like other workers of those times, he trusted his employer to deal with him fairly and to exercise reasonable care in safeguarding his health and well-being. Like so many other workers, his trust was misplaced. The chemical and manufacturing industries widely used asbestos in their products and in equipment without informing workers of the potential dangers and risks to their health, nor providing them with safety equipment to protect them from those dangers.

One of the disabling conditions that arises from asbestos exposure is mesothelioma, from which Wendell suffers. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that is found almost exclusively in those who have been exposed to asbestos, most commonly those who have had occupational exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma is an aggressive, fast-moving cancer that has a latency period of decades. Often, symptoms do not appear for decades after exposure, but once the cancer develops, it progresses quickly and is often not discovered until it has reached the latter stages. Wendell claims that his illness is progressive, untreatable and incurable.

In addition to mesothelioma, Wendell’s suit alleges that he is suffering from pneumoconiosis, also brought on by inhaling fibers emitting from products containing asbestos, as well as other severe diseases of the body, shock and other nervous and emotional disorders.

Wendell’s suit claims that the companies named are liable for his conditions because they failed to warn him about the dangers associated with asbestos in the workplace. It states that the defendants knew or should have known of the dangers of asbestos, and should have warned their employees and consumers of the health risks associated with working with and around asbestos.

The suit seeks compensation for suffering, bodily injury, great pain and suffering and mental anguish, medical expenses, both past and future, lost earnings, past and future and other attendant damages. In addition, Patricia Wendell claims that she has lost companionship, society, consortium and services of her husband because of the illness from which he suffers.

The Wendells seek both compensatory and punitive damages.

CHARLESTON, West Virginia – Friday, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration brought the limits for asbestos exposure in mines to two fibers per cubic centimeter, the limit that is already in place for all other industries covered by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Previously, the MSHA’s limit was twenty times higher than the OSHA cap.

The ruling was made Friday, and applies to exposure at all metal and non-metal mines, at surface coal mines and surface areas of underground coal mines.

It has taken nearly a decade for MSHA to follow the recommendations of the Department of Labor. In 1999, in the wake of news reports about Libby, Montana, DOL recommended that MSHA toughen its standards and lower the cap on asbestos exposure.

Libby is the site of the now-closed W.R. Grace & Co. vermiculite mine. That mine was contaminated with asbestos. Grace operated the mine until 1990, and closed it officially in 1994. In the years after the mine’s closing, over 1,200 Libby residents of all ages were diagnosed with asbestos related cancers and other conditions directly related to operations at the Libby mine.

Vermiculite mined at Libby was used as fireproofing, insulation and various other household products, including potting soil and gardening products. Operations at the mine filled the air around Libby with tremolite asbestos, generally regarded as one of asbestos’ most harmful forms.

Tremolite fibers are long and needlelike, and can easily become embedded in the lungs and other tissues, and cause asbestosis or mesothelioma, a rare cancer that affects the linings of the lungs. According to some health sources, tremolite asbestos is responsible for killing about 200 people in Libby, and causing health problems for one of every eight residents of the small town.

Traditionally, mines are more concerned with coal dust and other fibers and dust in the air than with asbestos. Richard Stickler, acting MSHA director, said that the new lower asbestos exposure limit will improve health protection for miners who work in an environment where asbestos is present.

Still, Celeste Monforton, a public health researcher at George Washington University, says that the new limit doesn’t go far enough. She says that MSHA has to come up with a broader rule that requires more steps to limit asbestos exposure. Miners, she says, still don’t have the same level of protection as other workers in the country.

February saw the filing of two more mesothelioma lawsuits in West Virginia, one of the more active states for the litigation of mesothelioma and asbestos lawsuits. Both lawsuits name a number of companies, charging that through the sale and distribution of asbestos containing products, those companies were responsible for exposing the plaintiffs to harmful asbestos fibers which caused them to develop untreatable and fatal asbestos-related diseases.

Houston and Patricia Wendell filed suit against 38 companies, including A. W. Chesterton Company. Houston worked for DuPont at the Belle, West Virginia plant from 1941 to 1980. His suit claims that in the course of his work, he was exposed to products that contained asbestos, and that those products emitted asbestos containing fibers into the air which he breathed. As a result of the exposure to the airborne asbestos fibers, Wendell developed mesothelioma, a deadly, rare cancer that affects the linings of organs and organ cavities in the body. Asbestos related diseases like mesothelioma can take decades to develop, but are invariably terminal.

Wendell’s suit claims that he was unaware that he was being exposed to asbestos fibers. The companies that are named in the suit, it alleges, did not provide any or adequate warnings about the dangers of asbestos in their products, nor did they provide training or information about safe ways to work with and around asbestos. Wendell’s suit claims that his illness is progressive, untreatable and incurable.

According to the suit, the Wendells have suffered and will continue to suffer serious bodily injury, pain, suffering and mental anguish, lost earnings, medical expenses and other damages. They seek both compensatory and punitive damages.

The second suit was filed by Geneva Fritz on behalf of the estate of Bobby Fritz, against CSX Transportation, Inc. The suit alleges that Bobby Fritz developed lung cancer after being required to work with near toxic dusts which contained asbestos and other harmful fibers. As a result of that exposure, the suit alleges, Fritz developed lung cancer, the disease of which he died.

The suit claims that CSX failed to require or provide appropriate safety equipment for handling and working with asbestos containing dusts, and failed to provide adequate or any training related to working with the hazardous substances. In the suit, Geneva Fritz claims that Bobby Fritz, before he died, suffered personal injury, great pain and extreme anxiety, and diminishment of his enjoyment of life. In addition, she seeks compensatory and punitive damages for his estate, and the loss of services, society, affection counseling and support to his household.

CHARLESTON, West Virginia – Ashland Oil and DuPont are among 46 companies named in an asbestos suit filed recently by a Boone County man and his wife.

James Paul Downs claims that he was exposed to asbestos and other harmful dusts while he was working for the companies named, or by products manufactured by the companies named. As a result of the asbestos exposure, the suit says, Downs developed lung cancer which has cost him financially and emotionally.

Downs was directly employed by both Ashland Oil, Inc. and DuPont. Other companies named in the suit manufactured, sold, distributed, used or installed products containing asbestos to which he was exposed.

Downs says that he breathed asbestos while handling the products, and that caused his lung cancer. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that causes and contributes to the development of many different cancers, including lung cancer. Those exposed to asbestos are far more likely to develop lung cancer than those who never worked with the dangerous mineral. In addition, asbestos causes severe scarring of the lungs known as asbestosis, which is a progressive disabling condition that is always fatal.

Asbestos is also the only known cause of mesothelioma, a rare cancer that affects the lining of the lungs, heart or abdominal cavity. Many of those who worked in factories like those owned by DuPont, in the construction industry and in the energy industries, have become ill with mesothelioma as a result of their exposure to asbestos. Many of the companies that employed them or provided the asbestos that was used in their products have been successfully sued in court. Claimants who were harmed by the products made by the defendants of such suits have been awarded billions of dollars in mesothelioma and asbestos suits.

The twelve count suit claims that the companies knew or should have known that the asbestos contained in their products would have a harmful effect on the health of those who came in contact with their products. It also states that they used asbestos in their products even though there were suitable, less harmful substitutes available.

Downs’ suit claims that because of his lung cancer, caused by the defendants’ products, he suffered great pain of body and mind, suffering, fear, distress, embarrassment, inconvenience, economic loss including medical and pharmaceutical bills, and loss of quality of enjoyment of life.

His wife Ruth is also listed as a plaintiff in the suit. She claims that she has suffered the loss of general services, companionship and society of her husband. The suit seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

The suit was filed in Kanawha County on January 16.

KANAWHA COUNTY, West Virginia - A former worker at Ashland Oil and DuPont has filed suit against 46 companies alleging that their products exposed him to asbestos and resulted in his mesothelioma.

James Paul Downs and his wife Ruth Downs have filed suit in Kanawha County District Court against 20th Century Glove Corp of Texas and 45 other defendants. Downs claims that the defendants in the suit are responsible for exposing him to asbestos which led to lung cancer. Downs worked for Ashland Oil and DuPont, where he claims he was exposed to asbestos and other dusts in the course of his work.

In addition to medical compensation, Downs claims that he suffered great pain of body and mind, suffering, distress, fear, embarrassment, inconvenience and loss of quality of enjoyment of his life. He suffered economic loss including medical and pharmaceutical bills and inability to work.

In tandem with the suit by her husband, Ruth Downs claims that she was deprived of his companionship and society, and lost the general services of her husband. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

In a similar case filed January 30 in Kanawha County, Barnett R. Stubblefield and his wife Delores have brought suit against 20th Century Glove Corp and 78 other defendants. Stubblefield, now living in Pittsburgh, claims that he was exposed to asbestos for many years at various job sites in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Stubblefield worked as a laborer. He has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer that is only caused by exposure to asbestos.

Both suits claim that the plaintiffs worked with and around products made by the defendant companies, and that through those products, they were exposed to asbestos. They further claim that the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos contained in their products could have harmful and deleterious effects on the health of those exposed to it. The suits further allege that the companies used asbestos in their products even though there were other suitable alternatives, and that they provided no or inadequate instruction in methods of handling and working with asbestos safely.

The defendant companies also did not provide the plaintiffs with appropriate protections and instructions in hygiene methods designed to reduce or eliminate the transfer of hazardous asbestos fibers from work to home and the community.

Both suits seek compensatory and punitive damages.

If you or someone you know was exposed to asbestos in the workplace, home or community and later developed mesothelioma, asbestosis or an asbestos related cancer, you may be entitled to compensation for your loss and illness. Contact a lawyer with experience in dealing with asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits to learn more about your rights to compensation under the law.

CHARLESTON, West Virginia – The owner of a Charleston demolition company is facing criminal charges for allegedly illegally dumping asbestos on two properties that he owns.
Rodney D. Loftis Sr. is charged with violating two cease and desist orders from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, and with creating open dumps on two of his properties without DEP permission. According to court documents, the DEP found chrysotile asbestos at both sites.
Loftis is the president of Rodney Loftis & Son Contracting, Inc. He was indicted in August 2007 by a Kanawha County grand jury. Loftis’ demolition clients include the city of Charleston and Kanawha County.
Loftis violated a 2004 order that he stop accepting solid waste at his Woodward Drive property, claims a criminal complaint field last year in Kanawha County Magistrate Court by Cynthia Musser, a DEP environmental inspector supervisor.
According to the complaint, the Woodward Drive site was inspected on January 6, 2006, February 14, 2006 and March 7, 2006, and the inspections revealed the “continued operation of an umpermitted solid waste disposal area”.
On February 17, 2006, the court issued a cease and desist order that demanded proof from Loftis that he had properly disposed of materials containing asbestos from several locations in Charleston.
The DEP, along with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, carefully regulate the removal and disposal of asbestos. The hazardous material was widely used in construction through the 1970s. When asbestos containing materials are damaged or destroyed, the asbestos fibers are released into the air and become a dangerous air pollutant. When inhaled, the fibers of asbestos can lodge in the lungs and remain in the body for decades, eventually causing severe illnesses. Among the range of illnesses caused by asbestos are lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.
Federal law requires that all asbestos containing materials be removed from homes before they are demolished. The DEP requires that only personnel licensed by the Bureau for Public Health remove any asbestos containing materials. Asbestos containing materials can only be disposed of in licensed landfills that have the capability to contain the asbestos and prevent fibers from being released into the air.
This is not the first time that Loftis has run afoul of regulations regarding the handling of mesothelioma causing asbestos. In 2000, he paid a $25,000 fine to the DEP to settle a lawsuit that alleged he had repeatedly violated asbestos handling rules when he demolished buildings.
A 1997 profile in a local newspaper named Loftis as the No. 1 demolition contractor in Charleston. He regularly contracts with the city and county to demolish older buildings.