Legislation, Laws & Litigation News

National environmental groups are banding together to fight the Regulatory Accountability Act, a bill they say would make it harder to protect consumers from dangerous substances such as asbestos. Officially known as the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) of 2017, it passed the U.S. House of Representatives in January and is now on the U.S. Senate…

A recent extension and reform of the Veterans Choice Program could allow for better access to care for veterans diagnosed with rare cancers such as mesothelioma. President Donald Trump signed the Veterans Choice Program Extension and Improvement Act (S.544) into law on April 18. The bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of…

Stories abound of a “cancer-curing” tea from the forests of Canada. Herbal blends claim to “attack cancer at the DNA level.” For many years, mesothelioma patients have turned to alternative medicines like these as treatment options for the rare asbestos-related cancer. Sometimes these options are a last resort, after traditional treatments fail. They may be…

A House Judiciary Committee approved the Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2017 , one of numerous iterations of the legislation since 2004, which asbestos foes claim will hurt those seeking much-deserved compensation. Repeatedly stalled in the legislature in previous years with a promised veto from President Barack Obama,…

For weeks, U.S. Senate Democrats, anti-asbestos activists and workers’ rights groups have fought the confirmation of Scott Pruitt, President Donald Trump’s controversial nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Despite a Democratic boycott and a pushback campaign from environmental advocates, Pruitt will likely replace former administrator Gina McCarthy, who held the position since 2013 under…

A new piece of legislation extends workers’ compensation rights for Ohio firefighters to include occupational cancers such as mesothelioma. Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed the Michael Louis Palumbo Jr. Act into law Jan. 4. The bill essentially classifies cancer as an occupational disease for firefighters, allowing firefighters who have cancer to file claims with the…

The fight to legalize medical marijuana in the U.S. took another leap forward last year with five states passing legislation allowing the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia now have some form of medical marijuana legislation in place, representing the majority of the country for the first time…

Asbestos, a mineral linked to various deadly health conditions and cancer such as mesothelioma, may finally get the scrutiny it needs so regulators can ban the toxic substance in the U.S. The lethal mineral is now among the top 10 substances the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must review in accordance to the newly reformed Toxic…

The California Supreme Court ruled last week that companies remain liable for secondhand asbestos exposure if the toxic material sickens a family member. The ruling may provide a clearer path for plaintiffs outside the workplace to bring legal action against asbestos manufacturers. It will help those harmed by asbestos that was inadvertently brought home by…

The recent record-setting $18 million verdict out of California rekindled the hotly debated link between talcum powder and mesothelioma cancer. A Los Angeles Superior Court jury awarded Philip Depoian the multimillion-dollar verdict against talc supplier Whittaker, Clark & Daniels. Depoian claimed the company’s asbestos-tainted talcum powder products used at the barbershop where his father worked…