Democratic Vice President Elect, Joe Biden voted against a bill that would reduce the number of lawsuits victims of asbestos- related illnesses would be allowed to file. 

The bill would have replaced thousands of individual lawsuits with a trust fund for those suffering from asbestos-related illness. Biden and his democratic constituents feared that the bill would effectively end litigation for victims, leaving them with insufficient compensation.

Biden has also been critical of the failed “Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution” Act in 2005. This act would have limited future compensation for people suffering from asbestos-related illnesses.  

 “Senator Biden consistently opposed the asbestos bill because it was unfair. He thought it was dead wrong that if the trust fund ran out of money for the victims, they couldn’t even get their rights back,” official spokesman for Biden, David Wade, said.

Sen. Arlen Specter(PA) and Patrick Leahy(VT) are among the supporters of the bill that argued the bill would put an end to abusive litigation. Unfortunately where we stand now, with the government not putting a ban on the harmful substance, the bill would serve to deny compensation and medical care to those who are suffering and in need.

In St. Louis, MO, a company who makes heat resistant products has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to manage their legal liabilities concerning asbestos exposure lawsuits. 

Christy Refractories filed its petition for bankruptcy last week. The company has been subject to many lawsuits that stem from products sold by a company they acquired back in 1995. The company began to be named in asbestos-related cases back in the early 1980s, but the frequency of these lawsuits significantly increased about 8 years ago.

The manager of Christy Refractories, Frank O’Brien, says that on a monthly basis, asbestos settlements average out to be about $1 million per month and estimates that there are an additional 1,000 lawsuits pending. These lawsuits include people that were exposed to asbestos in schools, steel mills, and other commercial and industrial spaces.

A trust fund is being established for the lawsuits, and the bankruptcy court will decide how much money should be put in to the trust fund. O’Brien says there will be at least $18 million in the fund. 

O’Brien plans to keep the company running through its reorganization process. He speculates that it could take up to one year.

James Ross, 71, of Seattle, WA, is fighting against a rare form of lung cancer due to asbestos exposure after working many years as a brakeman and conductor. Ross is also fighting a requirement that says he must undergo an autopsy after his death, which is a requirement in order for his estate to file a lawsuit(s) against the responsible companies involved.

Ross objects to the autopsy based on his own personal belief that an autopsy results in ultimate destruction and disfiguration of the body, according to court documents. Ross is also arguing that the autopsy is unnecessary to confirm the diagnosis.

Washington state law specifies that participants in asbestos legislation can opt out of an autopsy if they cite religious beliefs.

According to court documents, if the court refuses to honor Ross’s request to forgo the autopsy, they may be in violation of Washington's statute governing autopsies and breaks fundamental notions of religious freedom and equal protection.

It has been three years in the making, but a federal judge has finally set a date for the largest environmental criminal trial in US history. 

Jury selection will begin February 19 in the case against WR Grace Co., alleging that the company knowingly endangering the lives of thousands by exposing them to asbestos-tainted ore from a vermiculite mine right outside of Libby, Montana.

Judge Molloy, the federal judge assigned to the case, is eager to move forward with the trial as it has been roughly two years since the last hearing, and the trial is expected to last nearly four months. Over the years, Molloy has ruled on a number of government efforts to hold WR Grace accountable for the asbestos contamination and has already levied huge fines that add up to hundreds of millions of dollars.  

The thirty three lawyers representing WR Grace in the trial will argue that the people of Libby could not have been harmed by the asbestos in the vermiculite ore. Environmental lawyers say that Grace’s legal team will make their argument with the help of industry-paid-for scientists who will conclude that the asbestos in Libby is not dangerous. In their counter argument, the government can point to hundreds of deaths that appear to be directly linked to asbestos-related diseases in Libby.

From the outset, this trial can be deemed unusual. The case was brought to the Federal Grand Jury just as the Bush administration was trying to force Congress to protect industry from civil asbestos claims. According to congressional investigators, the White House told the EPA and OSHA that it wanted to make sure unwarranted attention was not given for issues involving asbestos safety. 

WR Grace, if found guilty, could be fined up to $280 million, and WR Grace’s executives could receive maximum sentences of 55-70 years. The WR Grace executives that are in danger of being sentenced include Henry Eschenbach, who was the health and safety director in WR Grace's industrial chemical group; Jack Wolter, a former WR Grace vice president; Bill McCaig, an early general manager of the mine; Robert Bettacchi, also a WR Grace senior vice president; O. Mario Favorito, former general counsel for the corporation; and Robert Walsh, who was another senior vice president. A seventh official, Alan Stringer, the last general manager of the Libby mine, was also indicted. He died shortly after pleading not guilty.

A month before Stringer’s death, Les Skramstad, a former Libby miner, died of mesothelioma. Not only did the asbestos take Skramstad’s life, his wife and three children were all exposed to the asbestos through the clothing he wore home from work, and now have all been diagnosed with fatal asbestos-related diseases. Skramstad had hoped to survive to see WR Grace and the company’s executives tried in court.

Back in April, Evaline Semtner of Idaho was diagnosed with mesothelioma. She has since filed a lawsuit against 65 corporations in the Idaho and Washington area claiming she was exposed to asbestos over many years through her father and her ex-husband. Semtner’s father was employed as a maintenance man for the Milwaukee Railroad from 1948-1966 and her ex-husband was employed by various companies in the Washington and Idaho area as a laborer from 1966-1980.  

Semtner claims that her disease was a result of second hand exposure to asbestos after she inhaled or absorbed the asbestos fibers from her father’s and ex- husband’s clothing. Furthermore, Semtner claims her exposure to the harmful substance was foreseeable and that the defending corporations should have been able to anticipate it.

In the lawsuit, Semtner claims that her income has suffered due to her disease which has impeded her ability to pursue a normal course of employment. She will be seeking $100,000 in punitive and exemplary damages as well as $200,000 in compensatory damages. She will also be looking for compensatory and punitive damages in amounts that would punish the defending corporations for their misconduct, and deter the defending corporations as well as others from repeating the same type of behavior.