A Washington man suffering from mesothelioma filed a suit naming 68 defendants this week.  He was employed by the U.S. Army for forty years, and like the 67 other defendants, they are facing charges regarding asbestos negligence.

The claim also named major companies such as CBS, Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Goodyear, Honeywell International, and Ingersoll-Rand.

James Regal was diagnosed with mesothelioma on February 8. In his claim, he states that the defendants failed to educate employees and consumers on the dangers of asbestos. Regal believes they also did not adequately teach employees how to prevent bringing asbestos fibers home.

Regal also suffers "great physical pain and mental anguish, and also will be hindered and prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment, thereby losing large sums of money," the complaint states. He is seeking at least $300,000 in damages for negligence, willful and wanton acts, conspiracy, and negligent spoliation of evidence among other allegations.

Earnest L. Edwards of Texas spent his life working as a pipe-fitter and consistently came in contact with asbestos. When he was diagnosed with asbestos-related disease, he filed a lawsuit and received compensation. Now deceased, Earnest's family is suing for a "different malignant asbestos-related injury," which they claim ended his life.

The suit names 35 defendants who, according to the claim, knowingly put Earnest and other employees at risk by failing to warn them of the risks associated with asbestos and insisting on using the material even when safer substitutes were available.

Though Earnest sued while he was alive, a 2000 precedent in Texas determined that an individual may sue again if he/she develops cancer after the original claim. The opinion overruled a long history of Texas cases holding that a person may only bring one lawsuit for an asbestos-related injury, even if he develops a second, catastrophic asbestos-related cancer at a much later date.

Politicians are pushing aggressively to obtain federal funding for mesothelioma research. Over a dozen senators and lobbyists are vying for funding from the Department of Defense's 2009 appropriation bill. They argue that one third of patients with mesothelioma worked in the Navy or at Navy shipyards when they were exposed to asbestos. Receiving funds from the Department of Defense would give mesothelioma research credibility and attract scientists to the field.

Currently, the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation funds about $1 million worth of research annually. Its president Chris Hahn, however, argues that in order to motivate researchers, there must be consistent funds of about $29 million annually.

But Hahn said the foundation is not looking to see money earmarked for the cause. Instead, they want to see mesothelioma listed as a priority part of the Pentagon’s peer-reviewed medical research program. Researchers would then compete for grants from the Department of Defense. And Congress has a say in how much money goes to the overall program — as well as which diseases would be listed as a priority.

Hahn says it is encouraging that MARF's call for funding is being heard, but he believes their efforts are far from over. “For decades the football was stuck in the opposing team’s endzone,” Hahn said. “The ball is finally moving, but we still have 90 yards to go out of 100.”

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Paul Bowen died only three months after receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis in October 2007. Now, his estate is suing 73 defendants for negligence and reckless misconduct that caused his asbestos-related death.

Paul worked for over 50 years as a laborer, mechanic, truck driver, miner, and kiln operator, but his estate believes his exposure to asbestos came primarily from fibers his wife brought home from work. She was employed at various locations as a machine operator, maintenance worker, finisher, and striper.

The suit names 73 defendants that include Bondex International, CBS, ConocoPhillips, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Goodyear, John Crane, Owens-Illinois, Pharmacia, Shell Chemical and Yarway Corp.

"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," the complaint states.

According to the claim, the defendants known or should have known about the dangers of asbestos. It also states that the companies chose not to use safe asbestos substitutes, even when they were available. The estate has tried to procure documents from the defendants regarding asbestos use in the workplace, but they claim evidence has been destroyed or is unwilling to be forfeited.

The estate is seeking at least $250,000 in compensatory damages for negligence, willful and wanton acts, conspiracy, and negligent spoliation of evidence among other allegations.

Dr. Michele Carbone and a team of American and Turkish doctors have been granted a $100,000 award by the American Association for Caner Research to study the possibility of a genetic disposition for mesothelioma.  Their work in Cappadocia, Turkey reveals the strong likelihood of a gene that creates a disposition for mesothelioma.

The team recently published an article that stated "Initially linked solely to the exposure to a fibrous mineral, erionite, recent studies by scientists from Turkey and the United States have shown that erionite causes mesothelioma mostly in families that are genetically predisposed to mineral fibre carcinogenesis."

In accepting the grant, the team wrote, "They will apply the AACR INNOVATOR grant to their study of linkage analysis to identify the predisposing gene or genes for mesothelioma among this cultural group and map the genetic risk factors by genetic linkage studies. Findings from this research have implications far beyond the villages in Turkey as they can be applied to other geographic areas and communities worldwide with the goal of preventing this deadly form of cancer or finding new life-saving treatments."