Mesothelioma Asbestos Class Action

The company’s Alimta treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma saw sales of $73.1 million, up from $40 million in the third quarter, while sales of depression treatment Cymbalta were $61.3 million, compared with $32.5 million in the third quarter, mainly due to initial wholesaler stocking. Fourth-quarter sales of Forteo, a treatment for severe osteoporosis, were $74.3 million, up from $58.1 million in the third quarter.
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European Prognosis Score Validated in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma: A recent article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology reports that the current model for determining the prognosis for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a valid tool for determining high and low-risk patients for clinical trial participation. (more…)

They’re getting ready for the Asbestos Health Fair in this old mining town. Posters promise “Door Prizes!!” and “Blood draw to participate in ongoing research!” Companies that sell home oxygen supplies will send reps. Doctors and researchers will be here. There will be consultants to help asbestosis victims apply for public aid. And there will be advice on finding help with the housework when the disease becomes too much. (more…)

Deaths from mesothelioma, an asbestos-related lung cancer, will peak within ten years in the UK and then fall to a much lower level, according to new figures published in this week’s British Journal of Cancer. Mesothelioma is a type of cancer in the lining of the lungs or the lining of the abdomen. It is thought that the majority of cases are the result of exposure to asbestos, but the disease can take up to sixty years to develop.
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On the subject of blog business models, Michael Buffington explains how he launched Asbestos News, a niche content blog designed to generate money via Google AdWords based on content supplied by Google Alerts: (more…)

Proponents of a bill to rein in asbestos lawsuits say this could be the year legislation is finally approved on Capitol Hill. Court cases have cost companies billions of dollars, while also helping to push dozens of firms into bankruptcy. But given the mounting debate over the proposed legislation, it’s clear that solving the asbestos problem won’t be easy. (more…)

Sometimes the ironic timing of events in our public life is so striking as to cause one to wonder whether the Great Scriptwriter in the Sky is trying to make a point. Thus, the word that the Senate voted for tort deform last week came just a few days after the news that seven executives of W.R. Grace & Co. were indicted on criminal charges of knowingly putting their workers and the public in danger by exposing them to asbestos ore. (more…)

Allos Therapeutics, Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 1 dose escalation study of its investigational drug PDX (pralatrexate) with vitamin B12 and folic acid supplementation in patients with previously-treated (Stage IIIB-IV) advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). (more…)

President George W. Bush made his first stop in Michigan since his re-election, and the main topic of his agenda was asbestos litigation reform. Bush spoke to an invitation-only crowd at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts Jan. 7. He was joined by four other guests, one being an expert on asbestos and litigation, with the remaining three speaking of personal asbestos litigation experiences. (more…)

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) – Crane Co., an industrial products maker, late Monday reported a higher fourth-quarter profit, helped by a one-time gain resulting from the termination of its planned asbestos settlement. (more…)

ATLANTA - The state Supreme Court has dealt a setback to four plaintiffs suing CSX Transportation Inc. in a case involving people who said they suffered asbestos-related illnesses from breathing fumes from the work clothes of employees of the railroad. (more…)

JACKSON, Miss. - Jefferson County Circuit Judge Lamar Pickard has dismissed nearly 3,700 asbestos claims because the plaintiffs have no ties to Mississippi, a defense attorney said Monday. Marcy Bryan Croft, a Jackson lawyer who represents more than 75 defendants, (more…)

Halliburton Co. on Tuesday said it has paid about $2.8 billion to complete the funding of the asbestos, mesothelioma and silica settlements for its subsidiaries that had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (more…)

Need to Fund Cure for Mesothelioma SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Challenged by a patient to help fund the research needed to find a cure for malignant mesothelioma, U.S. Senator Arlen Specter yesterday agreed to look into the federal government’s commitment to treating the deadly cancer associated with asbestos exposure. (more…)

A PENSIONER won £10,000 in damages yesterday over the asbestos-related death of her shipbuilder son. Widow Annie Little watched her son Ian Cruickshank, 52, die in agony from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung lining. (more…)

Mesothelioma attorneys negotiate high settlement for 78 year-old man in multi-defendant lawsuit.

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) December 22, 2004 – HendlerLaw of Austin, TX and Bilbrey & Hylla of Edwardsville, IL, recently negotiated settlements for http://www.mesotheliomaadvice.org/ [mesothelioma] victim Luke Lindau, (more…)

WASHINGTON - Legislation to ban asbestos lawsuits by people sickened through asbestos exposure is stuck over how much money should be included in a compensation fund for victims, and Congress must decide what that figure should be, Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter said Tuesday. (more…)

City attorneys say Arizona meeting for asbestos lawsuit inappropriate, NEW YORK New York City won’t spend money to send attorneys to Arizona to meet with lawyers in an asbestos litigation case. (more…)

Speaking on Thursday following a meeting of Democrat and Republican lawmakers, President Bush once again stressed that class action lawsuit reform will be a key issue during his second term. (more…)

Limit Asbestos Liability WASHINGTON — The official who handled a major Sept. 11 compensation fund (search) said Thursday a similar effort should be made to limit asbestos (search) liability lawsuits, a legislative priority this year for Republicans. (more…)

Georgia-Pacific Corp. warned its fourth-quarter results will be negatively impacted by unusual charges, including asbestos litigation costs.

The Atlanta-based wood, pulp and paper products company (NYSE: GP) expects to report between a loss of 1 cent to earnings of 4 cents per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2004, (more…)

Summy’s Dallas firm, Baron & Budd, was built by Frederick Baron, 57, who made a fortune suing asbestos makers. Now the firm is using similar legal tactics, led by Summy, to secure lucrative fees from MTBE litigation: stretching product liability theories; lobbying Washington; elbowing aside rival trial lawyers; fighting, if need be, with a client; and relying on shaky scientific evidence. Their targets are makers of MTBE, like Lyondell Chemical, and the petro titans Exxon Mobil, Chevron Texaco and BP, which refine MTBE-laced gasoline. (more…)

William Lisac, 62, a member of Steamfitters Local 449 for more than 40 years, was exposed to asbestos during the 1960s and 1970s when he worked with valves, gaskets and other products that contained the material at power plants, chemical plants and steel mills. He said DeZurik never warned him that he was working with a dangerous and deadly substance. (more…)

Alimta Approved as First Licensed Treatment for Mesothelioma, a Deadly Cancer Caused by Asbestos. Lilly UK announced today that Alimta( (pemetrexed) will be available shortly for the treatment of people diagnosed with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs for which there is no known cure. Pemetrexed is the first licenced treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma, in combination with cisplatin. (more…)

In his first forum ruling as chief of the nation’s largest asbestos case docket, Judge Daniel J. Stack argued the “astronomical burden” of looming trials demanded he dismiss cases that were not connected directly to Madison County. In Paul & Lorraine Palmer v. Riley Stoker Corp. et. al., Stack ordered the case moved to a courtroom closer to “where the plaintiff claims (asbestos) exposure.” The Palmers filed suit in February 2004, charging asbestos negligence against eighty-seven companies, a list that included familar names like Ford, General Motors, Exxon, Shell, Sears, BP, and Viacom. (more…)

The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry worked with the state health department on the public health consultation about the W.R. Grace facility. The agency has linked some past exposures to Libby vermiculite with respiratory illnesses. (more…)

MINNEAPOLIS - More than 650 people say that when they were kids, they played on an asbestos-tainted vermiculite scrap pile at a northeast Minneapolis factory, a Minnesota Department of Health survey has found. The three-year survey was disclosed to neighborhood residents in recent weeks. It also identified 49 former workers at the plant that was last operated by the W.R. Grace & Co. A separate report on exposure to the workers and their families has yet to be released.
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“In America, claims for so-called ‘unimpaired lives’ - for the worry of potentially catching an asbestos-related disease - now form around three-quarters of all asbestos-related US claims,” he said. “It is highly undesirable for the UK to go down this route, which diverts resources from claimants with real and serious injuries.” The researchers point to a likely increase in mesothelioma claims over the next few years. Mesothelioma, a relatively rare form of cancer, is probably the most serious asbestos-related disease. It is usually fatal within two years of diagnosis, can develop as a result of very low asbestos exposure and symptoms may not appear for 40 or 50 years. While the manufacture and use of asbestos has fallen in western Europe and North America in recent decades, it has continued to expand in Asia and parts of eastern Europe. (more…)

Mesothelioma: Alimta Taxotere Clinical Trials, According to a new data presented by Eli Lilly and Company at the 29th annual European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Vienna, Austria, the advanced lung cancer patients can look forward to better-quality survival when treated with Alimta (pemetrexed), a newly approved anticancer agent in the European Union compared with Taxotere (docetaxel). (more…)

On NAM’s agenda: A new round of free-trade agreements, an end to any more litigation involving asbestos exposure, getting conservative nominees on the federal judiciary, tax reductions and shifting the tax burden from business income taxes to sales and consumption taxes, relaxed regulation, and more oil and gas drilling domestically to reduce business’ growing energy costs. But amid the chest-pounding, some business leaders remain worried that the U.S. may be veering off track in fiscal policy, health care, and even the war in Iraq. (more…)