Charlottesville Personal Injury Lawyer - asbestos

New GM Accepts New Product Liability Claims

Greg Webb — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:00:00 GMT

In a bid to win court approval for a quick sale from bankruptcy, General Motors Corp. (GM) has agreed to accept liability for future product defects. Additionally, GM stated that it would change the terms of its proposed asset sale to address the objections raised by twenty suppliers and was working to create a “consensual” agreement regarding the future of a joint-venture plant with Toyota. These statements by GM demonstrate how the auto manufacturer and Obama administration officials have worked to counter some of the more controversial issues raised by the company’s bankruptcy filing. A group of nine state attorney generals, for example, voiced opposition to GM’s reorganization because it would have robbed consumers of protection against product defects under state legislation.

By August, under the GM reorganization plan, a new company would be created to buy the company’s best assets out of bankruptcy. This new company would be 60 percent owned by the federal government, 17.5 percent by the United Auto Workers union and 11.7 percent by the Canadian government and the province of Ontario. The consumers who have lawsuits pending against GM have objected to the reorganization plan since those injury and wrongful-death claims would have to be paid from the sale of GM’s most worthless assets. They further claim the automaker’s insurance would only cover product liability claims of up to $35 million per claim. This amount would not cover the claims of almost any of the lawsuits since many of the cases involved “devastating injuries” from alleged automobile defects.

GM has agreed, however, to continue paying “lemon law” claims so consumers would be entitled to a refund or replacement for defective vehicles. GM has also stated that the reorganized company, which will be nationalized with a $50 billion investment from the United States Treasury, will assume liability for future product defect claims as well.

While it is a good thing that GM will be back in business as (the New GM), it is a tragedy that there are thousands of product liability claims, including those for asbestos-related illnesses, that will effectively be kicked to the curb. All claims that existed before the "reorganization" are likely never going to be paid anything close to acual value. All of those that fall into this latter group probably feel as if the justice system has failed them. I am not sure how I could argue differently at the present time.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

EPA Declares Public Emergency Due To Asbestos At Montana Mine

Greg Webb — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 10:23:05 GMT

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared its first-ever “public emergency,” stating the federal government will give $6 million to the health authority in Lincoln County, Montana to provide medical care to people who were sickened by asbestos from a mine. The money is intended to pay for what insurance will not, and cover the medical bills of people without insurance. The declaration applies to the towns of Libby and Troy, where for decades workers in the town mined for vermiculite, a mineral used in insulation. Unknowingly, the workers were poisoning themselves because the vermiculite contained a toxic form of asbestos, which the workers carried home on their clothes.

Although the two towns’ combined population is only 3,900, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates about 500 residents have asbestos-related illnesses such as lung cancer and asbestosis. A department spokesperson estimates fifty new cases are diagnosed every year, including some in family members who never stepped foot in the mine. Senator Jon Tester of Montana claims no family in the area has escaped exposure.

The EPA’s announcement came about six weeks after a Montana jury acquitted the chemical company W.R. Grace and three of its executives on charges that they withheld important information regarding the dangers of the mine. W.R. Grace ran the mine from 1963 until it closed in 1990, though vermiculite had been removed from the mine since the early 20^th century. Although the Department of Health and Human Services has spent about $46 million in the past ten years for diagnostic screening programs and paying to improve health care, the new $6 million is to be given directly to patients.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

GM Asbestos Claimants Seek Formal Panel in Bankruptcy

Greg Webb — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:37:39 GMT

Asbestos-injury claimants have asked for an official committee in the General Motors bankruptcy case, saying that the plan to sell the corporation might be unconstitutional since they’ve been excluded from the negotiations.

Lawyers for the claimants stated in a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York that the authority to approve GM’s plan to sell its assets would be limited without the participation of future asbestos claimants. The filing argued that there are due process concerns that limit the court’s ability to enter an order binding the rights of unknown future claimants in a reorganization of which they are unaware and in which they have not been appointed a legal representative.

Creditors are fighting the spinoff of Chrysler LLC’s core business to a new company owned 20 percent by Fiat SpA. Detroit-based GM has said in regulatory filings that its liability for asbestos-related legal claims was $648 million in 2008 and $637 in 2007. The claimants’ filing said that the magnitude of GM’s asbestos liability has been public knowledge and should have been considered by both the auto corporation and the Auto Task Force in their restructuring activities. Spokeswoman for GM Europe Karin Kirchner declined to comment.

The U.S. Trustee appointed an official committee of GM’s unsecured creditors last week, including two people suing GM for asbestos exposure and product liability. The automaker filed for Chapter 11 protection on June 1. Under U.S. bankruptcy law, companies with asbestos-related liabilities can funnel legal claims into a trust, although lawyers’ bills and costs of official committees in bankruptcy cases are paid by the company.

The GM case is In Re General Motors Corp, 09-50026, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Asbestos Problem In Washington’s National Museum of American History

Greg Webb — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:05:50 GMT

According to members of the Steamfitters Union, Local 602, in 2007 asbestos dust filled the air of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC because contractors continuously failed to take legally required precautions while removing insulation. While the museum was closed to the public at the time, the museum’s full-time staff of employees and curators continued working in the building. A Smithsonian spokeswoman says that as soon as the safety workers found the problems, they immediately corrected procedures and turned off fans.

A representative of Steamfitters Local 602 claimed that on at least one occasion, it took days before procedures were corrected and implemented by the general contractor, Turner Construction. He said workers broke up asbestos-insulated pipes without wearing the protective clothing required or posting appropriate signs. When the dust became airborne, the air circulation equipment continued to operate, which made the dust carry throughout the museum. Employees said they knew of the asbestos, however, they did not know it had become airborne, nor did they know it was a life-threatening hazard that required action.

Last month, it was reported that officials at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space museum knew for seventeen years about asbestos covering wall joints but did not tell workers. Richard Pullman, an electrician and exhibit specialist at the museum who works with walls, has been diagnosed with asbestosis, a progressive lung disease that happens due to breathing asbestos fibers. He has since filed a Whistleblower Protection Act complaint. The House Administration Committee Chairman has scheduled a hearing about the asbestos in the museum; however, the hearing is being criticized for not inviting workers to testify.

A subcontractor on the project said the asbestos-laced piping insulation was torn up and released into the air before they were able to check. When they did check, however, asbestos was found. One worker was incorrectly told that an area was free of asbestos and according to the Smithsonian spokeswoman, when the site was inspected and asbestos was found, the project was shut down and the worker who gave the wrong information was let go. Fans were removed and the air samples proved there were no more hazards. It is unclear whether or not the contractors were told in advance about the asbestos in the museum.

My firm represents thousands of former workers, and some of their family members who were exposed from the dust of the workers’ clothing (sometimes called "household exposure" or "second-hand exposure), for asbestos-related illnesses. Many manufacturers of asbestos-containing products knew of the hazards of asbestos as early as 1929 (if not before). Until the mid-1970’s (when OSHA became law), most of the manufacturers failed to warn their own employees making the products, failed to warn those selling the products, failed to warn those installing the products, and failed to warn those using the products (among other failings). This was because asbestos was part of a profit-making machine. Hundreds of thousands of people have died prematurely and unnecessarily because of asbestos exposure. Asbestos used to be in many building and manufacturing materials (insulation, gaskets, packing, tile, flooring, wall-board, fire-brick, and on and on). The asbestos story in the United States is a shameful one.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb

Supreme Court To Consider Bankruptcy Court’s Power Due To Asbestos-Related Lawsuits

Greg Webb — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:00:00 GMT

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider reinstating a $500 million settlement of asbestos-related lawsuits against the Travelers Company Inc.. This settlement would prevent any further lawsuits from being filed against Travelers arising out of the company’s extensive relationship with Johns Manville Corp., which was once the world’s largest producer of asbestos.

Asbestos was used in the 1970s for insulation and fireproofing material. According to federal health agencies, exposure can increase the likelihood of lung cancer, mesothelioma and other health ailments. Travelers Company Inc. has been named in numerous lawsuits claiming it tried to conceal the dangerous health effects of asbestos. The company has argued that the lawsuit claims should come from a trust set up by Johns Manville in the 1980s, which was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge; money for the trust came largely from insurers. Travelers agreed to settle with several plaintiffs as long as federal courts made it clear that they would not face similar lawsuits in the future. The 2nd United States Circuit Court of Appeals in New York reversed lower-court approval of the agreement, stating a bankruptcy judge does not have the authority to act so broadly. In March, the justices will consider the question of the bankruptcy court's power.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Greg Webb