ASBESTOS NEWS UPDATE
Texas couple files lawsuit against 58 defendant corporations

February 5, 2009 -- In what may be the most widespread asbestos damage lawsuit in history, a married couple from Texas has filed suit against 58 corporations, claiming that the husband’s asbestos-related disease was the result of their negligence.

The asbestos lawsuit, filed January 13 in Jefferson County District Court in Texas, says all 58 companies knew their asbestos-containing products were hazardous to workers’ health but failed to adequately protect them.

Exposure to asbestos can cause a number of diseases and respiratory disorders, including cancer of the pharynx, cancer of the esophagus, stomach cancer, colon cancer, cancer of the rectum, asbestosis, and mesothelioma.

The most lethal of these is malignant pleural mesothelioma, which can lead to a form of cancer that may not display symptoms for up to seven decades, but when it does, it is almost always too late to treat.

The defendants in the case are: Ametek, Bondex, Certainteed, Champlain, Cooper Industries, Copes-Vulcan, Crosby Valve, Crown Cork, Durabla, Foseco, Garlock, Georgia Pacific, Guard-Line, Henry Vost Machine, Industrial Holdings Corp., Insulation Co., Kaiser Gypsum, KCG, Murcowall Products, Ogelbay Norton, Owens-Illinois, Parsons E&C, Rapid American, RPM Inc., Sepco Corp., TWC Valve, Uniroyal, Union Carbide (also named as a supplier of raw asbestos); premise owners Chevron, Dupont, Exxon Mobil and Texaco; contractors Able Supply, Bechtel, Daniel International, Fluor and HP Zachary; and manufacturers Allis-Chalmers, Aqua Chem, Crane Co., Elliot Turbo Machinery, FMC Corp., Foster Wheeler, GE, Goulds Pumps, IMO Industries, Ingersoll-Rand, Oakfabco, Peerless, Trane, Viacom, Warren Pumps, Weil-McLain and Zurn.

The truth about asbestos

Despite the fatal consequences associated with asbestos exposure, asbestos is still imported and used in the United States, which imported and used an estimated 1,820 tons of asbestos in 2007, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Medical sources estimate that in the next decade more than 35,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with the deadliest form of asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma. This disease is most often the result of industrial workplace exposure to asbestos – and usually contracted through employers’ blatant disregard for the health and safety of their workers.

Time to seek justice!

People diagnosed with mesothelioma and their family members have strong cases in court. Weitz & Luxenberg has protected the legal rights of workers for 25 years – longer than most law firms in the nation. And in that time the firm's mesothelioma lawyers have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients.

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, and seek FREE legal guidance and answers to your concerns, please notify us through the communication form below. We will pursue your claim with vigilance to help you pay for medical bills, future and past lost wages, and damages. There is no cost to you until we win a settlement or a verdict.