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You Are Here: Mesothelioma Legal Blog > 2009 > May
 
   

Archive for May, 2009

Montana Senator Calls for Improved Collaboration in Libby Asbestos Cleanup

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Libby, Montana is a town that has been riddled with asbestos-related problems for decades. Located near a now-closed W. R. Grace vermiculate mine, the area is now considered a federal Superfund site due to asbestos contamination. Over the years, hundreds have developed health issues and approximately 200 deaths have been attributed to asbestos-related illnesses.

For years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) have been working to clean up and monitor the area.

However, recent reports indicate that neither agency knows how safe the area has become. Because of this, Montana Senator Jon Tester has called for greater collaboration between the two agencies.

Sen. Tester believes that better communication will lead to improved cleanup efforts and strengthened healthcare for Libby residents.

The senator’s call for reform comes after EPA administrators were unable to answer his question of “how clean is clean,” instead directing him to check with the DHHS.

Since the two agencies have similar goals and duties, a formal collaboration would be a “giant leap forward in meeting some of the challenges that occur in Libby,” Tester said.

Hopefully, a new commitment to communication will serve to benefit the town of Libby and reduce future instances of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses.

With the tragedies we’ve seen as mesothelioma lawyers, we’re frustrated for and empathize with the Libby community and the many families affected by this horrible substance; and band together with other advocates to call for continued human and environmental protection from asbestos.

Mesothelioma Hits Retirement

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

For decades, men and women across the country went about working for their employers or serving their country in the military, all the while unknowingly being exposed to a deadly substance: asbestos.  Unlike exposure to other workplace or environmental toxins such as benzene or carbon monoxide, asbestos exposure typically doesn’t cause any immediate symptoms.

Manufacturers of asbestos products knew they were toxic, but hid that knowledge from their workers and from those who bought their products.  People were breathing in and swallowing the fibers, they were tracking the fibers home on their clothing and exposing their family, and they were returning back to work the next day - putting themselves at a deadly risk - without any idea of what was going to happen to them.

Asbestos product manufacturers took advantage of the fact that asbestos diseases, and in particular, mesothelioma, have a long latency period, typically not developing for decades after exposure.  This long latency period made it easier for them to cover up the effects of asbestos exposure and to continue to make a profit.

It’s tragic that mesothelioma hits anyone at any time of their life.  But at SEG Law, we’ve been especially saddened by the number of mesothelioma victims we’ve represented that were hit during the early years of their retirement.  For their entire adult lives, they worked long days, week after week, year after year, looking forward to the day they can retire and just take it easy, travel, or spend time with their grandchildren.  And then, with terrible irony, mesothelioma strikes in early retirement and wreaks havoc with their plans and lives.

Lloyd Higgins’s story follows this path.  Devastatingly, right after he retired, the day before he and his wife were due to pick up the RV they had bought to travel the country in for their retirement years, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.  He spent the last six months of his life fighting the horrific disease, and fighting the asbestos manufacturers responsible for his exposure.  Before he passed away, he was able to give a strong deposition.  Eleven months after his death, Lloyd Higgins’s wife received a settlement for an undisclosed amount.  She received what was due to her but unfortunately she lost Lloyd because of greedy asbestos product manufacturers.

Contact SEG Law today to join Lloyd’s fight and receive compensation for your asbestos exposure.

MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting Form

Monday, May 4th, 2009

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) offers an online form for the voluntary reporting of severe adverse reactions (SARs) to FDA regulated drugs, medical devices, and other products.  While advocacy groups are reporting that they’re seeing an increase in severe adverse reactions, such as SJS and TENs, from prescription and over the counter medications such as ibuprofen, the FDA indicates that they are not aware of any increase.

It is believed that significantly more severe adverse reactions occur in the United States each year than are reported to the FDA.  The FDA indicates that it takes submissions to the MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting Form into account when evaluating the number of severe adverse reactions.

SEG Law hopes that the FDA will require ibuprofen manufacturers to place warnings about the risk of SJS and TEN from using their products. We’re fighting in the courtroom to hold manufacturers of ibuprofen responsible for exposing consumers to this terrible risk without adequate warning.

Before you submit your SAR on the MedWatch form, contact us to discuss your Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis case - for free and without obligation.  We’ll advise you on the legal implications of reporting your reaction.

You had a right to know the risks.  Contact us today at  1-866-632-7574.

 
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