The 10 Most Scariest Things About Asbestos Lawsuit History

Texas Asbestos Lawsuit History

Many companies have declared bankruptcy due to asbestos lawsuits filed by victims. A mesothelioma attorney can assist you in getting compensation.

Doctors and health experts long warned about asbestos exposure's dangers. Industry leaders have downplayed the risks. Over time, asbestos-related diseases were becoming more prevalent.

The Third Case

Asbestos-related lawsuits started to gain momentum in the 1970s, when studies by scientists began to connect asbestos with serious diseases such as asbestosis or mesothelioma. Because asbestos-related diseases don't typically develop symptoms until decades after exposure, hundreds of thousands of lawsuits were filed. Many of these claims were filed in Texas, where favorable laws made it a preferred location for this litigation saga.

Johns Manville was the leading producer during the 1940s and 1950s of asbestos lawyer products. This case had a major impact on asbestos litigation. In the 1980s, it came to be known that the company's chief executive Lewis Brown prioritized company profits over the health of his employees. Deposition testimony revealed that Brown was heavily influenced by the chief medical advisor of the company, Dr. Russell Budd. Budd was a doctor who was well-known for his callous disregard of the health of workers.

Johns Manville was found to have been aware of asbestos lawyer's dangers, but did not take any action to safeguard their workers. The court found that the company is liable for damages if workers later develop mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illnesses. The court also ruled that the company was responsible for the families of deceased workers.

Following the decision in Borel many asbestos victims and their families sought compensation from the companies that used asbestos as a material. Most of these claims were rejected due to a variety of reasons. Some cases were allowed to proceed, and the courts drew up a series of guidelines that have guided the handling of asbestos-related lawsuits.

In the 1990s asbestos defendants were seeking legal rulings to reduce their liability. They wanted to be able to argue that asbestos materials were not a part of their product, and therefore they shouldn't be held liable for the injuries suffered by people who worked with asbestos. The claims were not successful and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to recognize the "asbestos lawyer product" defense.

Federal and state laws safeguard the right of a mesothelioma patient to seek compensation for their illness from the parties accountable in a specific case. Insurance companies continue to fight these claims.