If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, contact our mesothelioma lawyers in Missouri today for a free consultation with any mesothelioma questions - medical or legal - you may have. We are one of the nation's leading supporters of the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation and have pledged $10 million to support cancer research at the Simmons Firm Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University.
Missouri Asbestos Exposure
Our Missouri mesothelioma lawyers are experienced working with victims of asbestos exposure. Most people afflicted with mesothelioma are often exposed to the material during the course of their employment. Many of them were exposed while working in St. Louis, Kansas City and throughout Missouri. These people, concerned only with making a living to support their families, did the jobs they were asked without questioning their employers and the materials they were asked to handle. At hundreds of job sites across the United States, including Missouri, thousands of workers were exposed to asbestos on a daily basis, putting their health, even their lives, at risk.
Unfortunately, direct exposure is not always necessary to have an increased risk of an asbestos-related disease. Simply working around the dangerous material can be enough to expose someone to a dangerous level of asbestos. Family members of those directly exposed to asbestos are also at risk if they inhale fibers brought home on work clothes. This is called “take-home” or “paraoccupational” exposure and can be just as dangerous as direct exposure.
Missouri Mesothelioma Lawyers with Experience
At the Simmons firm, our Missouri mesothelioma lawyers have been working with clients suffering from diseases associated with asbestos exposure for nearly a decade. In that time, we have represented thousands of individuals from all areas of the United States. Our skill and conviction, along with our dedication to personal client service, have helped us recover over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for over 10,000 clients.
Missouri Mesothelioma Lawyer and Legal Information
The state of Missouri ranks 17th in the nation for asbestos cases and the state has seen 624 deaths related to asbestos between 1980 and 2000. Large compensatory awards are not unusual when asbestos-related cases come to jury trial in Missouri. As recently as 2007, a jury awarded $5.1 million to the family of a 42-year-old woman who died of mesothelioma. The case is also notable since the woman had been exposed to asbestos through second-hand exposure, a concept which is being tested in other state court systems.
In addition to asbestos lawsuits filed by individuals who have been affected by asbestos exposure,there have also been cases filed 'in the public interest.' In 2005, the Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, in con
junction with other public interest groups, filed suit against the City of St. Louis and Lambert-St. Louis International Airport alleging that they endangered public health by demolishing 300 houses using the controversial 'wet method' of demolition. The wet method violates two federal statutes and may have exposed hundreds of people who live near the demolition sites to airborne asbestos.
In a case brought under the Clean Air Act, a local hotel operator was fined $200,000 for allegedly exposing hotel guests to asbestos during renovation work. Violations of the federal Clean Air Act such as these may give members of the general public who were exposed to and injured by asbestos grounds for a personal injury lawsuit in the future.
Determination of Damages
In the Missouri courts, juries determine whether damages are compensable using a pure comparative negligence system. Under pure comparative negligence, a plaintiff may still recover damages even if they bear any of the fault in causing the injury to themselves. As long as the defendantis determined to be at any fault in causing an injury, the plaintiff may collect damages, but the damages awarded will be reduced proportionate to the percentage of fault judged to the plaintiff. In other words, if a jury decides that damages in a case amount to $100,000 and the plaintiff is 20 percent at fault in the injuries, the plaintiff's award is reduced by 20 percent. The plaintiff will receive $80,000.
Missouri courts also used a modified joint and several liability rule in apportioning damages in cases where there are multiple defendants. Under the Missouri modification, a defendant is only subject toseveral liability if they bear 50 percent or less of the fault in causing the injury. If their fault is determined to be 51 percent or greater, they are liable for joint and several liability, which can make them liable for the entire judgment if other defendants are unable to pay their share.
Missouri Asbestos Litigation
Below are several examples of asbestos-related cases in Missouri:
City of Kansas City v. W.R. Grace & Co.: A St. Louis jury awarded $14.3 million in damages in what is believed to be the first asbestos property damages suit against a major asbestos manufacturer.
Clayton Center Associates v. W.R. Grace & Co.: A Missouri jury awarded $17.9 million including more than $2 million in punitive damages to Clayton Center Associates. The plaintiffs alleged that Grace & Co. sold them asbestos-containing insulation for a property despite the fact that the company knew legislation banning the product was about to be passed. Grace was also accused of using the product in the St. Louis market because this location was less knowledgeable about the dangers of asbestos than other regions.
Stephanie Foster v. Aerojet: A St. Louis jury awarded $5.1 million to the family of a woman who died of mesothelioma that was caused by her exposure to asbestos fibers on the clothing of her father, who worked for Aerojet during her infancy. Aerojet tried to claim that they had never used asbestos in their plants or products, despite their own records that showed a stockpile of tons of asbestos in a company-owned warehouse. The court sanctioned Aerojet, who lost subsequent appeals calling for a new trial. The plaintiff was awarded $5.1 million.
0 comments:
Post a Comment