Asbestos Sufferers’ Advocates Still Fighting Industry for Fair Redress
Michelle Chen (bio)
Apr 19, 2005
As lawsuits stemming from asbestos-related sickness place a swelling burden on the courts, lawmakers are weighing a controversial proposal to scrap the existing litigation process in favor of a supposedly fairer system for compensating victims of the deadly industrial contaminant.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is currently weighing legislation that would create a federally administered trust fund for individuals suffering from asbestos exposure. The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005 would establish a system for allocating financial compensation to victims while essentially outlawing civil litigation against corporations for asbestos damages. Proponents of the bill see it as a way to free up an overburdened civil court system, but many critics believe the proposed trust fund would offer no guarantee that victims would be adequately compensated for their suffering.
Similar initiatives for asbestos compensation funds in previous years have failed to muster enough public or congressional support to pass, leaving cases to be handled by the courts.
According to a draft bill released to the public, the legislation would provide a $140 billion national fund for asbestos compensation, financed by asbestos-related corporations and their insurers. Like workers’ compensation, the fund is designed to dramatically reduce industry liability and to pay for medical and other expenses associated with asbestos-induced illness. Rather than taking their cases to court, victims would file a claim with the Department of Labor, which would then judge whether the person’s case warrants compensation and allocate funds according to the severity of the harm caused by exposure.
Asbestos, a mineral used in the production of industrial materials, has been shown to cause various lung diseases, including lung cancer and a less common form of cancer known as lmesothelioma. These illnesses have no cure and may take decades to manifest. According to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 27 million US workers were exposed from 1940 to 1979, and high exposure risks persist in the construction and mining industries as well as contaminated residential environments.
Researchers with the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, DC-based public interest advocacy organization, have estimated that nationwide, approximately10,000 people per year die of asbestos-related diseases, including asbestosis and lung cancer.
The policy research group the RAND Institute reported earlier this year that more than 700,000 asbestos-related lawsuits have been filed in recent decades, costing industry tens of billions of dollars. The insurance industry consultancy firm Tillinghast* estimated that in 2003, asbestos litigation cost corporations a total of $8.6 billion, contributing significantly to industry’s rising overall litigation costs, which reached $246 billion that year.
Victims’ advocates say the proposed fund would coddle industry with excessive legal protections for corporations and minimal financial security for victims.
The Bush administration has pushed for an asbestos compensation fund as part of its tort law reform agenda to protect corporations from financially damaging "junk lawsuits," what they see as unfounded civil claims.
Source: http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/1706
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), an organization dedicated to serving as the voice of asbestos victims, today announced its second annual Asbestos Awareness Day - to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and asbestos related diseases such as mestholioma. The conference is being held at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City on April 1, 2006.
As asbestos sufferers marked a national day of awareness and a 6pm deadline passed for the company to strike a deal with the NSW Government, a spokesman for Premier Morris Iemma said negotiations were continuing.
“The parties are continuing to negotiate and the Premier has quite emphatically said that legislation will be introduced next week,” the spokesman said.
“Its up to James Hardie as to what form the legislation takes.”
The mission of the 2nd Annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference is to provide the most advanced medical, occupational and legal information available about asbestos related disease to individuals throughout the world. This conference is being organized by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and is sponsored by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health.
The NSW government has vowed to press ahead with legislation forcing James Hardie Industries to commit to a final compensation package for asbestos victims.
As asbestos sufferers marked a national day of awareness and a 6pm deadline passed for the company to strike a deal with the NSW government, a spokesman for Premier Morris Iemma said negotiations were continuing.
"The parties are continuing to negotiate and the premier has quite emphatically said that legislation will be introduced next week," the spokesman said.
"The focus of this year's conference is to provide the most recent information about the risks, research and treatment options for the incurable asbestos related diseases and leagal options," said Alan Reinstein, President, Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and mesothelioma victim. "With unity, there is hope for a cure."
"Mount Sinai is pleased to collaborate with the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization and the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health in sponsorship of the 2nd Annual Asbestos Awareness Day Conference," said Dr. Philip Landrigan, Chairman of Mount Sinai's Department of Community & Preventive Medicine and a researcher for many years into occupational diseases. "The integration of science, policy and advocacy should provide a cutting edge forum in which to assess the risks to health and the economic impact of asbestos exposure worldwide."
"Many decades ago science revealed how deadly asbestos is, but exposure continues on the job and in our homes," said Joel Shufro, Executive Director, New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health. "We hope this conference will help to eliminate asbestos exposure and the plague of incurable and deadly diseases."
Asbestos producing countries have repeatedly blocked the addition of chrysotile (white) asbestos to the UN list of highly dangerous substances that cannot be exported to developing countries without their knowledge and agreement.
About Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by asbestos victims and their families. ADAO seeks to give asbestos victims and concerned citizens a united voice to help ensure that their rights are fairly represented and protected, while raising public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure and often deadly asbestos related diseases. ADAO is an independent organization funded through voluntary contributions and staffed by volunteers. For more information visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org
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