Texas asbestos lawsuit (posteezy.com published a blog post) History
Many companies have gone bankrupt due to asbestos lawsuits filed by victims. A knowledgeable mesothelioma lawyer will assist you in obtaining compensation.
Experts in the health field have warned for decades about the dangers of asbestos exposure. Industry leaders have downplayed these risks. As time went on, asbestos-related diseases became more common.
The Third Case
Asbestos lawsuits really began to gain momentum in the 1970s, shortly after research studies began to link asbestos to severe illnesses like mesothelioma and asbestosis. Because these diseases often don’t show symptoms until decades after exposure, hundreds of thousands of lawsuits were filed. These lawsuits were filed in Texas because of its favorable laws.
One of the most important cases that shaped asbestos litigation was Johns Manville, the leading producer of asbestos lawyer products in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1980s, it came to the light that the company’s CEO Lewis Brown prioritized company profits over the health of his employees. Deposition testimony revealed that Brown was heavily influenced by his company’s chief medical advisor Dr. Russell Budd. Budd was an expert in his field who was known for his sloppy disregard for the health of employees.
Johns Manville was found to have known about asbestos’s dangers, but did not take any action to protect their employees. The court declared that the company was accountable for any damages suffered by workers who later develop mesothelioma or other asbestos-related illnesses. The court also ruled that the company was responsible for damages for families of employees who passed away.
After the decision in Borel many asbestos victims and their families sought compensation from the companies that used asbestos as a material. Most of the claims were denied due to a variety of reasons. Some cases were permitted to proceed and the courts came up with up a series of guidelines that guide the handling of asbestos-related lawsuits.
In the 1990s asbestos defendants continued to seek legal rulings to limit their liability. For instance they wanted to be able to argue that asbestos lawyers materials were not part of their product and thus should not be held liable for injuries to people who worked with them. These claims were unsuccessful and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to uphold the “asbestos product” defense.
Today, a mesothelioma victim’s right to seek compensation from the accountable parties in a case is protected by state and federal law. Insurance companies continue to fight these claims.
