Asbestos Victims Under Attack by Proposed Asbestos Legislation
Asbestos-exposed individuals have a high risk of developing mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or other asbestos-related diseases.
Woodland Hills, CA (PRWEB) July 21, 2004 -- Mesothelioma Advisor has released
a new report on proposed legislation that will negatively impact asbestos
victims, available at http://www.mesothelioma-advisor.org/article-1.php . The
article was written by Eric N. Scholnick, Attorney at Law.
It has
recently been reported, in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, among
others, that thousands of allegedly unimpaired individuals are filing asbestos
personal injury lawsuits. These news reports state that these asbestos claims
may threaten the financial well-being of numerous large corporations. Corporate
and insurance company officials are quoted on the need for federal legislation,
to control asbestos cases. In their words, they want to make sure money goes to
those who are truly sick.
It is important to see the big lie behind these
news stories.
Persons who have suffered a detriment at the hands of
another are entitled to seek redress in our courts. There has never been a
requirement that persons be impaired or disabled in order to seek redress; it is
enough that they are injured. The presence of greatly elevated levels of
asbestos fibers in one’s lungs is clearly a detriment. Most persons who have
never been heavily exposed to asbestos would never trade lungs with a Navy
veteran, even if that Navy veteran had not yet suffered an impairment or
disability. Asbestos-exposed individuals have a far greater risk of developing
mesothelioma (a cancer of the lung or stomach lining), lung cancer, or
asbestosis later in life. It should be left to juries to decide if the presence
of those fibers constitutes an injury under the law.
Access to our
judicial system is an important right; the judicial system protects Americans
from large corporations who sell unsafe products, and conceal the dangers of
those products from the public.
Instead, the large corporations which
brought the asbestos nightmare upon us, and their insurance companies, now seek
federal legislation, to restrict access to, or take the place of, the American
jury system. The legislation which has thus far been proposed would appoint a
board of review, and make it mandatory that any asbestos case be reviewed by the
board to determine if any individual had a right to compensation. All cases
would be delayed, so that some claimants would die before their cases could be
reviewed, and most cases would be rejected.
The reason for this proposal
should be obvious. After years of consistently losing before juries, the
asbestos companies, and insurance companies, are once again watching out for the
almighty dollar, over the rights of injured persons. This is exactly what these
companies did in the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and later, as they did all they
could to keep their knowledge of asbestos hazards from being made
public.
The corporations and insurance companies say they want to make
sure that badly injured individuals receive compensation. This is hypocritical,
as these same companies have fought, and lost, valid claims for decades. Now,
all of a sudden, they say they’re concerned about victims. Don’t believe
them.
The number of asbestos claims is not slowing down largely because
the asbestos companies kept selling asbestos products, even into the 1980s. They
lied to their customers, saying the products were safe, and kept asbestos
products in the market long after they should have been gone.
More
information can be found at Mesothelioma Advisor ( http://www.mesothelioma-advisor.org/. The Web site contains
informative articles on topics such as mesothelioma treatments, symptoms,
palliative care and more.
The Mesothelioma Advisor is sponsored by the
Law Firm of Lewis & Scholnick ( http://www.lsasbestoslaw.com/ ). Visit the Mesothelioma
Advisor at http://www.mesothelioma-advisor.org/ .
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb142722.htm