On May 7th, a Washington resident diagnosed with mesothelioma filed a claim in Illinois.

The man claims that during his employment as a U.S. Army machinist in Illinois, he was negligently exposed to asbestos, which is the cause of his mesothelioma. He was employed from 1962 to 2003.

The lawsuit has named 68 defendant corporations who the plaintiff claims knew, or should have been aware, that their products contained asbestos. Asbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma. It is also linked to a number of other serious lung conditions.

The man claims that the defendant corporations included asbestos in their products despite the availability of substitute products.

The man was diagnosed with mesothelioma on February 8, 2008. He is seeking damages to help pay for the necessary medical treatments in addition to the emotional and psychological consequences.

Mesothelioma attorneys are working hard to hold negligent corporations responsible for the illnesses that result from asbestos exposure.

A jury in Baltimore, Maryland has ordered a sealant company to pay a 73-year-old man $15.3 million after determining that he developed mesothelioma from exposure to asbestos-containing products made by the company.  The Plaintiff worked at Key Highway Shipyard from 1952 to 1959.  In 1954, he moved to the machine shop and worked on lining valves using rope made by the Defendant, John Crane, Inc. The jury found that the rope used by the Plaintiff contained asbestos.  Mesothelioma is a cancer directly linked to asbestos.  The verdict came after a three-week trial.  Source:  Baltimore Sun, March 2008

On May 7th, a Texas family filed an asbestos related lawsuit against 35 companies on behalf of their deceased relative. The suit was filed despite the fact that the deceased had already filed and won a previous asbestos related claim.

The recent lawsuit sites that the negligence of the defendants lead to a second asbestos related illness, which caused the premature death of the Texas man.

In the state of Texas, case precedent for multiple asbestos related lawsuits was set in 2000. The Texas State Supreme Court upheld the opinion that a victim of asbestos exposure may file a second lawsuit if they develop a second illness at a later date.

The precedent overturned the opinion that Texas plaintiffs can only file one lawsuit for asbestos related injuries, even if a second asbestos related illness develops later.

Asbestos attorneys are currently working on cases in which serious or fatal illness has developed due to asbestos exposure.