Category: Asbestos & Lung Disease

Bailey Glasser Adds Two Lawyers to its Asbestos & Lung Disease Practice

Bailey & Glasser, LLP has added two compassionate and dedicated lawyers to its national Asbestos and Lung Disease practice group. Jena Borden will practice in the firm’s Maryville, Illinois office, and Timothy Leckenby is the newest member of the firm’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office. Jena and Tim focus their practice on representing individuals who have contracted mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other lung diseases caused by exposure to asbestos.

Of Counsel lawyer Jena L. Borden is an experienced litigator with over twenty years of experience representing plaintiffs injured by products made by companies that put profits over people. Jena has collected millions in settlements for asbestos victims nationwide, but she also brings valuable regional expertise having litigated cases in the most active court in the nation for asbestos litigation, Madison County, Illinois. For more about Jena Borden please click here.

Lawyer Timothy Leckenby joins our busy Pittsburgh asbestos team focusing on investigating asbestos cases from industrial settings like steel mills, chemical plants, power plants, or factories to residential dwellings and school buildings. Tim brings prior litigation experience including contract, personal injury, professional negligence, e-discovery, class actions and multidistrict litigation, unfair trade practices, and federal declaratory judgment actions. Learn more about Timothy Leckenby here.

To read the full announcement, please visit here.

To learn more about our Asbestos and Lung Disease practice, please visit here.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Bans Ongoing Use of Asbestos

On March 18, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule prohibiting the use of chrysotile asbestos, the last remaining type of asbestos that was being used and imported into the United States. Considering that asbestos is a known carcinogen that is already banned in more than fifty (50) countries, this is a monumental announcement that is long overdue.

The pervasive severe health risks associated with asbestos exposure have been well-documented for decades. Though new asbestos use in the United States has declined steadily since the 1980s, each year in the United States asbestos exposure is linked to 40,000 deaths from lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other cancers. The unfortunate reality is that asbestos still lingers as a construction material in millions of homes and public buildings throughout the United States.

Traditionally, the risk of asbestos exposure and related diagnoses of lung cancer or mesothelioma was associated with working in an industrial setting like shipbuilding, factories, or servicing heavy machinery. While those risks have reduced with the passage of time, the risk of exposure from asbestos-containing building materials in public buildings and college campuses remains.

Although there are several known types of asbestos, the only form known to be imported, processed, or distributed for use in the United States is chrysotile. The EPA ban comes on the heels of steadily increasing imports of chrysotile asbestos each year, as recently as 2022. Chrysotile asbestos is found in many products including asbestos diaphragms, sheet gaskets, brake blocks, aftermarket automotive brakes/linings, other vehicle friction products, and other gaskets.

Though this decision to ban chrysotile asbestos is long overdue, it is not the end of asbestos use in the United States. As Phase II of its asbestos risk evaluation, the EPA will be considering legacy uses of chrysotile asbestos, disposal of chrysotile asbestos, as well as asbestos-containing talc. Our asbestos litigation team will continue to monitor the EPA’s evaluation closely and provide an update when Phase II is complete.

While asbestos exposure has been linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma for decades the long latency period is a lesser-known consequence of exposure. This means that you may be diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma decades after you were exposed to asbestos. Contacting an attorney as soon as you are diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma is critical to allow for your potential claim to be timely investigated and filed.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma it is important to act quickly to protect your rights. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with a member of our asbestos litigation team. You don’t have to face this challenging situation alone – we are here to fight for you.

Learn more about partner Travis Prince here.

And for more information on our Asbestos & Lung Disease, please visit here.

Sources:

https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-ban-ongoing-uses-asbestos-protect-people-cancer

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68602748#

Partner D. Todd Mathews Named a “Super Lawyer”

BG partner Todd Mathews has been named a 2024 Super Lawyer. Todd dedicates his career to fighting for people injured by defective products like asbestos, hernia mesh, 3M’s combat earplugs, as well as on behalf of survivors of sexual abuse. We thank everyone who took part in Todd receiving this recognition. For more about Todd and his work, please visit here.

In addition to this accolade, Todd is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, an invitation-only organization composed of premier trial lawyers from each state or region, and is a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, one of the most prestigious groups of trial lawyers in America. In 2024 he was also recognized by Best Lawyers in America in three categories: Mass Tort Litigation / Class Action – Plaintiffs, Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, and Product Liability Law – Plaintiffs.

Todd Mathews Speaks on Mass Tort Panel

Bailey & Glasser, LLP partner and mass tort litigator Todd Mathews is speaking on May 4th at the Mass Torts Puerto Rico conference on hot topics in mass torts law and sharing our firm’s experiences in the past year’s impactful litigations including the Johnson & Johnson/LTL “Texas Two Step” litigation, the 3M/Aereo bankruptcy, trends in asbestos litigation, and more. ?

BG Partner Michael “Mickey” Robb Convinces EPA To Evaluate Whether College Students & Employees Are At An Increased Risk For Exposure To Asbestos

Mickey Robb

Congratulations to BG partner Michael “Mickey” Robb for convincing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate college/university students and employees as a group that is at an elevated risk for exposure to cancer-causing asbestos that lingers in aging higher education buildings across the United States.

When the EPA recently asked for public comment on its new Risk Evaluation for Asbestos Part 2, Mickey filed a public comment educating the EPA on Bailey & Glasser, LLP’s extensive investigation into the widespread asbestos contamination that exists inside of college and university buildings across America.

In his public comment, Mickey urged the EPA to modify its Potentially Exposed or Susceptible Subpopulations group to include individuals who may be exposed to asbestos while they are working or taking classes inside of college and university buildings.

The EPA’s response to Mickey’s request is noted below in this excerpt from the Federal Register:

“I’m honored that the EPA has taken our suggested rule modifications seriously,” Mickey said. “This is a monumental first step toward protecting college and university employees and students from exposure to asbestos inside of aging school buildings across the nation.”

Bailey Glasser Fights for 38,000 Talc Plaintiffs in JNJ/LTL “Texas Two Step” Bankruptcy Proceeding

Bailey Glasser was selected by the Official Committee of Talc Plaintiffs to co-lead the challenge to Johnson & Johnson’s “Texas Two Step” that denied 38,000 victims of its cancer-causing talcum powder to a jury trial. Johnson & Johnson – one of the world’s wealthiest companies, worth more than half a trillion dollars – created a subsidiary business for the express purpose of claiming bankruptcy in order to deny justice to 38,000 victims of J&J’s cancer-causing talcum powder products. The case is now underway in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, and an appeal to the Motion to Dismiss is pending before the United States Circuit Court for the Third Circuit.

For a larger roundup of news articles about this important matter, please visit here.