Symptoms of Mesothelioma

A Washington man suffering from mesothelioma filed an asbestos suit in Madison County Circuit Court May 7, claiming his disease was wrongfully caused.

James Regal claims he was employed as a machinist in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 2003 in Illinois and various other locations and as a maintenance man at various locations in Illinois, Washington and Massachusetts.

Regal claims that during the course of his employment and during home and automotive repairs he was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed asbestos fibers emanating from certain products he was working with and around.

He names 68 defendant corporations that include Bondex International, CBS, Chrysler, Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Trust, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Goodyear, Honeywell International, Ingersoll-Rand, International Paper, John Crane, MetLife, Owens-Illinois, Philips Electronics and Riley Stoker.

“The plaintiff’s exposure and inhalation, ingestion or absorption of the asbestos fibers was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants” the complaint states.

Regal claims the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers contained in their products had a toxic, poisonous and highly deleterious effect upon the health of people.

According to Regal, he first became aware that he suffered from mesothelioma on Feb. 8

Regal alleges that the defendants included asbestos in their products even when adequate substitutes were available and failed to provide any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with and around asbestos.

He also claims that the defendants failed to require and advise employees of hygiene practices designed to reduce or prevent carrying asbestos fibers home.

As a result of the alleged negligence, Regal claims he was exposed to fibers containing asbestos. He developed a disease caused only by asbestos which has disabled and disfigured him, the complaint states.

He seeks damages to help pay for the cost of his treatment.

Regal also suffers “great physical pain and mental anguish, and also will be hindered and prevented from pursuing his normal course of employment, thereby losing large sums of money” the complaint states.

Regal also claims that he has sought, but has been unable to obtain, full disclosure of relevant documents and information from the defendants leading him to believe the defendants destroyed documents related to asbestos.

“It was foreseeable to a reasonable person/entity in the respective positions of defendants, that said documents and information constituted evidence, which was material to potential civil litigation-namely asbestos litigation” the complaint states.

Regal alleges that as a result of each defendant breaching its duty to preserve material evidence by destroying documents and information it has been prejudiced and impaired in proving claims against all potential parties.

“Plaintiff has been caused to suffer damages in the form of impaired ability to recover against defendants and lost or reduced compensation from other potentially liable parties in this litigation,” the complaint states.

Regal is seeking at least $300,000 in damages for negligence, willful and wanton acts, conspiracy, and negligent spoliation of evidence among other allegations.

“In addition to compensatory damages, an award of punitive damages is appropriate and necessary in order to punish the defendants for willful, wanton, intentional and reckless misconduct and to deter them and others from engaging in like misconduct in the future” the complaint states.

Regal is represented by Christopher Guinn, Perry Browder, John Barnerd and Christopher Levy of SimmonsCooper in East Alton.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Court Judge Daniel Stack.

News from: www.madisonrecord.com in 13 May 2008

Notorius morning sickness drug Thalidomide, which caused severe birth defects in the 1950s and 1960s, is about to be trialled as a treatment for asbestos-related mesothelioma. Cancer specialist Nick Pavlakis said Thalidomide had been shown to inhibit blood vessel growth within tumours and he planned to test its value in mesothelioma patients. He hopes to recruit about 100 patients Australia-wide for the study, which will compare those receiving chemotherapy with others given the standard treatment as well as Thalidomide. “We want to find out after they’ve had chemotherapy . . . if we give Thalidomide can we then control the disease for longer and maintain quality of life for longer?” Professor Pavlakis said. He said the results of the trial would be combined with a similar study taking place in the Netherlands. Thalidomide is already listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme as a treatment for multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer. Studies have found the standard chemotherapy cocktail increases survival of mesothelioma patients by an average of three months as well as improving quality of life. Professor Pavlakis, of Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital, said even if Thalidomide extended that to five months, it would be considered significant. “That doesn’t sound like a lot but . . . everything’s a stepping stone,” Professor Pavlakis said. “If you look at breast cancer and other diseases where there’s been major changes, at any given time point the changes didn’t seem as big when they actually were discovered. “It’s the cumulative effect of little changes over time that add up to a big effect.” About 600 Australians are diagnosed with the disease each year but that is expected to double by 2020. “Everyone acknowledges it’s going to get worse . . . based on when the maximum asbestos exposures in the community were,” Professor Pavlakis said. “There’s a lag time of 30 to 40 years on average from the time of exposure to the time of disease.” Only about 5 per cent of those diagnosed with mesothelioma were alive five years later, Professor Pavlakis said.
Mesothelioma patient Trevor Stagg, 70, and his wife, Eileen, of Victoria Point, said they were grateful for every extra day they had together after his diagnosis in June. “I really feel more for the families of people who go out one day, have an accident and don’t come home. I wonder how they cope with that,” Mrs Stagg said. “Each day is really precious to us. We’ve been married 51 years last Saturday. We’ve even got closer.” The Queensland arm of the Thalidomide trial will be run through Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital. Patients wanting to take part should contact the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Clinical Trials Centre on 02 9562 5000 or the Australasian Lung Cancer Trials Group on 07 3622 2301. News from: Couriermail.com.au in 1 January 2008

A court in a landmark ruling Tuesday ordered a company to pay compensation to the family of a worker who died from the aftereffects of exposure to asbestos. The ruling, Korea’s first to recognize the danger of asbestos and hold an employer liable, paving the way for similar suits. The Daegu district court ordered an asbestos producer to pay W133 million (US$1=W923) in damages to the family of the woman, who died last year of malignant mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by asbestos dust.The judge found the company negligent of its duty of care for the employee. Although it was aware of the danger of the substance, it did not provide protective gear to staff, install a ventilation system or try to raise awareness of the dangers. However, the judge admitted the victim’s partial liability for failing to protect herself. The woman, named as Won, worked at the company in Busan for two years from 1976. Although she was not diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma until 2004, 26 years after she had left the company, she sued for W210 million in compensation.

(more…)

Libby, MT: Les Skramstad. Jack Davis. Bob Wheelis. Three names that have, or may soon, become statistics at the behest of asbestos. Skramstad, as you may have read, lost his battle with asbestosis. Jack and Bob are sick with mesothelioma, and there are thousands like them. But more than simply names on a ledger, these names represent real people, with families and friends and responsibilities.

And death sentences.

All they did was go to work, attempting to make an honest day’s wage toiling for their employer. Like we all do. And we trust our employer to provide a safe working environment.

(more…)

A widow has called in lawyers to help her find out how her husband came to die from an asbestos-related lung cancer.

Retired PE teacher Geoffrey Hambleton, 68, from Warrington, died within three years of being diagnosed with mesothelioma.

His heartbroken widow Ann fears he may have been exposed to asbestos while he was working as a PE teacher at Warrington technical college and developed the disease as a result.

Now she has instructed Manchester-based solicitors Irwin Mitchell to look into her husband’s case and wants people with any information to come forward.

This year would have been their 40th wedding anniversary. Mrs Hambleton, said: “I miss Geoff every day. I have lost my husband and it’s very hard to accept such a terrible loss.

“We’d like to know more about how Geoff came into contact with asbestos.”

Mr Hambleton was told he had mesothelioma in October 2003 and died in July 2006.

Mr Hambleton had told his family that he believed he came into contact with asbestos while he was working at the college, from 1968 to 1978, as a lecturer in charge of PE and adult studies.

He said courses were run at the technical college for those who wanted to work in the lagging industry, and he believed they used asbestos lagging.

The students who attended the courses also did PE.

When Mr Hambleton worked for them it is thought he was based at their old buildings at Palmyra Square and then moved to a different building at Long Lane.

The college is now known as Warrington Collegiate and is housed in a new building.

Anybody with information should call 0161-838 3059.

helenhunt@liverpoolecho.co.uk

News from: www.liverpoolecho.co.uk in 16 October 2007

Pemetrexed alone or in tandem with a platinum agent shows good overall response and disease control rates in patients with peritoneal mesothelioma (PM), according to data presented here at the 14th European Cancer Conference (ECCO).

The study enrolled 109 patients with a histologic or cytologic diagnosis of peritoneal mesothelioma that was not amenable to curative surgery and was treated with pemetrexed alone or in combination with a platinum agent.

“Malignant peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare cancer, with a yearly incidence of about one or two cases per million in the US and Europe, while the incidence of pleural mesothelioma is 3- to 30-fold higher in different countries,” said study presenter Giacomo Carteni, MD, Director, Oncology Division, Cardarelli Hospital, Naples, Italy.

Few large studies have examined peritoneal mesothelioma, so treatment has largely been based on protocols used in patients with pleural mesothelioma, Dr. Carteni said in his poster presentation on September 24th.

The international Expanded Access Program (EAP) for pemetrexed in mesothelioma provided access to the drug before and during review by regulatory agencies.

In the trial, pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 alone or in combination with cisplatin 75 mg/m2 or carboplatin AUC 5 was given on day 1 of each 21-day treatment cycle as part of the EAP. All patients received standard supplementation with vitamin B12 and folic acid, and dexamethasone for prophylaxis.

Patients were treated until they developed progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity, or until the investigator or patient decided to halt treatment.

Pemetrexed and platinum combination was associated with a 20% or greater response rate and a 76% or greater disease control rate.

Patients in the single-agent platinum group had a 12.5% overall response rate, a 50% disease control rate, and a 41.5% survival rate at 1 year. “This is in line with their worse prognostic factors like higher median age, higher percent of patients who had undergone prior chemotherapy, and lower performance status at baseline,” Dr. Carteni said.

Hematologic toxicity was manageable in all groups and in agreement with earlier phase 3 findings, he said.

These results reported for peritoneal mesothelioma are comparable with the pemetrexed EAP in the US, which involved 98 patients with peritoneal mesothelioma. In that report, the overall response rate was 26% and median survival exceeded 13 months.

The study was sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company.

News from:  www.docguide.com in 27 September 2007

Madison County Circuit Judge Daniel Stack has begun picking a jury for the county’s first asbestos trial in more than a year.

Once the trial begins, Chester Black of Joplin, Mo. will try to prove he was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed large amounts of asbestos fibers emanating from products he was working with or around. If the case actually goes to trial, it is expected to last nearly two weeks.

Black, represented by Randy Gori of The Goldenberg firm in Edwardsville, filed suit earlier this year, seeking compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $400,000.

He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in May 2006. (more…)

The family of an Islington man are seeking former workmates to shed light on the working conditions which brought about his untimely death.
Eric Broadway died last May at the age of 81 as a result of asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma, which he is believed to have contracted while working as an electrician.
Mr Broadway died 10 weeks after being diagnosed, and his family were shocked to see him decline so quickly from a healthy looking man. (more…)

A man suffering from asbestos related cancer has launched a High Court legal battle for compensation of up to £250,000.

Richard Shepherdson, 61, has developed malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the tissues surrounding his lungs or his abdomen, according to a writ issued at London’s High Court.

Now Mr Shepherdson, of Tulip Close, Biggleswade, is claiming damages from DH Allan and Sons, who he blames for his condition. (more…)