Corporate greed resulting in the loss of life is the conclusion of a major investigative report just published concerning the worldwide asbestos trade and global epidemic of disease. The report, strongly urging the rationale for a worldwide ban of asbestos, has been published in print simultaneously with the release of a series of audio broadcasts.
The investigative reports have been published by The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) based on the investigative reporting of the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) joint venture with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Jim Morris of CPI reports, "A global network of lobby groups has spent nearly $100 million since the mid-1980s to preserve the market for asbestos, a carcinogen now banned or restricted in 52 countries. Scientists say asbestos may cause up to 10 million deaths by 2030, with a mounting toll in the developing world."
Asbestos, for decades, has been linked to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma remains an incurable and fatal disease.
Asbestos contamination remains an international problem. Recent reports indicate that US military troops have been exposed to asbestos in Iraq and Afghanistan through indiscriminate use of burn pits by military contractors.
When the original 1911 workers ' compensation statutes were amended to cover occupational illnesses and diseases, the workers' compensation system in the United States was overwhelmed with cases involving asbestos exposure and malignancies including mesothelioma.
The concentration of asbestos manufacturing plants along the east and west coasts where the shipyards and manufacturing was located quickly created clusters of cases in those jurisidctions. The state of New Jersey has a history of being a heavily industrialized state with a huge legacy of pollution from asbestos to petrochemical. Dr. Irving J. Selikoff, of Paterson, NJ, began his landmark studies on asbestos workers in New Jersey. In 1911, almost a century ago, NJ adopted an administrative system known as workers' compensation and it was the intent of the Legislature to provide a speedy and cost effective system of delivering statutorily defined benefits to injured workers while passing the costs onto the consumers of products and services.
Soon the compensation system with its limited administrative resources and its limited benefits gave way to the use of the civil justice system for direct actions against asbestos manufacturers, suppliers and health research organizations. Asbestos litigation has been deemed to be "the longest running tort" in the history of the US justice system.
The problem of the delivery of medical care to asbestos victims remains a serious issue as the insurance industry continues to make the road for medical care more difficult to navigate and obtain. A new occupational healthcare program with the potential of being the most extensive, effective and innovated system even enacted for the delivery of medical to injured workers was recently enacted into law. The initial project for the provision of federalized medical care was initiated in Libby Montana the site of a former asbestos manufacturer.
Click here to read more about asbestos related disease and claims for benefits. For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related illnesses.
