Asbestos and Mesothelioma

Motley Rice lawyers have over three decades of experience in asbestos and mesothelioma litigation, representing victims of occupational, environmental and household asbestos exposure suffering from mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, pleural disorders and other asbestos-related diseases. Our lawyers also represent building owners in asbestos property damage litigation.

If you have questions or would like to explore your legal rights regarding a potential asbestos or mesothelioma case, please contact attorney John Herrick or Anne McGinness Kearse by email or call +1 800.923.4237.

Asbestos Fibers

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral fiber that was widely used in industrial products and materials for its resistance to heat, electricity and chemical damage from the early 1900s through the 1980s, when the substance was banned by numerous countries. As of 1991, the United States banned asbestos in specific products, including flooring felt, rollboard, and corrugated, commercial or specialty paper, as well as products that have not historically contained asbestos fibers.

Inhaling asbestos fibers is associated with numerous types of cancer including mesothelioma as well as chronic and deadly fibrotic diseases of the lung. In addition to being indestructible, asbestos fibers are invisible, tasteless and odorless. Consequently, people are unknowingly exposed to this deadly mineral.

Today, asbestos is most commonly found in older homes, in pipe and furnace insulation materials, asbestos shingles, millboard, textured paints and other coating materials, and floor tiles. Elevated concentrations of airborne asbestos can occur after asbestos-containing materials are disturbed by cutting, sanding or other remodeling activities. Improper attempts to remove these materials can release asbestos fibers into the air, increasing asbestos levels and endangering people living in those homes.

Asbestos Liability
Companies that manufactured, distributed, and/or supplied asbestos-containing products knew, or should have known, that the products they were unleashing on the unsuspecting workforce and general public would result in the epidemic of disease realized today.

Documentation from as early as the 1920s, including the Sumner Simpson papers acquired by Ron Motley, demonstrated the health hazards of asbestos exposure and the long latency period from the point of exposure to the development of disease. Despite having direct knowledge from documentation and experiences in their manufacturing facilities that the products they were making would cause disease and death, many companies chose to put profits over lives and added asbestos fibers to their manufacturing processes.

Some companies expanded the uses for asbestos into a broader range of products, increased production of existing product lines, or began to produce asbestos-containing products after having been directly advised by medical experts that exposure to asbestos can cause lung cancer including mesothelioma. As they took these actions, companies frequently failed to both establish necessary preventative safety measures and to provide employees with the adequate protection from asbestos exposure.