| Top 5 cases of Asbestos Litigation |
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From the early twentieth century onwards, asbestos has been subject of many controversies, as it was conclusively proved that the mineral was hazardous in the sense that it was the cause for a rare and deadly cancer called mesothelioma. It was discovered that large asbestos corporations had deliberately kep their employees in the dark about the levels of asbestos that they were being exposed to, in the fear that they might lose out on their workforce. There has been many a time when these very companies have deliberately suppressed any sort of research which has proved the deadly quality of asbestos. As a result, thousands of people have been unknowingly exposed to asbestos for long lengths of time and been diagnosed with mesothelioma at the end of it. This condition is a fatal one. There was a huge public outcry at the inhuman nature of these corporations who chose to endanger the lives of human beings for the sake of monetary profit. Finally by the early years of the twentieth century, mesothelioma litigation became an established legal field which required intensive specialization as well as experience in dealing with such cases. There are mesothelioma attorneys and mesothelioma law firms who only deal with such kinds of cases. People have started filing lawsuits against these companies for having irreparably ruined their health. The late late 1900s, the asbestos industry almost went bankrupt because of the huge amounts of monetary compensation that they had to pay to all those people whose lives they had wrecked. Here are the 5 most famous mesothelioma settlements in current history. In 1966, the first lawsuit concerning asbestos was filed in Texas, by a man called Claude Tomplait who was diagnosed with asbestosis. He was represented by a lawyer called Ward Stephenson. One of the asbestos companies named in the case was the infamous Johns-Manville. However, this case was lost. 1974 witnessed another such prolific case of asbestos litigation. A man called Reba Rudkin had contracted mesothelioma after working in the infamous Johns-Manville corporation for almost thirty years. He was represented by Steven Kazan. This case was also prolific in the sense that it revealed the nature of the "hush-hush" policy of the companies who would deliberately suppress any evidence which proved the hazardous nature of asbestos. Evidence of fraud and conspiracy were revealed and Rudkin and Kazan finally won the case, in the face of overwhelming evidence against Johns-Manville. Following this case, Kazan also managed to win a compensation of $150,00 for another client against the same Johns-Manville. This happened in 1982. In 1985, a retired Firm Principal managed to win a case against a company called Raybestos Manhattan. The 81 year retired brake mechanic was awarded a settlement of $2 million.
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Mesothelioma is a rare form of aggressive cancer that affects people who have had a long and sustained history of exposure to asbestos.
Choosing a Mesothelioma Lawyer
Fighting a Mesothelioma case like fighting any other lawsuit requires a competent lawyer who is trustworthy in his field of law.