Posted on 08/31/2005 5:27:57 AM PDT by OESY
Back in June, federal Judge Janis Graham Jack disparaged nearly all of 10,000 claims for the rare lung disease as having been "manufactured for money." She also told the lawyers involved that federal prosecutors wanted access to the documents and X-rays surrounding this "fraud." So imagine Judge Jack's surprise to discover at a hearing last Monday that Houston attorney Scott Hooper -- one of several tort lawyers who brought the claims -- had removed more than 1,300 X-rays from a court depository. The judge had specifically denied Mr. Hooper's request to take the X-rays.
Ms. Jack told Mr. Hooper that if he did not have the documents back in her court by 5 p.m., he'd be found in contempt and would be "held in this courtroom until they are replaced."...
Judge Jack's pretrial hearings helped discover that nearly 70% of these claimants had previously filed an asbestos claim. Experts testifying in Judge Jack's court had made clear that it is extremely rare for a person to have both asbestosis and silicosis.
When Judge Jack brought this troubling fact up again in last week's hearing, Mr. Laminack shocked everyone by explaining that he doubts his clients ever had asbestosis. Put another way, so eager was Mr. Laminack to support the credibility of his silicosis claims that he admitted in federal court that he believed his clients had previously filed fraudulent asbestos claims. His admission is all the more notable because Mr. Laminack was indicting some of the lions of the asbestos bar -- Dickie Scruggs, for instance... were among those filing "Alexander" asbestos claims....
All of which is even more reason for Judge Jack, federal prosecutors and Congress to keep exposing the hundreds of thousands of sham asbestos and silicosis suits that are clogging U.S. courts.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
This should be front page news.
I live around asbestos all my life and so did many others- with no ill effects.
But billions were spent on eradicating the 'problem' and buildings were demolished for having asbestos (one of the best insulators)
The tort system is just a cow to be milked. Lawyers just know how to squeeze the teat.
This is a case where the Lawyers put profit before people. We all paid the bill for these phoney claims, while the lawyers got filthy rich. Throw 'em in the pen with Mr Ebbers.
I took a geology course 2 years ago. The textbook had one of these full page inserts explaining that the scientific facts are that american asbestos has never caused any harm whatsoever and that all the money spent on asbestos removal had been wasted.
I kept waiting for the public announcement.....like the 9/11 commission though it seems to be headed for a coverup.
Truth be told, asbestos has saved many more lives than it has taken. Any chemical, mineral etc can have negative effects on some people. The real criminals in asbestos cases are the lawyers.
"This should be front page news.
I live around asbestos all my life and so did many others- with no ill effects.
But billions were spent on eradicating the 'problem' and buildings were demolished for having asbestos (one of the best insulators)"
Me too! As a kid, I helped my grandfather smash up asbestos shingles for his driveway and have had no ill effects. My Dad worked for the same shingle company. Years later he had surgery (probably in the 70's) on his one lung and the doctor did tell him that he did find some asbestos fibers in his lung but that it would never cause him any problems. Which it didn't. His surgery was for another reason and he died from a heart valve problem in the 90's. We were all shocked when they started blaming everything on asbestos. Car brakes aren't as good anymore because they can't use it on them. Remember...they also quit using asbestos on the World Trade Towers because of this too. No wonder the steel buckled!!
It looks like the claims of false lawsuits are true and thus a reason for the federal legislation limiting abestos liability.
"I live around asbestos all my life and so did many others- with no ill effects."
Growing up and being in the plastering business all my life, 68 years, i've breathed hundreds of pounds of asbestos and silica with no ill effects. When plaster guns first came out we added a quart of asbestos fines to every sack of cement for 10 years until the manufactures mixed 4% into it and called it gun cement.
I have hundreds of asbestos claims in the office and every one of them was filed within 3 months of a mans retirement. when they put in for retirement the union sent them to the union lawyer and I don't know of one that was legitimate.
Asbestos is only deadly to the asbestos industry and people killed because of fire because it's banned, it's a lawyers disease!
These asbestos removal companies milked all this BIG TIME!! All the school districts paid out enormous sums of money to have it removed. Had to raise taxes too....of course the taxes never came down again!!
"held in this courtroom until they are replaced."...
wtf?
Have they no jail cells?
"Car brakes aren't as good anymore because they can't use it on them."
Yup, those old asbestos shoes and pads did a much better job, and I and hundreds of other mechanics have taken the air hose to hundreds of brake assemblies while replacing parts and never had a problem with the dust.
Add Mold to the list, we all paid for Mold with giant Home Insurance Increases.
Right up there with Tort Lawyers are Insurance Companies then there are the Politicians holding their hands and kissing them goodnight.
TT
ohhhhh hooey.
Just take an old clothes iron to the tiles (I'd say heat gun but unless you're experienced, NO), heat them up to loosen the glue and a scraper and take them up. Were a dust mask but not because of the asbestos. Then put down a new 1/8" thick under layment (I still say 'Masonite') over the sub flooring and then have your new carpet installed.
BTW, I assume your siding is "Masonite", their website has a bunch of stuff on the siding lawsuits. But guess what, as I recall from their website, it's still ok to use it in Europe. How about them apples. The green euro-weenies haven't bought into the Masonite asbestos baloney.
I saw this First thing this morning and LMFAO...
If you ever worked in any of the Occupational Safety fields, you quickly learn that many of the actions that are promoted are not necessary, but are to redistribute money to the politically connected. It is sickening.
a real brainiac that one....
I think you're on to something.
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