Mesothelioma Legal Blog

Recently the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new medication in the treatment of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and melanoma. The drug, called Keytruda and manufactured by Merck, has shown positive results in the treatment of patients with mesothelioma. This is important, as the treatment options for mesothelioma are currently severely limited. An individual may develop mesothelioma after prolonged exposure to asbestos. Unfortunately, this was common for much of the twentieth century, as up until the 1980s asbestos was used extensively in numerous products.

Nearly one-third of individuals diagnosed with mesothelioma in the United States are military veterans. The enlisted personnel who served and worked on military ships or other vessels were often exposed to asbestos without their knowledge. The enlisted personnel in the U.S. Navy, for example, often worked the dirty jobs in the boiler room, in maintenance, pipefitting and construction had the heaviest exposure coming in direct contact with asbestos. Anyone who served aboard ships or in the shipbuilding yards likely had direct contact or significant second-hand exposure to asbestos.

For purposes of this article, the mesothelioma victim in this case will be referred to as R.H. In a recent court decision, the California Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the family of a mesothelioma victim in a lawsuit against two foreign car parts manufacturers. The ruling reversed an earlier trial court decision that had dismissed the companies from the case because of jurisdictional arguments. This decision allows the family to proceed with their legal claims against the two companies. R.H. spent more than four decades working as an automobile mechanic. According to the lawsuit, which was filed by R.H.

It is common to see more than one member of the same family developing mesothelioma. Because of this, some people have concluded that mesothelioma is hereditary. But is it true that mesothelioma is hereditary? No . . . The answer to this question is not as easy as it might seem. The primary cause of mesothelioma remains asbestos exposure. However, outlier researchers suggested that people who inherit a particular type of gene are more vulnerable to developing mesothelioma, especially if exposed to asbestos.

A Maryland appeals court recently upheld justice when it affirmed a multi-million dollar plaintiff’s verdict in an asbestos cancer lawsuit brought by a steamfitter who claimed he developed mesothelioma from the defendant’s defectively made products. The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland sided with the jury’s wisdom when it awarded $7.2 million in compensatory damages for the plaintiff’s medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

A long running lawsuit brought by the state of Mississippi against pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson may proceed, after the state supreme court refused to side with the company in its bid to toss the claim involving allegations that it violated state laws concerning labeling of its talc-based products.