A controversy-plagued plan to expand an asbestos mine in Quebec has been inflicted a serious blow to the relief of advocates for victims of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.

It comes just as the level of protest against Canada’s asbestos producers and in particular its export policies is reaching a fever pitch.

Asbestos, a material with heat- and fire-resistant qualities that made it a popular building material before a link to deadly cancers and other conditions was scientifically established, is still present in countless structures in North America.

Canada exports it, largely to countries in the third world. Indeed, the province of Quebec, the center of Canadian asbestos production, shipped $97 million worth of asbestos fiber abroadin 2008. It is the world’s fifth-largest producer of asbestos and the fourth-largest exporter.

Quebec’s actions are particularly troubling, say mesothelioma lawyers and researchers. This is because many developing nations do not have regulations and safety practices in place for handling and using asbestos, increasing the risk that workers and others exposed to the material may develop asbestos-related diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective lining covering many of the body’s organs.

Mesothelioma, which can take decades to develop, carries a prognosis that is invariably grim. While mesothelioma lawyers have succeeded in recovering large jury awards and settlements for victims, researchers have yet to create an effective long-term treatment.

Now, a $58 million loan guarantee from the Quebec provincial government may be in jeopardy. It was supposed to be the chief financing tool for expansion of the asbestos-producing Jeffrey Mine in the Quebec town of Asbestos.

In parallel, the British Broadcasting Corp., in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, has released the results of an intensive nine-month examination into the global asbestos industry and the Montreal-based Chrysotile Institute’s roll in marketing asbestos abroad.

The investigation, titled “Dangers in the Dust,” found that in an effort to promote asbestos sales on global markets, the institute and its affiliated entities have laid out $100 million in both public and private funding since the mid-1980s in just three countries : Canada, India, and Brazil.

The spending has come as the perils of asbestos exposure and the resulting asbestos and mesothelioma lawsuits have become more widely publicized. Medical experts, victims of asbestos exposure, and mesothelioma lawyers have all called for an outright ban on the material. And the public has become increasingly conscious of and worried by the health risks of asbestos.

That has led to an outcry against the proposed expansion project in Quebec, and demonstrations in cities across the globe.

“The level of protest has really gone up, especially over the past year or so,” said Jim Morris, one of the lead journalists in the BBC/ ICIJ investigation.

“One of the real surprises, Morris indicated, was how closely the pro-asbestos lobby groups work with one another.” “Groups in India, Russia, and Mexico work very closely with the Chrysotile Institute . . . sharing information, coordinating their public relations strategies.

And they’ve been pretty successful. In countries like India, they’ve overwhelmed the activists and the health organizations.”

While Quebec Premier Jean Charest has not commented on the BBC report, Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff made his position clear last month, when the results of the investigation were released.

“It has become impossible to export a product like [asbestos], because we can’t have guarantees that it will not be harmful in India or in other countries.”

The fear, of course, is that asbestos exports may guarantee something else entirely: more disease, more deaths, and more work for mesothelioma lawyers. With the new report and increasing public protests, that’s something opponents of asbestos production now hope is less likely to happen.

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been advocates for those injured due to the wrongful actions of others. We have litigated and resolved some of the nation’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing justice and compensation to victims of asbestos exposure and the lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other deadly diseases it can cause

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With a federal judge’s backing, creditors of General Motors Corp.’s bankruptcy estate hope to determine the extent of the company’s asbestos liability—an amount they say could be five to ten times GM’s $648 million estimate.

For years, GM brake linings contained asbestos—which has been scientifically linked to deadly diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma, a nearly always fatal cancer striking the protective lining covering many of the body’s organs.

While GM had asbestos claims of less than $2 million a year in the 1990s, by the mid-2000s that figure had risen to an average of $30 million annually.

From 2000 through 2008, the company had an average of 850 mesothelioma claims a year. Given the many years, or even decades, after asbestos exposure it typically takes the disease to develop, mesothelioma lawyers and experts say GM’s future liability may be far greater.

Creditors sought and received permission from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber in NY to obtain information from General Motors and other entities that could help estimate future mesothelioma claims.

Under Gerber’s order, the creditors can demand documents from trusts that are processing asbestos claims on behalf of other bankrupt companies. Those trusts have funding of $30 billion to $60 billion for mesothelioma and other asbestos-related claims, the creditors said.

Motors Liquidation Co., the last portion of General Motors remaining in bankruptcy, also plans to form a trust with moneys allocated to cover future asbestos liability. But determining the extent of that liability—in particular, the damages mesothelioma lawyers might seek on behalf of stricken clients—remains essential to moving out of bankruptcy.

“This isn’t like the formula for Coke or nuclear launch codes,” Gerber said after hearing testimony about the fears that the information could be misused if disclosed. As part of his order, Gerber instructed attorneys for asbestos claimholders and creditors to come to an agreement on an arrangement for keeping confidential any information about age, work history, and diagnosis.

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been advocates of those injured because of the negligence or wrongful actions of others. We have litigated, settled, and resolved some of the nation’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing answers and compensation to victims of asbestos-related diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma.

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A discovery related to mesothelioma, a particularly deadly form of cancer, is giving victims new hope. Australian scientists recently discovered that high levels of a family of proteins—known as serum mesothelin—are found in patients with the asbestos-related cancer.

That breakthrough has spurred researchers to ask whether mesothelin levels could be useful in creating a screening test to identify people who are most at risk for mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos.

The facts about mesothelioma have long been sobering. The deadly cancer—almost always caused by asbestos exposure—can take many years to develop, and by the time a diagnosis is rendered, a patient’s outlook is invariably grim. While mesothelioma lawyers have been able to obtain compensation for many who have suffered, mesothelioma researchers have fared less well: Even the most sophisticated treatments today typically only extend a victim’s life by a few months.

The new screening test discovered could possibly lead to earlier diagnoses, which might result in more effective treatment. It could also give victims more time to see justice.

Much asbestos exposure is caused by the failure of employers, manufacturers, and property owners to reasonably use, remove, or warn workers about the material—which has heat- and fire-resistant qualities that have long made it a popular component of insulation, ceilings, and flooring. In many of these cases, mesothelioma lawyers have prevailed in the asbestos lawsuits they have brought before the court.

But often it is the family of the victim—not the mesothelioma sufferer—that sees the case’s resolution. That’s because mesothelioma victims do not usually survive long after diagnosis.

To get a better sense of whether mesothelin could make a useful test for mesothelioma, the Australian researchers measured mesothelin levels at various times for several individuals who had been exposed to asbestos. The researchers found that 15 percent of those who ultimately developed mesothelioma had an elevated level of mesothelin in the next-to-last reading before diagnosis. They found, too, that for 40 percent of all the individuals studied, mesothelin levels were increasing at the same point.

This means that for a significant portion of patients, mesothelin levels prior to diagnosis were high. When combined with other biomarkers for mesothelioma, the researchers say, this could give rise to more sensitive screens for the asbestos-related disease.

Ultimately, such screening tests might enable doctors to detect earlier those who are most at risk for mesothelioma. While not a cure, that would be a significant step in fighting this devastating disease.

This news story was brought to you by the Chicago mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been champions of those injured due to the negligence or wrongful actions of others. We have litigated, settled, and resolved some of the nation’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing answers and compensation to victims of asbestos-related diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma.

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An Illinois court sent a message this month that asbestos violations, which place the public in grave danger, will not be tolerated.

A court in central Illinois sentenced an Auburn, Ill., man to 1 ½ years of probation, followed by 3 months in jail and 100 hours of community service for dangerous and improper handling of the cancer-causing material during a construction project.

Meanwhile, the ministry the defendant headed with his wife was fined $75,000 plus court costs.

As part of his sentence, Ray F. Landers will also have to publish an apology to the citizens of Virden, Ill., for his failure to adequately protect them during renovation work at a former nursing home by his organization, Equipping the Saints Ministry International Inc.

Asbestos is a heat- and fire-resistant material long linked to deadly diseases including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the protective lining covering many of the body’s internal organs. It is most dangerous when airborne, a particular worry in renovation and demolition work, since asbestos fibers that are dislodged and released into the air can easily be inhaled, triggering mesothelioma and other diseases.

Because these conditions can develop years after exposure, mesothelioma lawyers say that violations such as Landers’s can lead to asbestos lawsuits—and deaths—many years down the road.

Landers, 57, was also fined $2,500 and ordered to pay another $2,500 in restitution to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s Permit and Inspection Fund.

The Illinois EPA originally began its investigation of the incident after discovering that Landers was refurbishing the former Virden Nursing Home, but officials did not adequately inspect it for asbestos or determine whether asbestos-containing materials had been properly removed. Landers also neglected to inform the Illinois EPA of the asbestos, as required by Illinois law.

Landers and the ministry were indicted in 2007 on eight felony counts. Ultimately, the ministry plead guilty to improper removal of asbestos, while Landers plead guilty to a misdemeanor: failure to provide notification of demolition or renovation. The other indictments were dropped.

The Illinois EPA’s Daniel Merriman—who prosecuted the case along with Illinois assistant attorney general Colette Kennedy—says the hope is that a sentence that goes beyond monetary penalties will cause others to do the right thing. In the case of asbestos, this means taking measures necessary to protect the community from the risk of asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma, which invariably carries a grim diagnosis.

Over the years, mesothelioma lawyers have had far more success than medical researchers, winning compensation for many victims of the deadly conditions caused by asbestos exposure.

“It was a just sentence that takes into account the seriousness of the offense, the hazard that was created, and the potential risk to the neighbors and the community,” Merriman said. “People tend not to take the asbestos issue seriously.”

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been advocates for those injured due to the wrongful actions of others. We have litigated and resolved some of the nation’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing justice—and compensation—to victims of asbestos exposure and the lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other deadly diseases it can cause.

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One of the grim realities of asbestos exposure is that mesothelioma researchers have not seen nearly the success of mesothelioma lawyers. The asbestos-related disease—a cancer of the protective lining that covers many of the body’s internal organs—is almost always fatal.

So while asbestos lawsuits have helped victims and their families recover compensation and medical costs for a disease that should never have happened, a cure—even a treatment that could prolong their lives for years instead of months—has been elusive.

That makes the story of a Massachusetts woman—a mesothelioma survivor—all the more stunning. Diagnosed with what doctors called terminal cancer five years ago, she is beating the odds after an aggressive and risky treatment by a Boston surgeon.

“It’s just incredible,” said Karen Grant, who had been diagnosed with the asbestos-related disease when she was just 29 and told that she, like most mesothelioma victims, had only months to live. “I never thought I’d look this good and be living the life.”

But Grant, of Haverhill, Mass., is doing well, thanks to a pioneering treatment by Dr. David Sugarbaker of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Over the course of two surgeries, he cut out the mesothelioma tumor that had lined both of Grant’s lungs, using a laser to remove cancer cells too small to be seen and bathing her lungs with hot chemotherapy. Those operations were then followed by months of chemo and rehabilitation.

The procedure was traumatic, unprecedented, and laden with risk. But for Grant, all of that had to be weighed against the grim diagnosis of mesothelioma, which typically develops years, even decades, after asbestos exposure.

“We offered her a very aggressive approach, to which a lot of patients could have said no, thank you. But not Karen,” said Sugarbaker.

In the five years since the surgeries and chemo, Grant’s lung scans have continued to come back normal—something that has amazed her oncologists, who are all too familiar with mesothelioma’s track record.

“Five years is a huge benchmark,” said Dr. Pasi Janne of the Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “If another occurrence is going to happen, it is going to be more common in the first couple of years.”

Grant says she hopes her story will give hope to other mesothelioma victims.

At the same time, no matter how far medical science comes in treating the asbestos-related cancer, proper handling and removal of asbestos could prevent mesothelioma in the first place. It is still present in countless buildings, offices, schools, and homes across the country.

Even though we have long known that asbestos contamination causes cancer, safety regulations are often skirted or ignored outright, particularly in renovation and demolition work. The risk of inhaling asbestos fibers, released into the air when dislodged, is greatest during such work. So why are rules meant to save lives broken? Because following them can be costly.

But as mesothelioma victims like Karen Grant know, the costs of not following them can be far greater.

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been champions of those injured due to the negligence or wrongful actions of others. We have litigated, settled, and resolved some of the nation’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing answers—and compensation—to victims of asbestos-related diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma.

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Asbestos-containing insulation—and the potential health risk it brings—is behind a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by a former employee of the Genesee County Community Action Resource Department (GCCARD) in Michigan.

Ray Barker contends a project that helped thousands of needy people insulate their homes put them at danger of asbestos exposure, which has been medically linked to deadly diseases including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a nearly always fatal cancer of the protective lining covering many of the body’s internal organs.

Over the years, similar exposure has led not only to preventable deaths but to thousands of asbestos lawsuits, with mesothelioma lawyers often obtaining large jury awards and settlements.

Barker, who had been employed by GCCARD as a weatherization worker, claims that he was improperly fired for pointing out the dangers of the asbestos, which was in the attic insulation of homes GCCARD worked on. That warning, he says, was something he was compelled to make.

“I think it is our obligation to say something for the safety of others,” says Barker. As part of his job, he installed new cellulose insulation to replace existing asbestos insulation. In his lawsuit, he claims that workers were sent into attics containing the old asbestos insulation without any training or warning.

The chief reason he was concerned, says Barker, was the fact that the work disturbed the asbestos in the insulation, releasing it into the air.

As all mesothelioma lawyers, researchers, and victims know, asbestos is most dangerous when airborne, when the asbestos fibers can be inhaled easily into the lungs. While the consequences of breathing in asbestos fibers may take years to materialize—mesothelioma, for example, can take decades to develop—they are usually grim. Even most advanced treatments today can extend the life of a mesothelioma victim by no more than several months.

The dangers of airborne asbestos fibers are so great that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns on its website that attic insulation containing asbestos should not be disturbed.

GCCARD Executive Director Steven Walker says the organization reacted to complaints by Barker and others by researching the issue and buying more safety equipment. GCCARD, he adds, has also implemented a policy of sealing off the attic when work is done in homes containing asbestos insulation.

“We’re not interested in putting our workers at risk,” says Walker. “We’re not interested in putting the public at risk. It is not how we do business.” He contends that the asbestos insulation was never disturbed, and there was no increased risk of mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases.

Barker says that’s not so.

“We are disturbing it,” he says. “Walking through or dragging a hose through the attic disturbs it.” Barker says he hopes his lawsuit will force employers to do a better job of warning homeowners and providing workers with proper training on asbestos handling. He says he also wants to see his former managers held accountable for firing him after he spoke out.

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been advocates and champions for those injured because of the negligence or wrongful actions of others. We have litigated, settled, and resolved some of the nation’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing answers—and compensation—to victims of asbestos-related diseases like lung cancer and mesothelioma.

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(Mesothelioma News) - A fourth member of the Mancuso family in upstate New York now faces incarceration for up to five years in an asbestos violations case in which three Mancuso family members have already been sentenced to prison.

The case, say mesothelioma lawyers who have seen firsthand the destructive potential of asbestos exposure, demonstrates not only that those who evade asbestos regulations can place everyone around in peril. It also shows the consequences offenders themselves face when prosecutors press the full weight of statutory penalties in order to send a message.

Asbestos—once widely used as a building material because of its heat- and fire-resistance characteristics—has been medically linked to a long list of deadly diseases, including lung cancer and mesothelioma, a nearly always fatal cancer of the protective lining covering many of the body’s internal organs.

Even today, countless buildings, homes, and schools contain asbestos in insulation, ceilings, or flooring. When the asbestos is disturbed during renovation or demolition work, it can be particularly hazardous, because asbestos fibers can be easily inhaled, triggering mesothelioma and other cancers years, even decades, down the road.

Not surprisingly, many asbestos regulations are aimed at preventing harm during such work. They also set tight controls on asbestos disposal. The idea, say asbestos experts, is to make sure that any asbestos that may be present in a structure is handled safely, reducing the risk of harm to workers, residents, and those nearby.

These are exactly the regulations, prosecutors contend, that the Mancuso family willfully evaded.

Ironically, 47-year-old Ronald Mancuso, the man now facing prison time helped prosecutors bring their case against the other three defendants—his father and two younger brothers.

They were charged with illegally removing and dumping asbestos across New York’s Mohawk Valley. In a particularly egregious violation, one brother Paul Mancuso, allowed asbestos to be washed down a drain at a Utica, N.Y., school. He drew a prison term of six and a half years—with prosecutors noting that it was the fourth time he had been charged with violating asbestos regulations, and significant jail time was warranted. The other men, Ronald Mancuso’s father, Lester, and other brother, Steven, will serve roughly three years each.

Prosecutors have asked that Ronald Mancuso, who entered his own guilty plea in the case, receive leniency when sentenced.

Leniency, of course, is a rare occurrence in the asbestos arena, where victims of lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases almost always have grim diagnoses—with the only recovery being the compensation skilled mesothelioma lawyers can, and often do, obtain at trial or at the settlement table.

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we have been advocates for those injured because of the wrongful actions of others. We have litigated and resolved some of the nation’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, bringing justice—and compensation—to victims of asbestos exposure and the lung cancer, mesothelioma, and other deadly diseases it can cause.

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(Mesothelioma News) - In the wake of a stunning asbestos inspection fraud—potentially putting thousands at increased risk for asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma and lung cancer—New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced it has taken steps to ensure better oversight of nearly 550 licensed asbestos inspectors.

The measures will include increased auditing and spot-checking of the inspectors, along with better communication among the various agencies charged with enforcing asbestos regulations.

Even so, mesothelioma lawyers—who have brought and often won countless asbestos lawsuits stemming from negligent or otherwise unsafe asbestos handling—say this is only a beginning and the complexity and cost of proper asbestos handling will still tempt many employers and building owners to cut corners, with potentially deadly results.

The fraud that triggered the changes was stunning in both its scope and duration.

Earlier this year, an asbestos inspector, Saverio F. Todaro, confirmed in federal court he had falsified hundreds of reports concluding that city structures were free of asbestos, a building material that has long been linked to various cancers, including mesothelioma, a nearly always fatal cancer of the protective lining covering many of the body’s internal organs.

While mesothelioma can take years—even decades—to develop, its diagnosis is invariably grim. Even as mesothelioma lawyers have obtained jury awards and settlements in the millions of dollars, medical researchers are still a long way from a cure or even a promising treatment for the condition.

Because asbestos is most dangerous when it is airborne—when asbestos fibers can easily be inhaled into the lungs—renovation and demolition work that can dislodge the material and release it into the air is particularly troublesome. That’s why proper testing and inspections are essential.

Todaro, who ran an environmental inspection and testing service, admitted that he had submitted negative asbestos test findings for at least a ten years or more—without conducting any asbestos testing. Many of the buildings involved have since been torn down and replaced with new ones, or gutted and renovated. As a result, it’s impossible to know exactly how much harm, and how much risk for mesothelioma and other deadly diseases, his actions caused.

What is clear, however, is that the agencies tasked with monitoring asbestos inspectors like Todaro—who faces up to five years in prison when he appears for sentencing in August—did not have in place the processes that would have alerted them to a problem.

For example, Todaro’s asbestos inspection certification had been suspended in 2004 by the environmental agency—citing poor building surveys and improper record keeping—but due to the breakdown in communication between city agencies, he was able to continue to perform asbestos evaluations for developers and building owners, who then obtained permits to raze or renovate properties from the city’s Buildings Department.

“The fact that Mr. Todaro continued to conduct asbestos-related investigations following the suspension of his license raised concerns about whether there are sufficient safeguards in place to ensure that only properly licensed [certified asbestos inspectors] conduct asbestos investigations in New York City,” DEP Commissioner Cas Holloway told Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Holloway’s conclusions were part of a June 28 memorandum to the mayor, in which he outlined the results of a two-month internal review.

As part of its enhanced oversight measures, DEP says it will now computerize its filing system and share information with federal, state, and city agencies. It will also substantially increase audits and spot checks of inspectors in the field.

New protocols, wrote Holloway, will include “an Internet-based filing system for asbestos, which will automatically reject reports by any asbestos investigator whose certification has been suspended or revoked.” The agency will also increase the amount of audits it conducts yearly from 40 to 75. Two additional asbestos inspection monitors have been hired also.

Yet better oversight—while welcome—will only go so far, say mesothelioma lawyers, who note that even now DEP will be able to review the records and activities of just 15 percent of the hundreds of asbestos inspectors it certifies.

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we’ve brought relief—and recovery—to those injured by the negligence or harmful actions of others. In the process, we’ve litigated some of the country’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, helping victims of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases get answers—and justice.

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In an enforcement action demonstrating both the toughness and shortcomings of asbestos regulations, the Rhode Island Airport Corporation (RIAC) and two of its contractors have agreed to pay $25,000 for alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act as well as the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollution for Asbestos.

Intended to protect individuals from the deadly diseases that can be caused by asbestos exposure, including lung cancer and mesothelioma—a nearly always fatal cancer of the protective lining covering many internal organs—the regulations provide for strict penalties, including jail time, for violations.

Yet they are widely evaded or ignored. And that, say mesothelioma lawyers who have tried asbestos lawsuits—often obtaining large jury awards and settlements for victims of asbestos-related cancers—may result in countless more preventable deaths.

While states and the federal government have passed a wide range of asbestos regulations, the safety measures they require can be costly and time-consuming, tempting developers, property owners, and contractors to take shortcuts, or bypass the regulations entirely.

Doing so, however, can have dire consequences, particularly in demolition and renovation projects, when the work can easily disturb any asbestos, usually present in insulation, ceilings, or flooring. Once disturbed, the asbestos can become airborne, when it is in its most dangerous form. Asbestos fibers can easily be inhaled into the lungs, triggering disease years down the road. Indeed, mesothelioma—for which there is no cure—can take decades after asbestos exposure to develop.

The Rhode Island violations involved the demolition of 146 homes during a Noise Management Program and voluntary land acquisition at T.F. Green Airport in Warwick.

Under federal regulations, RIAC and its two contractors—O.R. Colan Associates of Florida and The Jones Payne Group of Massachusetts—were required to provide the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with prior written notification of its intent to demolish the residences. That notice was never provided and the demolition work proceeded, taking place between September 2004 and December 2008. Under the agreement reached with federal officials, Jones Payne will pay the entire $25,000 fine.

Inspectors from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management concluded that no apparent risk was posed to individuals as a result of the violations. But the case is yet another demonstration that asbestos regulations are only effective when those they are aimed at intend well. Even today, with everything that is known about asbestos and its link to deadly cancers, it’s often the mesothelioma lawyer—and not the regulator—who gets results.

This news story was brought to you by the mesothelioma lawyers at Cooney & Conway. For more than half a century, we’ve brought relief—and recovery—to those injured by the negligence or harmful actions of others. In the process, we’ve litigated some of the country’s most significant asbestos lawsuits, helping victims of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other asbestos-related diseases get answers—and justice.

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A recent wrongful death lawsuit successfully settled by the Miami wrongful death attorneys at Grossman Roth, P.A shows how common wrongful deaths are, even under the most unlikely of circumstances. It shows as well how prevalent wrongful death lawsuits are—far more than most people assume.

This case—Nacht v. CNL Income Weston Hills—demonstrates, too, that even in the midst of tragedy, finding answers and someone to take responsibility can still happen, with the help of skilled wrongful death attorneys.

The Broward wrongful death lawsuit arose from what should have been an ordinary—and certainly not life-ending—event: a day playing golf. On June 3, 2009, Edward Nacht and two friends played golf at the Weston Hills Country Club, in Weston, Fla. Joined by a third friend, they went inside the country club for lunch. All four ordered chicken. And all four subsequently became sick, suffering from nausea, chills, diarrhea, and vomiting.

While Edward Nacht’s friends recovered, his condition—after initially remaining stable—worsened several days later, with severe symptoms that included increased respiration, tachycardia, and blurred vision.

Understandably concerned, Edward’s wife, Jane, called Broward County Fire Rescue, and Mr. Nacht was transported to the intensive care unit at Cleveland Clinic Florida, in Weston. Tests determined that he had been stricken with a gram-negative bacteria, causing sepsis, a serious—and at times fatal—medical condition known in lay terms as blood poisoning.

Despite efforts by both paramedics and the Cleveland Clinic to save him, Edward Nacht died on June 8.

It wasn’t a tragic accident. Like all wrongful deaths, Edward Nacht’s fate could have been prevented, had those with a duty to take reasonable care actually taken that care. When the wrongful death attorneys at Grossman Roth investigated the case, they found a number of egregiously negligent—and actionable—behaviors by those who had a responsibility to cause Edward Nacht no harm during his lunch at the country club.

The Florida wrongful death lawyers at Grossman Roth discovered, for example, that the chicken Edward Nacht ate was not cooked properly—that it contained harmful agents, was contaminated with a bacteria known to cause illness and death, was defective when brought into the dining room, and should never have been served.

In addition, their investigation also uncovered the fact that there were numerous violations regarding basic food storage and preparation; that several sick employees were involved in the food preparation at the time in question; that there were many unsafe and unsanitary practices taking place in the kitchen and more than 21 other people had also become violently ill with exactly the same symptoms after eating at the club in the same timeframe.

These troubling facts led to just one conclusion: The parties that owned and operated the country club—which prepared and distributed the chicken—were liable for Edward Nacht’s wrongful death.

The settlement—which will compensate Jane Nacht and her family for Edward’s wholly preventable death—will enable some measure of healing. It also places responsibility for the tragic event squarely with those who failed Edward Nacht that day at the club and must be held accountable.

As the Miami injury attorneys at Grossman Roth know all too well, a wrongful death lawsuit can never bring back a life that has been senselessly lost. But it can help the families of victims obtain answers—and justice.

This news story was brought to you by Grossman Roth, P.A. For three decades, the Miami wrongful death attorneys at Grossman Roth have been fighting for those needlessly injured by the negligence of others.

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