Steven Dux has filed a lawsuit against 13 defendant corporations on behalf of his deceased father, Andres Martinez. Dux’s father died in November of 2007 from mesothelioma cancer.

Martinez worked as an equipment operator and laborer at various locations between 1952 and 1990. Dux claims that his father’s cancer was caused by asbestos exposure and that his father’s former employers should have taken necessary precautions to better protect their workers.

Dux is seeking an excess of $150,000 in compensation, claiming that his family lost large sums of money in order to cover his father’s funeral and unresolved medical expenses.

A San Francisco man will spend 10 months in jail after he improperly demolished an asbestos-filled building. Wassim Mohammad Azizi of Tracy violated the Clean Air Act after he knocked down a two-story vacant building in 2002.

Azizi did not inform the Environmental Protection Agency prior to beginning demolition, which constitutes as a violation of the Clean Air Act. Azizi also failed to properly handle asbestos materials.

The jury concluded that Azizi’s negligence may have exposed those who lived and worked near the demolished building to asbestos. The five-day trial was overseen by a federal judge.

Azizi will serve his sentence in a California federal prison.

A Bunker Hill, Ohio woman has filed a lawsuit against 47 defendants after her husband died of mesothelioma cancer. Geraldine Kruemmelbein filed suit on August 20th in Madison County Circuit Court.

The suit lists 47 corporations, including Dow Chemical and Owens-Illinois Glass. Mrs. Kruemmelbein alleges that her husband’s death was “wrongfully caused” by asbestos exposure at his various places of work between 1950 and 1993.

The Kruemmelbein family struggled to support themselves after Robert was unable to continue working and is seeking over $350,000 in restitution and damages.

Robert Kruemmelbein was diagnosed in 2005 and passed away just over a year later as a result of his asbestos cancer.

Donald Reed of Ohio has filed a lawsuit in Madison County against 60 different corporations after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer back in July. The lawsuit defendants include The Boeing Company and North American/Boeing Company, where Reed’s father, Herman, worked for over thirty years. Reed claims that the asbestos dust on his father’s clothes contributed to his recent mesothelioma diagnosis.

In addition to secondhand exposure, Reed also alleges that he was exposed to asbestos while working in several different jobs, including engineering and maintenance. According to Reed, the health consequences of asbestos exposure were “foreseeable” and should have been “anticipated by the defendants.”

Reed stated that his asbestos-related cancer has “disabled and disfigured him.” He is seeking over half a million dollars in compensation.

The lawsuit also claims that Metropolitan Life Insurance Company “conspired” with the defendant corporations and downplayed the health implications of asbestos. Reed also stated that the defendants destroyed asbestos-related documents after he requested their release.

Construction at Middle Park High School in Granby, Colorado has come to a halt after workers located asbestos in vinyl floor tiles.

Middle Park High School is in the midst of a $9.8 million dollar structural upgrade.

Todd Dangerfield, Project Manager for Neenan Corporation, an asbestos abatement company, revealed that “large amounts” of asbestos-containing tiles must be removed before construction can continue. The budget is expected to increase, and the deadline for project completion will most likely be pushed back.

Officials stated that all necessary precautions were being taken to prevent workers or nearby residents from being exposed to asbestos.

A Minneapolis woman has “beat the odds” and claims that she is cured from mesothelioma cancer.

39 year old Heather Von St. James was diagnosed with mesothelioma almost 3 years ago and underwent a radical surgery to remove her left lung, the pericardial lining around her heart, half of her diaphragm, a rib, and several lymph nodes. According to her surgeon, Dr. David Sugarbaker of International Mesothelioma Program in Boston, Von St. James is “disease-free.”

“I am the poster child for hope after meso,” said Von St. James.

The survival rate associated with mesothelioma is about 1%, and most sufferers succumb to the disease in less than 2 years following their diagnosis.

Thomas Sowers of Illinois has filed a lawsuit after being diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer. Sowers, a former member of the United States Navy, names nine defendant corporations in the suit, including Stone & Webster Engineering Corporation and Virginia Electronic & Power.

In addition to working in factory settings between 1983 and 2003, Sowers worked in engine and boiler rooms while aboard a U.S. military ship from 1967 and 1973.

Sowers stated that he was exposed to asbestos as a result of negligence on behalf of his former employers. He and his wife, Jan, are seeking $250,000 in restitution and damages.

Asbestos abatement is currently underway at South Main Street Elementary School in Pleasantville, NJ after workers located asbestos in aging floor tiles.

School officials stated that at least four classrooms contained asbestos, and that “anything with asbestos material will be removed.”

The project should be completed prior to the first day of school next week.

A former tenant at the Hudson Hotel in Midtown, New York City has filed suit, claiming that he was “poisoned” by asbestos after the hotel improperly removed and disposed of asbestos.

The suit alleges that hotel workers removed asbestos from several apartments and disposed of it in an open box with a handmade sign that read “Danger Asbestos.” Plaintiff Thomas Pavese also stated that workers blew asbestos out of the windows and on to the street below with a hose. Pavese also recalled workers disposing of asbestos in hallway garbage cans belonging to hotel tenants.

Pavese is seeking over $50 million dollars in damages, citing health problems. He is also seeking restitution as a result of spent time in the hospital for a “chronic illness.”

The hotel stated that asbestos removal began in 1999 but would not comment further.

Two new lawsuits were filed in Madison County, Illinois by former workers who are now suffering from mesothelioma cancer.

Seals Glenn, Jr. of Georgia named 66 defendants in his suit, including Bondex International, Ford Motor Company, and General Electric. Glenn was employed from 1949 to 1994 in a variety of occupations, including truck driver and carpenter, and claims he was exposed to asbestos-containing products and asbestos dust.

Glenn was diagnosed with asbestos-related mesothelioma cancer in April of 2008 and is seeking over half a million dollars in damages.

Also filing suit in Madison County is Sharleen Craig of Virginia. Craig was employed in several different positions between 1944 and 1993 and alleges that exposure to asbestos-containing products led to her development of mesothelioma. She was diagnosed just three months ago. Craig is seeking reimbursement for her treatment, as well as loss of income.