Colorado has a few sites scattered across the state where there are naturally occurring asbestos deposits – evidence of the mineral being contained in the soil. None of these sites is located in a highly populated area and there is no history of asbestos-related disease arising from these sites. There are numerous industrial sites in the state where hazardous asbestos exposure occurred for employees, including the power plants located in Denver, Colorado Springs, and elsewhere; the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Superfund Site, and manufacturing sites operated by Denver-based Johns Manville, the company that founded the asbestos products industry.
One of the biggest asbestos contaminators in US history has been the vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana operated by the W.R. Grace Company. For decades the mine shipped asbestos contaminated vermiculite ore to 28 sites around the country where it was processed and made into contaminated Zonolite insulation. One of those plants was the Western Minerals Company located on South Navajo Street in Denver, where the ore was processed from at least 1967 until 1990. Employees at Western Minerals were exposed to asbestos, as were the contractors and homeowners who installed the insulation manufactured there.
Mesothelioma Deaths in Colorado
The records available on asbestos related deaths in Colorado are based on the records the federal government has kept since 1999 on deaths reported from malignant mesothelioma, and on a survey of death certificates done in 2001 that reviewed deaths attributable to asbestos exposure from 1979 to 2000. In Colorado there were 133 deaths attributed to asbestosis during that period, and mesothelioma deaths that ranged from the 267 reported to the 456 suspected occurrences. The federal government reported an additional 189 mesothelioma deaths from 1999 – 2005.
Legal Rights of Mesothelioma Victims in Colorado
Liability for personal injury cases is apportioned on a comparative negligence basis by the Colorado courts. Even if a worker who was exposed to asbestos on the job is found to be partially responsible for the exposure, he can still collect apportioned damages from the employer. There is a two year statute of limitations on personal injury and product liability cases in Colorado, which means that residents have two years from the time their asbestos disease is diagnosed to file a damage claim.
Colorado Mesothelioma Case History
Two Colorado court cases have strongly upheld the right of citizens to sue companies that acquired firms with asbestos liability. The U.S. District Court ruled against Armstrong World Industries on this issue in 1986 and affirmed in a case against the John Crane Company in 1987. Read more about how to to find the right Asbestos lawyer as well as recent Mesothelioma case settlements in addition to lawsuits for Mesothelioma.
