There has been a history of asbestos exposure in Minnesota in the ore and lumber mills that lined rivers early in the twentieth century. The usual hotspots for asbestos exposure – power plants, refineries, steel plants and chemical plants have a significant presence in the state’s industrial history. 3M, US Steel and Boise Cascade’s paper mills all are examples of industrial asbestos exposure for employees. Concerns about exposure to Minnesota miners continue to this day, with a spike in cases of mesothelioma developing among taconite miners working in the Iron Range. A state-sponsored study by the University of Minnesota is underway.
There was also an outlet in Minnesota for one of the nation’s most notorious sources of asbestos exposure: the vermiculite mine operated by W.R. Grace & Co. in Libby, Montana. For decades this firm mined hundreds of thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminate vermiculite, which was then shipped to twenty eight sites around the country for processing into (contaminated) insulation and garden products. One of those sites was Western Mineral Products on Madison Street NE in Minneapolis. The plant operated from 1938 to 1989, exposing workers to asbestos laden dust and producing products that threatened asbestos exposure to the contractors and homeowners that used them.
Mesothelioma Deaths in Minnesota
The federal government did not begin to track mesothelioma deaths until 1999, despite the hundreds of thousands of lawsuits filed over asbestos related diseases beginning in 1972. However a study of death certificates filed between 1979 and 2001 showed 238 deaths attributable to asbestosis in Minnesota during that period, with mesothelioma deaths reported as 439 and suspected to range up to 713. The statistics gathered by the federal government between 1999 and 2005 showed 401 mesothelioma deaths during that brief period, indicating that asbestos fatalities have been severely underreported through the twentieth century when asbestos exposure was most acute.
Legal Rights of Mesothelioma Victims in Minnesota
Minnesota has an unusually long period of opportunity for filing claims for compensation after a diagnosis of asbestos related disease is made. The statute of limitations for personal injury is six years, for product liability is four years, and for a wrongful death suit three years. Most asbestos lawsuits are filed against multiple defendants; under Minnesota law financial liability can be apportioned on a “joint and several” basis.
Asbestos Verdicts in Minnesota
Two of the many asbestos verdicts in Minnesota over the past ten years are worth noting. In 2001 former insulation installer Joseph Aiken was awarded $8 million in a suit filed against Koch Industries and his former employer, Hickory Insulation. In 2008 mesothelioma victim Dennis Newinski was awarded $4.6 million from defendant John Crane, the company that manufactured gaskets and packing material Newinski used during his thirty five years with the Northern States Power Company. Read more about how to to find the right Asbestos lawyer as well as recent Mesothelioma case settlements in addition to lawsuits for Mesothelioma.
