St. Louis and Kansas City were early commercial and industrial centers along that portion of the Mississippi River. St. Louis in particular was home to shipyards, auto plants, McDonnell Douglas Aircraft, and asbestos-heavy industrial producers like Combustion Engineering. Kansas City was home to one of the most heavily sued asbestos product manufacturers in the country, Armstrong Cork. The early aviation products companies like Bendix there also used asbestos products for engine construction, lightweight aircraft insulation and aircraft brakes. While it is not perceived as a particularly industry-heavy state, Missouri ranks twentieth among the fifty states for reported cases of mesothelioma.
A manufacturer of Zonolite Insulation was in operation in Sulphur Avenue in St. Louis through 1989. The company processed asbestos contaminated vermiculite ore shipped from the W.R. Grace Inc. mine in Libby, Montana. Zonolite processed the ore to produce insulation, which was also contaminated and installed by contractors in homes in the region.
Mesothelioma Deaths in Missouri
In a survey conducted in 2001 an analysis of death certificates filed between 1979 and 2000 produced some figures on reported asbestos deaths during that period. The number of deaths caused by asbestosis during those two decades was 236, while the reported mesothelioma deaths were 388, with the more likely figure being about 640 due to misdiagnosis of lung cancer. The federal government began tracking mesothelioma deaths in 1999 and in 2005 reported an additional 309 malignant mesothelioma deaths over the preceding five years. The increased frequency after a formal registry was established is startling, suggesting that mesothelioma deaths were underreported through the last half of the 20th Century.
Legal Rights of Mesothelioma Victims in Missouri
The Missouri Department of Environmental Resources, Division of Environmental Quality regulates asbestos abatement, now largely considered an air contamination issue. Missouri state law allows citizens five years to file a personal injury or product liability suit after the wrong has been discovered – in this case, the harm being diagnosis of an asbestos related disease. The liability laws allow plaintiffs to collect damages even if they are partially liable for the harm done – in this case exposure to asbestos. The rule on multiple liability among defendants is that if the defendant is found to have less than 50% of the responsibility he is liable for an apportioned share of responsibility; if found to be over 51% liable the defendant may bear the entire cost of the case.
Asbestos Lawsuits in Missouri
W.R. Grace has lost two verdicts filed over its distribution of contaminated insulation in Missouri. One was awarded to the City of Kansas City in the sum of $14.3 million; the other by Clayton Center Associates who was awarded $17.9 million after asserting that W.R. Grace sold asbestos-containing insulation for a property despite knowing that a ban on the product was imminent. Read more about how to to find the right Asbestos lawyer as well as recent Mesothelioma case settlements in addition to lawsuits for Mesothelioma.
