Asbestos Use in Washington DC
The significant industrial facilities in Washington DC have always been office buildings. The city was founded to be a government center; industrial endeavors within its boundaries have never been significant. However the dangers of old asbestos in old office structures became apparent when several pipefitters sued the Capitol Architect over the asbestos dangers found in the tunnels beneath the Capitol and the legislative office buildings. The unsafe working conditions were apparently remedied to some degree and the case settled without a trial.
The Washington Shipyard was an early Navy installation for shipbuilding and repair, but became a munitions depot after the war of 1812 concluded. It was converted to office buildings in 1961. Other buildings that have required extensive retrofitting and asbestos abatement include the Treasury Building, the Old Executive Office Building, and several of the agency structures clustered on Capitol Hill that date back one hundred years or more.
Mesothelioma & Asbestos Deaths in Washington DC
In a private survey that reviewed all asbestos related death certificates in the U.S. from 1979 to 2000, there were 14 deaths attributed to asbestosis in the District during that time period. There were between 14 and 73 residents who died from malignant mesothelioma or asbestos lung cancer over the same two decades. In 1999 the federal government began tracking mesothelioma deaths across the country. In 2005 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported 19 mesothelioma deaths over the preceding six years.
Legal Rights of Mesothelioma Victims in Washington DC
The District of Columbia Environmental Health Administration has a Compliance and Enforcement Branch for the Asbestos Abatement Program. District laws as they apply to asbestos liability claims are a hodgepodge of local and federal jurisdictional rules, which require an experience Washington DC mesothelioma lawyer to interpret. District law applies a three year statute of limitations for product liability and personal injury suits, meaning that a resident who develops mesothelioma has three years from the date of diagnosis to file a complaint. Families who have lost someone to an asbestos disease have one year to file a wrongful death suit.
District courts apply a pure contributory negligence position to liability cases, meaning that plaintiffs who have any role whatsoever in the injury that has befallen them have no right to collect damages. The courts also apply the common law definition of joint and several liability, wherein any defendant in a multi defendant case who has any role in the harm done may be responsible for the total cost of damages. Punitive damages are apportioned among the defendants according to percentage of fault.
Asbestos Lawsuits in Washington DC
There have been several important asbestos cases decided in Washington, but most were in the Supreme Court of the United States and had little to do with Washington lawsuits. Two such suits overturned large class action cases against multiple defendants based on the premise that the “class” involved was not fairly represented.
