Michigan auto companies hope asbestos litigation ends lawsuits

January 7, 2005

President Bush is visiting Michigan in his first trip to the state since winning re-election in November. The President planned on discussing ways to curb asbestos lawsuits in a mid-day speech in Clinton Township north of Detroit.

Auto companies in Michigan have been the target of numerous lawsuits from people claiming the exposure has resulted in health illnesses. The President has not endorsed a specific solution to asbestos litigation, but Bush supports caps on other legal reforms.

Federal-Mogul is an auto supplier that filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after facing more than 365,000 lawsuits claiming hundreds of millions in damages because of asbestos. The company had bought several companies with asbestos claims against them in 1998.

Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG have also been the target of asbestos lawsuits from people claiming the car brakes made them ill. In 2003, the three automakers unsuccessfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to limit their exposure to the asbestos related lawsuits.

Federal-Mogul has been pushing Congress to curb the lawsuits and have not been satisfied with the measures taken thus far. According to the senior vice president of the Washington based Environmental Working Group, Richard Wiles, the government should find people who are legitimately injured and determine compensation because "the problem is a public health problem, not a bankruptcy problem." Wiles accused Federal-Mogul of trying to avoid its responsibility to asbestos victims.

The environmental group published a report on asbestos earlier this year and believes 10,000 people in the United States die every year because of asbestos exposure. Asbestos exposure is linked to asbestosis, lung and other types of cancer and mesothelioma, a rare, incurable form of cancer.

Contact us for more information on asbestos exposure diseases and your legal rights.

More Asbestos Law News....