What is asbestos?
Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that is highly resistant to heat, electrical, and chemical damage. Asbestos was widely used in buildings and industrial products, including cement, pipes, brake linings, ceiling tiles, roof shingles, flooring products, sealants, textiles, and insulation. We now know that asbestos is a highly toxic material and exposure to it can cause cancer. Asbestos has a tendency to separate into microscopic-size particles that can remain in the air and are easily inhaled or swallowed. Inhalation or ingestion of tiny asbestos particles can cause serious health problems, including lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma.

When did the dangers of asbestos become known?
The dangers of asbestos exposure were known long before any efforts were made to protect workers. As early as 1906 some doctors suspected that asbestos fibers might be harmful to health. The suspicion of a link between asbestos and heath problems appeared in medical and scientific literature starting in the 1920s and 1930s. By the 1930s and 1940s, medical evidence clearly linked asbestos exposure to lung disease and cancers. Research by the asbestos industry also showed early evidence of a link between asbestos and diseases such as cancer, but much of this information was suppressed.

Although manufacturers of asbestos and companies who used it knew about health dangers, many chose to knowingly expose their employees and the public to danger. Patients who suffer from asbestos-related diseases can pursue litigation to hold these companies financially liable for their negligence in failing to protect workers.

What is the history of asbestos litigation?
With more than a half million claimants and thousands of defendants over three decades, asbestos litigation is one of the longest, most expensive mass torts in U.S. history. Many lawsuits have been filed against asbestos manufacturers and employers for neglecting to implement safety measures after the links between asbestos and medical harm was established.

Because the latency period for some asbestos-related diseases is long, people exposed to decades ago may yet to be diagnosed. Thousands of people die each year from asbestos-related causes, and experts predict that more cases will be filed in years to come. The question of how best to allocate liability and compensation has been the source of many court cases reaching up to the US Supreme Court as well as government attempts at resolution.

As pioneers in asbestos litigation, Lisa Blue and her late husband Fred Baron helped pave the way for asbestos victims to receive the compensation they deserve.