April in Review
by CCUK Support
Here’s a roundup of April’s big talking points from the world of Asbestos.
Vauxhall Park Renovation Delayed After Asbestos Discovered
The renovation of Vauxhall park, costing £1.4 million, has been delayed for six months due to the asbestos being discovered in the play area when parts of it were dug up for new paths and a new playground.
It was explained that the particles were there from buildings that had been demolished and not cleared during the 1950’s and 60’s.
Lambeth council and their contractors, Idverde, decided on a plan to clean up the area but Rob Kelly, Lambeth Council project manager pre-warned that ‘There will still be asbestos in the ground.’ He continued ‘So we have redesigned the project to avoid any further excavation.’ The works are now scheduled to end in June, much later then the original February end date.
Judge Rules That J&J Talc Lawsuits Can Continue
A New Jersey judge has ruled that the thousands of lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson regarding asbestos in their talc products can now continue but with limits on what expert testimony will be allowed.
The company wanted to prevent all of the defence’s experts from testifying which would have all but wiped out all of the cases presented in front of the judge.
“We’re very pleased,” said Leigh O’Dell, a lawyer for the plaintiffs. “The decision states, in a nutshell, that plaintiffs’ general causation experts are going to be able to testify that talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer.”
J&J responded in a statement that Monday’s decision ‘is not a determination by the court on the validity of the plaintiffs’ allegations.’ They also said that all cases against the company in talc lawsuits that had gone through the appeals process have now been overturned.
Grandmother Died Due to Asbestos Exposure at Factory
A 70-year-old woman, who worked at the Wade Ceramics pot bank in Stoke-on-Trent for seven years, had her death ruled as from an industrial disease in an inquest at the beginning of the month.
Kathleen Caper fell ill on a cruise and was later determined to have contracted mesothelioma, which her husband believed to be from her time in the factory. In a statement he said ‘Kathleen worked at Wade Ceramics pot bank for seven years before becoming a financial advisor.’ He continued ‘She was a non-smoker and drank socially. She was diagnosed with stage three malignant mesothelioma and had six rounds of chemotherapy.’
A post-mortem confirmed the cause of death was from the asbestos related disease and Sarah Murphy, North Staffordshire assistant coroner explained the decision “I’m satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the disease was due to exposure at work and the disease caused the death.”
Join us again next month for another round up of the month’s biggest asbestos stories.
You can find out more details on the above stories in the following articles:
https://londonnewsonline.co.uk/vauxhall-park-renovation-delayed-after-asbestos-discovered-in-childrens-play-area/
https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/04/27/business/27reuters-johnson-johnson-talc-ruling.html
https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/cancer-hit-gran-five-70-4028853
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