One of the most vitally important groups dedicated to the fight against asbestos caused mesothelioma cancers is the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig). iMig is comprised of independent international scientists and clinicians with the mission of working to understand, cure and prevent mesothelioma. From their inaugural conference in Paris in 1991, iMig’s focus has been two-fold:

• Host: hold an international mesothelioma conference on alternate years, alternating between USA and non-USA host cities
• Collaboration: improve collaboration by collecting a list of available resources, current research projects, and other laboratory techniques that might facilitate collaboration as well as providing an opportunity for networking during the biennial conferences.

Kazan Law’s Commitment to iMig

Kazan Law was the first law firm in the world to sign on as a sponsor for this year’s conference. We began our participation at the Chicago iMig meeting in 2006. Since that time, we have sponsored and supported iMig conferences in Amsterdam 2008, Kyoto 2010, the upcoming conference in Boston 2012, and are already helping to fund Capetown 2014.

Kazan Law to Present Four Abstracts at iMig Conference

Our support for iMig has grown beyond our role as a sponsor. We are honored and proud to announce that four abstracts have been chosen from Kazan Law for poster presentation at this year’s Boston conference:

• Abstract 1: my summary of asbestos bankruptcy trusts. Included will be information on total dollars available for claimants, the number of foreign admitted exposure sites and ships on which products are conceded, the values each trust applies for mesothelioma claims, and a discussion of the availability of some of these funds for foreign claimants.
• Abstract 2: a case report highlighting the inadequacies demonstrated by relying on death certificates in studies of the incidence of mesothelioma. The basis for the report is a Kazan Law client with well-established and treated mesothelioma. The client who died 11 years later had a death certificate signed by a doctor who failed to list the cause of death as mesothelioma.
• Abstract 3 by Kazan Law associate Justin Bosl: a summary of the state of the literature for the entity called localized malignant mesothelioma. This is a very rare form of mesothelioma with less than 100 cases in the reported literature, one of whom was Kazan Law client Tim Vest. To fully prepare his case we had to tabulate all of the cases looking at questions regarding long-term survival and/or cure as well as the percentage with asbestos exposure.
• Abstract 4 by Kazan Law associate William Ruiz: in preparing a case for Kazan Law client Rick Fenstermaker, we had to demonstrate that Union Carbide’s Calidira fiber mined in King City, California contained significant levels of tremolite asbestos (an amphibole which is a conceded cause of mesothelioma) as a significant contaminant of the mines chrysotile asbestos. Yet, some companies still argue that King City asbestos cannot cause mesothelioma.

Kazan Law’s Commitment to Research

The Kazan, McClain, Abrams, Fernandez, Lyons, Greenwood, Oberman, Satterley & Bosl Foundation, Inc, has committed almost $6 million in grants for medical research to find a cure for mesothelioma. We have long supported the international efforts to ban its use. We have disbursed almost $20 million in grants to an array of community and civic organizations to support research into causes of, treatment for, and prevention of occupational and environmental diseases, increase and improve public awareness about work-place health and safety, and provide relief to the poor.

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Kazan Law is the only Asbestos Law Firm in the World to present at iMig 2012