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Pneumo Abex Corporation – A History of Asbestos Death and Disease

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Pneumo AbexWhen I tell people that I am an attorney who seeks justice for those who have been exposed to asbestos, some people react with surprise. “Exposed to asbestos?” they ask.  “Does that still happen?  Is anyone exposed to asbestos anymore?”

Sadly yes. Thousands of people have been exposed to asbestos in the decades since it has become common knowledge about the fatal damage that being exposed to asbestos causes to the lungs. People are being exposed to asbestos right now.  I wish this wasn’t true.

But there are two types of people in this world.  There are people who try to do well by doing good. And unfortunately there are people who will do anything for money. Even if it gets innocent people killed. And that is how people get exposed to asbestos.

Consider the Pneumo Abex Corporation.  Founded in 1928 in Portsmouth, Virginia as the American Brake Shoe and Foundry, Pneumo Abex produced asbestos-containing products until 1987.

Gordon Bankhead worked with Pneumo Abex brake linings from 1965 to 1999 servicing and repairing vehicles at an Oakland, CA shipping company. He helped inspect, replace and grind asbestos-containing brakes. In doing this, he breathed deadly asbestos dust. He died from mesothelioma in 2011 at age 68.

An Alameda County, California jury returned an $11 million verdict in an asbestos wrongful death suit (Emily Bankhead, Tammy Bankhead, and Debbie Bankhead Meiers v. ArvinMeritor, Inc., et al., Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG12632899) against Pneumo Abex LLC on January 15, 2014. Kazan Law partner David McClain represented the Bankhead family. This follows a January 2011 verdict assessing punitive damages against Phuemo Abex LLC of $9 million along with compensatory damages for Mr. Bankhead’s pain and suffering and for his wife Emily’s suffering as she watched his disease progress and take his life.

Evidence our firm brought forward in the Bankhead case and an earlier case (Robert Frank Smith and Mary Lou Smith v. Pneumo Abex LLC, Los Angeles County Superior Court No. BC396072) proved that Pneumo Abex knew of the deadly health effects of breathing asbestos dust since at least the 1940s, but that Pneumo Abex did not begin warning  customers of those effects until years after their customers’ employees like Mr. Bankhead and Mr. Smith were exposed to the asbestos-containing brakes it made and sold. In fact, Pneumo Abex was involved in medical studies on the health effects of asbestos during the 1930s and 1940s and its medical director was a frequent speaker on asbestos health hazards during the 1940s.

The company knew by then that asbestos killed. By the 1950s they knew it caused lung cancer and by 1963 they knew it caused mesothelioma. Despite its knowledge of the hazards of asbestos, Pneumo Abex continued to sell asbestos-containing brakes until 1987 without warning its victims of the dangers of asbestos or the risk of fatal cancer.

Kazan Law Helps to Fund Public Justice Attorney Leah Nicholls

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Leah Nicholls

Leah Nicholls
Photo credit: Public Justice

Giving back is one of our guiding principles at Kazan Law.  Because we work with mesothelioma patients and their families, much of our giving back goes to mesothelioma research.  However, helping to fund research for new treatments and cures for mesothelioma is just part of the story for us. We also believe in giving back to further the pursuit of justice.

We are proud to donate to nonprofit legal organizations that take on the tough ones and stand up for humanity.  As legal advocates for victims of asbestos exposure, we defend our clients against corporate misconduct and we gladly support legal assistance for those who need it in other causes.

One of the organizations we support is aptly named Public Justice.  Based in Washington D.C. and Oakland, they consider themselves America’s public interest law firm and according to their mission statement, they:

  • protect people and the environment
  • hold the powerful accountable
  • challenge government, corporate, and individual wrongdoing
  • increase access to justice
  • combat threats to our justice system
  • inspire lawyers and others to serve the public interest

Kazan Law helps fund Public Justice by co-underwriting together with another firm a full-time position for one of their attorneys.  Her name is Leah Nicholls and since joining Public Justice’s Washington D.C. office in September 2013, she has helped defend residents of a rural island community against a toxic bauxite refinery, protect the injury settlement of an airlines employee, ensure access by citizens to state government records in Virginia, challenge Texas health regulations over a salmonella outbreak due to unsanitary poultry facilities, argue for a WalMart employee’s right to disability benefits and argue other cases, many involving the Supreme Court.

Leah said in a recent memorandum, “This past year has been both challenging and rewarding, and I am extremely lucky to be able to do the kind of important work that Public Justice does at the highest levels. I am deeply grateful to Steven Kazan for this outstanding opportunity.”

And I am deeply proud of what this young attorney has accomplished at Public Justice in such a short time and look forward seeing all that she will do in the years to come.

Jury Awards $11 Million in Asbestos Wrongful Death Lawsuit

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asbestos wrongful death

Emily and Gordon Bankhead

An Alameda County, California jury returned an $11 million verdict in an asbestos wrongful death suit (Emily Bankhead, Tammy Bankhead, and Debbie Bankhead Meiers v. ArvinMeritor, Inc., et al., Alameda County Superior Court Case No. RG12632899) against Pneumo Abex LLC on January 15, 2014. Kazan Law partner David McClain represented Emily Bankhead, Tammy Bankhead, and Debbie Bankhead-Meiers, the widow and adult daughters, respectively, of Gordon Bankhead. A prior jury had found that Pneumo Abex’s asbestos-containing brakes were defective, and that Pneumo Abex negligently, intentionally, and maliciously caused Mr. Bankhead’s mesothelioma, who died from the disease at age 68.

Mr. Bankhead’s tragic death gave rise to a new case to compensate his family for their loss of his companionship for all the years by which his life was cut short. This wrongful death lawsuit was filed by our asbestos law firm on the Bankhead’s behalf. In this second trial, which commenced January 13, 2014, Pneumo Abex was not allowed to dispute its responsibility for Mr. Bankhead’s death. The jury was not told the reasons for Pneumo Abex’s liability, nor were they told about the circumstances of Mr. Bankhead’s death. The jury was tasked with deciding the full amount of Mr. Bankhead’s widow’s and daughters’ losses due to his wrongful death 17 years before his life expectancy.

The jury valued Emily Bankhead’s losses at $6 million, and Tammy Bankhead’s and Debbie Bankhead-Meiers’s losses at $2,500,000 each. “This verdict shows that wrongful death cases are extremely valuable and undervalued by insurers and defendants,” stated Mr. McClain. “The jury returned a reasonable and fair decision that shows how jurors value the loss and love of a parent and family.”

According to Mr. McClain, “No amount of money can make up for Mr. Bankhead’s death, but we at Kazan Law and the family take comfort from the jury’s swift and just verdict.”

Gordon Bankhead worked from 1965 to 1999 in the service and repair of heavy duty vehicles as a Parts Man. He regularly handled asbestos-containing brakes, and was present for the inspection, replacement, grinding, and blowing out of asbestos-containing brakes. All of these activities caused him to breathe deadly asbestos dust. Pneumo Abex manufactured many of the brake linings Mr. Bankhead was exposed to.

Mr. and Mrs. Bankhead were represented in their first trial by Kazan Law partners Joseph Satterley and Justin Bosl, and former partner Leigh Kirmsse. The jury awarded Mr. Bankhead $1,470,000 for his past and future economic loss, and $1,500,000 for his pain and suffering. The jury also awarded his wife, Emily Bankhead $1,000,000 for her loss of her husband’s support and companionship. The jury found that defendants’ actions were malicious, fraudulent, and/or oppressive and awarded $9,000,000 in punitive damages against Pneumo Abex. Pneumo Abex appealed the verdict, which was subsequently upheld.

Chevron Punished for Misconduct in Asbestos Exposure Case

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asbestos exposure caseYesterday I wrote about the order Kazan Law obtained punishing Union Oil for not producing its corporate witness to testify about its past wrong-doing toward asbestos victims. On the same day as Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee of the Alameda County Superior Court issued that order, she also punished Union Oil’s parent company, Chevron, for similar misconduct in an asbestos exposure case. Judge Lee granted Kazan Law partner Justin Bosl’s request to sanction Chevron $1,060 in the asbestos exposure case of Patricia and Billy Joe Sendle.

Billy Joe Sendle was a longtime welder for PG&E in Richmond, Merced, and Fairfield, California. During his work he encountered an asbestos pipe-coating called Somastic, which was developed and licensed by Chevron. He brought the asbestos dust home on his clothing and person. His wife, Patricia, was exposed to that dust, especially when doing his laundry. She now has mesothelioma. Chevron delayed producing its corporate witness for months, resulting in Judge Lee’s order sanctioning it. We hope Chevron will produce a witness soon for this asbestos exposure case to answer for its actions in developing and selling a deadly product.

Related post:  Judge Orders Monetary Sanctions Against Union Oil

Judge Orders Monetary Sanctions Against Union Oil

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Union OilFrank Rondon was exposed to asbestos in brakes supplied by Union Oil when he worked as a service station attendant at Felix Union 76 in Los Altos, California in the early 1970s. Mr. Rondon came to Kazan Law for help after tragically learning that he has mesothelioma.

On November 22, 2013, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee granted a preferential trial date and issued an order to defendants Union Oil to provide deposition dates for their corporate representatives no later than December 20, 2013.

Union Oil attended the case management conference on December 20th with no date to offer. In response, Judge Lee issued a second order to Union Oil to provide dates for deposition of their corporate representatives no later than January 7, 2014.  Counsel for Union Oil promised she would oblige.

On January 10, 2014, despite Judge Lee’s multiple orders and the promises of their counsel, Union Oil still had not provided dates for the deposition. Judge Lee ordered monetary sanctions against Union Oil in the amount of $200.00. It may not seem like much, but we’ve learned that money is all big companies care about, and with Judge Lee’s active intervention, we hope Union Oil will finally produce a witness who can be forced to admit the facts about corporate wrongdoing. This means that Kazan Law partner Justin Bosl will have a stronger case when we go to trial.

Related post: Chevron Punished for Misconduct in Asbestos Exposure Case

 

Court Reinforces Right to Sue at State Level for Workers Exposed to Workplace Toxins

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OSHAOccupational safety means just that.  It means safety on the job from life-threatening hazards like asbestos exposure and other workplace toxins. So today I have good news for all of us who care about justice and occupational safety for America’s work force!

Last week, a federal court unanimously issued a ruling strengthening protections for Americans injured by hazardous substances, including asbestos exposure, on the job.

Specifically, the federal appeals court rejected a lawsuit filed by the American Tort Reform Association that challenged an important section of wording in OSHA’s revised hazard communication standard.  OSHA is the Occupational and Safety Hazard Administration, a division of the Department of Labor.

Both state and federal laws outline how companies are required to label harmful substances – including asbestos – in the workplace. Federal law usually trumps state law, but victims injured due to inadequate hazard labeling are still allowed to sue their employer for damages under state law.  The American Tort Reform Association, an industry-funded group, tried to overturn that and was unsuccessful.

I learned of this favorable ruling from Leah Nicholls, the Kazan-Budd attorney at Public Justice, a Washington D.C.-based public interest law firm.  I am proud to say that Kazan Law co-funds Leah Nicholls at Public Justice so she can work on difficult cases to protect people and the environment against powerful interests.

“The court’s opinion is great news for all of us who want to hold employers liable for injuries to employees,” Leah said.

“OSHA endorses the ability of employees injured because of inadequate labeling of hazardous substances to sue under state law to get damages for their injuries and, importantly, to prevent the same injuries from happening to other employees,” she added. “The fact that the D.C. Circuit held that OSHA’s endorsement stands will help persuade other courts that the existence of federal regulations does not prevent people from suing under state laws.”

The US Supreme Court has issued several rulings in recent years scaling back Americans’ ability to sue corporations for damages. The high court is also the most business-friendly since World War II, according to the New York Times business section. In that context especially, Leah said, “This is a heartening decision.”  I concur.

New Year, New Name for Kazan Law

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Kazan LawIt’s a new year and our firm has a new name.  A new year is always an excellent time for change, revitalization and renewal. Sometimes change is by choice; you initiate it. Other times change comes to you unbidden and you need to embrace that change and embrace the opportunities it brings.

Here at Kazan Law, we have had change come our way even though we did not seek it.  We were Kazan, McClain, Satterley, Lyons, Greenwood & Oberman.  As of today, our new name is Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood, a Professional Law Corporation—a reflection of two of our longtime partners choosing retirement.

Dianna Lyons and James Oberman are difficult to say goodbye and farewell to – although we do most emphatically wish them both well.  Both these veteran attorneys are giants in the field and have been with me for many years.  Jim was a certified appellate specialist who did outstanding motion and appeals work and Dianna was a great appellate lawyer who became an accomplished trial lawyer with us. I’ll be giving you a closer look at each of their careers as a proper send-off soon. For now just know that we will miss them.

But as the chapters on their careers at Kazan Law and in asbestos litigation close, new chapters will open. New brilliant young minds fresh from law school and on fire to change the world – or at least a piece of it – will find their way to our door. We will welcome them in just as we once welcomed Dianna Lyons and James Oberman.  And new attorneys will work with us to help you and your families as we always have.

Bottom line?  We’re still Kazan Law.  That hasn’t changed.  We are still the ground-breaking top-ranked asbestos litigation firm we’ve been for decades. We remain passionately committed to fighting for the rights of victims of asbestos exposure and trail blazing new precedents in asbestos law.

Kazan Law is a nationally recognized plaintiffs’ asbestos law firm with a particular expertise as asbestos lawyers fighting for victims of mesothelioma, a cancer that is a result of exposure to airborne asbestos fibers. Some of the principals in our firm are pioneers in asbestos litigation and among the most experienced asbestos lawyers in California. Our attorneys have been instrumental in winning precedent-setting rulings by the California Appellate and Supreme Courts that have impacted asbestos law in California and ensured that asbestos victims have the opportunity to seek justice in the court system against those who caused their illness.

Bringing Asbestos Home: The Dangers of Secondary Asbestos Exposure

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secondary asbestos exposureIn the Bible story, God mercifully allows Abraham to spare the life of his son Isaac.  But secondary asbestos exposure is not merciful.  Asbestos fibers accidentally brought into the home by industrial worker Johney Clemmons caused the death of his son Randy Brady Clemmons.  Sadly, Johney Clemmons himself died from the asbestos fibers choking his lungs decades before his son also succumbed to illness from secondary asbestos exposure.

The premature deaths of both father and son separated by time but united in cause and tragedy both became cases I handled at Kazan Law for the Clemmons family in turn. The recent publication of a new book by Debbie Clemmons, wife of Randy, about coping with his mesothelioma prompted me to want to discuss with you the dangers of secondary as well as primary asbestos exposure.

Johney Joseph Clemmons, had spent 30 years working at the Fibreboard Corporation’s Emeryville, California asbestos insulation manufacturing plant. Johney began to get sick in the early 1970s, and by 1975 had severe pulmonary asbestosis, a scarring of the lungs caused by asbestos fibers that restricted the lungs’ ability to provide enough oxygen to the body. He continued to work until 1977 when he could no longer manage, and at age 57 was forced to retire. Several years later, he developed lung cancer on top of his asbestosis and passed away on December 7, 1981.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the United States, an estimated 27 million workers were exposed to aerosolized asbestos fibers between 1940 and 1979.

Because of a lack of proper industrial hygiene, asbestos workers went home covered in asbestos dust. The workers’ families and other household contacts were then exposed via inhalation of asbestos dust

  • from workers’ skin, hair, and clothing, and
  • during laundering of contaminated work clothes.

A mortality study of 878 household members of asbestos workers revealed that 4 out of 115 total deaths were from pleural mesothelioma and that the rate of deaths from all types of cancer was doubled.

Randy was 26 years old when his father died as a result of asbestos exposure in 1981.  Randy died in 2009 at age 54 as a result of secondary asbestos exposure unknowingly brought home by his father.

Laurie Kazan-Allen Receives Award for Global Ban Asbestos Efforts

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global asbestos banSaturday, December 21, 2013 marks the second anniversary of the death of Rachel Lee Jung-Lim.  Rachel was a mesothelioma patient who died because of her asbestos-caused illness at age 39.  But this young South Korean woman also became in the brief time left to her, a strong voice in the global ban asbestos fight.

Rachel was supported in her campaign against asbestos by a leading international veteran in the global asbestos contamination struggle, my sister Laurie Kazan-Allen. I’ve just learned that Laurie has been announced as this year’s recipient of the Rachel Lee Jung-Lim Award.

Laurie became interested in asbestos issues long ago. Because she was living in England, I asked her to serve legal papers for Kazan Law on asbestos companies based there who we were suing in the US.

She also did some research for me on cases involving clients who had worked in the UK.  That’s how she initially got to meet victims groups. But Laurie deserves full credit for where she took it from there and for the level of integrity, dedication and passion she has brought to this cause.

But I fear I am biased. So I will simply quote from the letter announcing Laurie’s award:

  • Laurie Kazan-Allen has devoted herself to the campaign of global asbestos ban over 14 years with the establishment of International Ban Asbestos Secretariat in 2000. In doing so, she was one of the first to raise the issue of increased asbestos consumption in developing countries, particularly in Asia, whilst most western societies have banned or reduced.
  • As an activist, her soul has rested always with victims and through recognizing, organizing, and supporting victims, she has contributed a lot to the launching and strengthening of civil movements in many developed and developing countries.
  • Without her, it would have been impossible to launch Ban Asbestos Network Korea in 2008, Asia Ban Asbestos network in 2009, and Indonesia Ban Asbestos Network in 2010.
  • Her life has been a role model to many activists as well as experts. We do hope her dream of a global asbestos ban comes true not far from now as Rachel Lee Jung-Lim wished too.

The award is jointly presented by the following groups:

Asian Citizen’s Center for Environment and Health
School of Public Health Seoul National University
Ban Asbestos Network Korea
Korean Association of Asbestos Victims and their Families
Asia Ban Asbestos Network
Ban Asbestos Network Japan
Asia Monitor Resource Center
RightOnCanada.ca

Kazan Law Client Publishes New Book on Daily Life With Mesothelioma

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The Randy Brady StoryEvery one of our mesothelioma clients is unforgettable to us at Kazan Law. Each client is unique with their own story to tell.  Even after many years of experience in asbestos litigation, we remember and cherish each of the lives that briefly touched ours before being cruelly extinguished by mesothelioma or other asbestos-related disease.  We also get to know their families as we help them through this sad and difficult time and always appreciate it when they stay in touch with us.

I was especially pleased when Kazan Law client Debbie Clemmons, the wife of mesothelioma victim Randy Brady Clemmons, approached me this past summer about writing a chapter for her new book about her family’s experience with mesothelioma.  Now I am proud to announce that her book has been published. “In His Grace, Grappling with Mesothelioma: The Randy Brady Story” is now out in paperback. It is available on Amazon where it also can be downloaded in a Kindle edition. And she kindly credits me as a co-author.

My first introduction to the Clemmons family came in 1982, when I helped Randy’s mother Juanita Clemmons win a settlement for the asbestos-caused death of Randy’s father Johney Clemmons in 1981. Randy’s father unknowingly worked with asbestos for 30 years in an Emeryville insulation factory. This exposure took his life as well as Randy’s who developed malignant mesothelioma from inhaling the fibers brought home on his father’s work clothes.  So I feel I have walked this journey with this brave family and was glad to participate in helping Debbie write this book.

At 264 pages, Debbie’s book covers the progression of Randy’s mesothelioma from the beginning of his treatment in 2007 to his death at age 54 in 2009.

“On the pages of this book is our story of how we grappled with mesothelioma. I have a day by day; play by play experience of what we went through. There is also a lot of information on pain management,” Debbie explains in her book jacket text.

The Clemmons family members are deeply religious Christians – Randy was the morning host on KFAX, a San Francisco-based Christian radio station.  He also hosted the Christian Fellowship days with the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s.   Debbie’s book also recounts how her family’s faith and spiritual beliefs helped them through this experience with grace and strength.

But it is also about how they were uplifted by the caring shown to them by other people. “When the terminal diagnosis was given to us, we were showered by the goodness of the people in the community.  Over two hundred people came to our rescue by acts of kindness, meals, financial help and prayer. True acts of love and grace,” she states.

As for my part, Debbie asked me to write the chapter in her book called “How to Choose an Asbestos Attorney.”  In it, I explain why choosing an asbestos attorney is the most important financial decision you will ever make, why you should not limit your choice of attorney to those with offices nearby and how to spot a fake asbestos attorney website. I hope you will take the opportunity to read it.

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