Dreams dashed in fatal college tour bus crash

Today's post was shared by Trucker Lawyers and comes from bigstory.ap.org and highlights the need for more regulation and enforcement of transportation safety. If products are continued to be manufactured, operated, and maintained in an unsafe manner tragedies in the workplace will continue. Accidents just don't happen and hopefully can be avoided. 

Rescuers tend to walking wounded after a fiery crash involving several vehicles, Thursday, April 10, 2014, just north of Orland, Calif., that left at least nine dead. Authorities said it is not yet clear what caused the crash but that it involved a tour bus, a FedEx truck and a Nissan Altima. (AP Photo/The Chico Enterprise-Record, Dan Reidel)   Map locates Orland, Calif., where three vehicles crashed and killed at least nine; 6c x 2 inches; 295.2 mm x 50 mm;   Massive flames are seen devouring both vehicles just after the crash, and clouds of smoke billowed into the sky Thursday April 10, 2014 until firefighters had quenched the fire, leaving behind scorched black hulks of metal. The FedEx tractor-trailer crossed a grassy freeway median in Northern California and slammed into the bus carrying high school students on a visit to a college. At least nine were killed in the fiery crash, authorities said. (AP Photo/Jeremy Lockett)   Emergency crews look over wreckage from a crash between a semi and a tour bus on Thursday, April 10, 2014, on Interstate 5 near Orland, Calif. Authorities said it is not yet clear what caused the crash but that it involved a tour bus, a FedEx truck and a Nissan Altima. At least Nine people were killed Thursday and dozens injured in the fiery crash between a FedEx delivery truck and a charter bus carrying high school students on a visit to a Northern California college, authorities said. (AP...

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Found on

Asbestos, Railroads and The US Supreme Court

For decades railroad equipment, including engines, were heavily insulated with asbestos fiber, a known carcinogen and causally related to mesothelioma, a rare and fatal cancer. Many lawsuits have been filed by victims and their families to recover benefits against the suppliers, manufacturers and distributors of asbestos fiber. This month, The US Supreme Court heard oral argument to determine whether state laws were preempted under Federal law and that state laws were not applicable in judging the lawsuits.


The initial claims for asbestos related diseases were filed as workers' compensation claims in the United States. Soon it was revealed that the suppliers, distributors and health research (trade) organizations were concealing information to the workers as to the deadly dangers of asbestos fiber. As asbestos related disease, including mesothelioma, became epidemic, tens of thousands of civil claims were filed.


As a result of the long latency period from exposure to asbestos fiber to disease manifestation, the claims continue to be filed on behalf of former workers and their estates. While the exposures are usually multi-faceted, the issue regarding which law will cover railroad claims remains unresolved.


Gloria Gail Kurns, Executrix of the Estate of George M. Corson, Deceased, et al., Petitioners v. Railroad Friction Products Corporation, No. 10-879.

US Supreme Court Opinion

SCOTUSblog Coverage

• Argument recap: Contending with old precedent
• Argument preview: Preemption under the Locomotive Inspection Act

Briefs and Documents

Merits Briefs for Petitioners

• Brief for Gloria Gail Kurns et al.
• Reply brief for Gloria Gail Kurns et al.

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Petitioners

• Brief for the Academy of Rail Labor Attorneys
• Brief for the American Association for Justice
• Brief for the National Association of Retired and Veteran Railway Employees
• Brief for Public Justice, P.C.
• Brief for Public Law Scholars
• Brief for the United States

Merits Briefs for the Respondents

• Brief for Railroad Friction Products Corp. and Viad Corp.

Amicus Briefs in Support of the Respondents

• Brief for Thyssenkrupp Budd Company 
• Brief for the National Association of Manufacturers 
• Brief for General Electric Corporation 
• Brief for John Crane Inc. 
• Brief for Chamber of Commerce
• Brief for the Washington Legal Foundation
• Brief for DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar 
• Brief for Griffin Wheel Company 
• Brief for the Association of American Railroads

Certiorari-stage Documents

• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition for Railroad Friction Products Corp. (unavailable)
• Response to petition for VIAD
• Supplemental brief for respondent VIAD
• Supplemental brief for respondent Railroad Friction Products Corp. 

The supplemental briefs in this case make reference to the Solicitor General's brief in Crane v. Atwell, which is available here.    

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.


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UN Agency Urges Worldwide Asbestos Ban

The UN International Labour Organization (ILO) has called for a worldwide ban on asbestos production citing that there is an asbestos related death every 5 minute and asbestos already claims 107,000 lives each year. The ILO has warned that asbestos industry lobbyists must not claim support of the ILO in its effort to continue asbestos production.

Asbestos, for decades, has been linked to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Mesothelioma remains an incurable and fatal disease. While asbestos use has been banned in many countries, Canada and the United States have yet to ban is use. 

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related disease.

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Veterans at Increased Risk for Mesothelioma

The US Department of Veterans Affairs  has now recognized that veterans may be at an increased risk for the development of mesothelioma, a cancer associated with exposure to asbestos fiber. The government has announced that during World War II, several million people employed in the U.S. shipyards. U.S. Navy Veterans were exposed to amosite and crocidolite since these varieties were used extensively in military construction.

How Veterans Have Been Exposed to Asbestos during Military Service

Veterans who served in some of the following major occupations may have been exposed to asbestos:

• Mining
• Milling
• Shipyard work
• Insulation work
• Demolition of old buildings
• Carpentry and construction
• Manufacture and servicing of friction products, such as clutch facings and brake linings
• Manufacture and installation of products, such as roofing and flooring materials, asbestos cement sheet and pipe products, and military equipment

Health Problems Associated with Exposure to Asbestos

Breathing asbestos mainly causes problems in the lungs and the membrane that surrounds the lungs, including:

• Asbestosis – Scarring of lung tissue that causes breathing problems, usually in workers exposed to asbestos in workplaces before the Federal government began regulating asbestos use (mid-1970s).
• Pleural plaques – Scarring in the inner surface of the ribcage and area surrounding the lungs that can cause breathing problems, though usually not as serious as asbestosis. People living in areas with high environmental levels of asbestos, as well as workers, can develop pleural plaques.
• Cancer - The two types of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos are lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the thin lining surrounding the lung (pleural membrane) or abdominal cavity (the peritoneum).

 The VA has indicated that exposed veterans may be eligible for governmental benefits including: Health Care Benefits, Disability Compensation Benefits, and other benefits including home loans, vocational rehabilitation and education.

Click here to read more about asbestos related disease and claims for benefits. For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related illnesses.

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Asbestos Used by Brake Workers Linked to Malignant Mesothelioma

A recent study published in the Annals of Occupational Hygiene finds that exposure to chrysotile asbestos fiber manufactured by a friction materials factory, Raybestos Manhattan Inc., was causally to malignant mesothelioma, a rare and fatal disease. This appears to be consistent with the association previously established among Quebec asbestos miners and at a South Carolina asbestos textile factory. 


Raybestos Manhattan formerly had many frictional materials plants in operation throughout the US. One facility was located in Passaic NJ. That plant closed in June of 1975. Hundreds of workers' compensation claims were filed by the former workers who suffered from illnesses as a result of the exposure to asbestos fiber. Claims were also filed against the manufacturers and distributors of asbestos products including the asbestos mines in Quebec. 


Annals of Occupational Hygiene, doi:10.1093/annhyg/meq046 


Click here to read more about asbestos related disease and claims for benefits. For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered asbestos related illnesses.