The Human Tragedy of Asbestos: October 22, 1981.

October 22, 1981 is when my dad passed away from Mesothelioma, likely arising from asbestos exposure during World War II while in the Navy. My understanding is that, in his agony, my mom may have used an especially heavy thumb on the morphine feeding machine that day. If she was able to muster that amount of courage, I thank her.

Having been on both sides of the asbestos lawsuits in the United States, I have a lot of criticisms about the systems used in the various venues. They tend to be highly inefficient with the combined third parties (attorneys, industrial hygienists, economists, historians, geologists, pathologists, court reporters, company representatives, exhibit makers, copy services, jury consultants, hotels, restaurants, car rental companies, caterers, etc.) recovering more than those who are sick. Many of these people, other than the attorneys representing the injured party, get paid even when the injured party gets shut out with little or no recovery. Call this a cottage industry all built on the extreme suffering of the Meso sufferers; many do, and yet nothing with a reasonable chance of a compromise has been able to pass the political muster that any of those third parties have been willing to support. https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20030720-2003-07-20-0307200055-story.html.

My biggest complaint, however, is that all of those third parties often lose sight of the suffering that gives rise to the lawsuits. I have hesitated in the past to post the below picture, which is a suicide note from a Meso sufferer in agony. The family of this person had provided the note to the judge and asked the judge to circulate it to all of the attorneys involved in the case as, if I recall correctly, the person was treated very harshly in his deposition by the various company attorneys. The judge did so, with an admonishment that such treatment was inappropriate and that the attorneys should take it to heart. As the family had asked for the note to be circulated, I am comfortable in doing so here, but please give it the moment of silence that it deserves. I have redacted any personal identification from the picture.

I remember sitting in my mom’s deposition during the mid-1980s, several years after my dad had passed away at 54 years of age. It just seemed so impersonal. And yet, he left a family behind that was devastated by the loss.

My point is, that no matter what your involvement or which side you are on, remember that there is a Meso Warrior, a family, and a lot of pain. Treat people with respect.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on this posting by leaving me a comment or sending me an email at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thank you. Marty