January 14th, 2008

A court ruling in Maryland may have opened the way for thousands of people to sue a large appliance company. The ruling passed this week says that the company should be responsible for the asbestos-laden breaks used at its manufacturing plant.

A ruling passed last week in Baltimore, Maryland may have paved the way for thousands of former and current employees of a major appliance company to sue their employer. The company used crane brakes that were known to contain asbestos, and often times overheated, in a manufacturing plant. The court awarded the families of three deceased workers almost $4 million in damages. The suit will now make way for other employees and their families to bring suits against the appliance company.

Asbestos is a normally safe material that can be found in insulation, brake pads and flooring material. When asbestos breaks down, however, it can release dangerous particles into the air. Emphysema, asbestosis and deadly mesothelioma have all been linked to breathing in asbestos fibers after the material has been disturbed or begun to break down. Mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer, is most commonly the disease that sparks court cases, and, unfortunately, is usually terminal before a ruling can be made.