November 30th, 2007

Residents and asbestos victims that became ill due to the asbestos mines in Libby, Montana are hoping that an appellate court will overturn previous rulings. This would be the only way that the owner of the mines would be held responsible.

Residents, lawyers and asbestos victims are waiting to hear the verdicts of an appellate court this week. The appeals court is going to determine if previous rulings in the asbestos cases can be overturned, paving the way for lawsuits against mine owner W. R. Grace. The Libby mines closed down in 1990, but since then a high number of residents in the small town, and workers of the mines, have been diagnosed with asbestos related diseases including emphysema, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

The previous rulings kept certain documents out of the courtroom, making it all but impossible to prove that the company knew about the dangers of the asbestos but took few measures to keep the public and its employees safe. The appellate court will determine if the blockage of the documents was an error. For asbestos victims, this is a small hope; asbestos-related diseases are normally terminal. Mesothelioma, a form of lung cancer caused by inhaling asbestos fibers, can take decades to manifest, while the victims life is usually measured in months from the time of diagnosis.