Last week, the Louisiana Senate debated HB 477. Translation: a bill introduced in the Louisiana state legislature that would severely limit the ability of asbestos victims in Louisiana to seek compensation from asbestos bankruptcy funds.
One of our firm's shareholders, Louisiana native Burton LeBlanc, was there to fight against the bill. LeBlanc was the only attorney who testified against the bill –and keep in mind, he wasn't paid for appearing in the Senate or speaking out against this bill. Rather, LeBlanc chose to spend his time to help protect the civil rights of all asbestos victims (not just Baron and Budd clients) against the companies that knowingly exposed their workers to asbestos.
"It's ironic the proponents are here today asking for individuals suffering from cancer to provide you with disclosure," said LeBlanc in his senate testimony. "When it's these [asbestos] companies, this coalition, for over 60 years, knew of the health hazards of asbestos and never warned a single worker…that the products could cause cancer."
LeBlanc and the mesothelioma attorneys at Baron and Budd pride themselves on actively fighting for the rights of the injured – a fight that includes not only handling lawsuits for individuals but also standing up against any legislation that would curb the rights of people suffering from asbestos-related diseases such as mesothelioma. The firm even went all the way to the Supreme Court to preserve the rights of asbestos victims to pursue individual lawsuits instead of grouping all asbestos lawsuits into a class action. And we won.
(Shocking fact: we didn't just fight against the asbestos industry in this case, we also went up against other plaintiffs' firms that advocated for the settlement. Oh, and we didn't get paid for our work on the case either.)
Some frightening but very real facts the asbestos industry doesn't want you to know:
- Approximately 27.5 million workers were exposed to asbestos on the job between 1940 and 1980.
- The asbestos companies have lied about the dangers of asbestos exposure for more than 30 years. Some asbestos companies are still lying about it.
- Approximately 3,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.
Call us at 1.866.855.1229 for a free review of your potential mesothelioma lawsuit.
Join our Facebook group Fight Mesothelioma to connect with us in the battle against mesothelioma.
