Georgia has a long association with asbestos, the potentially deadly fibrous mineral that has led to thousands of wrongful death lawsuits being filed across the nation.
Back in 1894, Georgia was the first state in the country to commercially mine the mineral, Asbestos.com reported.
As Atlanta wrongful death lawyers, we are concerned about the dangers of asbestos, a mineral that was widely used in the building trade, the military and shipbuilding before its harmful effects were fully known. Asbestos problems are usually out of sight, out of mind. But sometimes asbestos makes the headlines.
In 2005, Georgia’s State Department of Natural Resources investigated an alarming incident in which “multiple piles of garbage, including asbestos materials, were dumped illegally on the east side of Amicalola State Park,” Asbestos.com stated.
Investigators looked at how these heaps containing picnic tables, rusty barbeques and wire came to be abandoned in this Atlanta park in 1999.
“The disposal of asbestos is highly regulated in Georgia and the illegal dumping may have put park attendees at risk for asbestos-related disease. Amicalola hosted 900,000 visitors in 2003, making it one of Georgia’s most popular parks,” the Asbestos.com website reported.
Asbestos is found naturally in Georgia. Almost all of the natural asbestos found in the state forms along the Appalachians with the majority of deposits found in Rabun and White Counties.
Asbestos is associated with mesothelioma, a rare but deadly form of lung cancer. According to the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, a body dedicated to serving victims and their families, the disease develops in the thin layer of cells lining the body’s internal organs, known as the mesothelium. Airborne asbestos fibers are the culprit.
The prognosis for people who develop mesothelioma is grim, although survival rates are better if it is caught in the early stages.
Many victims and their families seek legal help in the face of this terrible disease. A 2007 report in the Insurance Journal quoted a study from RAND Corp., a nonprofit think tank, which said more than 730,000 asbestos lawsuits were filed nationally through 2002. At least 8,400 defendants have paid more than $70 billion, according to the study.
In 2007, Georgia governor Sonny Perdue signed a bill stipulating that only people who became sick through exposure to asbestos would be able to sue companies that used the material. The legislation means only people who can show they have suffered a physical impairment from exposure to asbestos, could file a claim. The law also applies to silica exposure.
“This would allow people that are truly sick to move to the front of the line,” the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. John Wiles, R-Marietta, said in 2007.
We represent personal injury and wrongful death victims and their families throughout that state of Georgia in Alpharetta, Atlanta, Canton, Chamblee, Chattahoochee Hills, Clarkston, College Park, Dallas, Dalton, Decatur, Doraville, Douglasville, Dunwoody, East Point, Fairburn, Forest Park, Franklinton, Griffin, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lake City, Lithonia, Lizella, Lovejoy, Macon, Marietta, Milton, Morrow, Mountain Park, Norcross, Palmetto, Payne, Pine Lake, Riverdale, Rome, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Sofkee, Stone Mountain, Tucker, Union City, Walden, and Woodstock, Georgia.
Call toll free at (800) 900‑2400 or locally at (770) 955‑3000 for an absolutely free and completely confidential consultation.
