Global Mesothelioma Advocacy September 4, 2008

Make Your Voice Heard

The world's leading body of specialists devoted to mesothelioma, the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, has invited Roger to make a presentation from the perspective of an advocate.

Our firm will use this opportunity to talk about the future of mesothelioma research, and about the possibilities for combating this savage disease by combining innovative funding strategies with cutting edge technology. IMIG's annual congress, held this year in Amsterdam, is the most prestigious convention of its kind, and we are privileged to have received an invitation to speak.

In keeping with our mission to aggressively lobby and advocate for care, treatment, and a cure for mesothelioma, we're asking for your top five concerns related to mesothelioma. If you could take a moment from your very busy schedule and send us a list of the items most important to you, we would be proud to discuss these issues with the world's leading researchers and practitioners.

Jury Awards $7.1 million to California Telco Foreman/Supervisor

When Californian and RGWPC client John Russell worked as a young man delivering automotive parts in Los Angeles, he had no idea that the brake pads being arced in his company's machine shop contained lethal asbestos. Daily surrounded by the poisonous dust, the effects of this early work led to his later development of mesothelioma.

When John's case went to trial with co-counsel SEG in August, the defendants responsible for his poisoning settled one by one, until the lone holdout was Ford Motor Company. Ford's asbestos brake pads, it claimed, had no effect on John's development of mesothelioma.

The jury concluded otherwise, returning a $7.1 million verdict and a powerful message to corporate poisoners that they would be held responsible for their actions. "I felt good about the verdict," said John's wife, Esther. "We were thrilled. The team was so wonderful."

In addition to expert testimony that eviscerated Ford's claim, John's surgeon and treating physician, Dr. Robert Cameron, head of the mesothelioma program at UCLA, confirmed the substantial economic toll that John's mesothelioma had taken. "He was the star witness," said Esther. "He just stood up there and told the truth." The jury awarded $398,000 in past and future medical damages.

Lead trial counsel David Greenstone said, "It gives us a great deal of satisfaction to know that Ford has finally been forced to take responsibility for their shameful behavior."

Adds Roger Worthington, "From the time we first met with John to the conclusion of his case at trial in Los Angeles, the whole process took only about ten months. We are pleased that for the Russell family the system worked and justice was swift. Perhaps future asbestos defendants will think twice before refusing to offer a fair settlement."

John, an avid cyclist who is doing his best to overcome the aggressive growth of his mesothelioma, was upbeat and positive about the verdict and its message. "We couldn't have been happier. None of it was a drudge." Now John's new mission, after beating the asbestos defendants: beat the disease.