Results

Read Some of Our Clients Stories and About Their Results:

Tax Preparer, age 65, $5.6 Million Settlement
Estimator, age 55, $5.1 Million Settlement
Retired Nurse, age 74, $4.4 Million Settlement
Plumber, age 74, $5.7 Million Settlement
Painter, age 65, $3.3 Million Settlement
Math Instructor, age 62, $2.6 Million Settlement
Machinist, age 57, $2.4 Million Settlement
High School Student, age 35, $2.2 Million Settlement
Refinery Operator, age 81, $1.8 Million trial verdict in an asbestosis case
Machinist, age 68

Linda was diagnosed with malignant peritoneal mesothelioma in 2005, at the age of 62. She was working as a income tax preparer and teacher in the Portland, Oregon area at the time of her diagnosis. Linda had no health insurance at the time. By the time she contacted our office, she had incurred nearly $300,000 in medical bills for diagnosis and chemotherapy related to her mesothelioma.

Linda told us that she had worked for several years as a ceramics teacher during the 1970’s and 1980’s in both California and Oregon. She used a clay mix made of 50% dry talc that was mined in Death Valley, California. We determined through research and investigation that the talc she used was possibly contaminated with asbestos. We sued the manufacturers and suppliers of the talc. Most of these companies had never been sued before in asbestos litigation. We contacted geological experts to consult with us about the various talc deposits in California, and were able to prove that most of them were contaminated with asbestos. We obtained corporate documents from the talc companies that proved that they were aware of asbestos contamination in their talc in the early 1970’s. We settled with all of the companies before trial for a total of $5.6 million.

Linda is still doing well, and is still working as a tax preparer and teacher. Chemotherapy has been effective in shrinking Linda’s tumor and allowing her to maintain a high quality of life. Linda refuses to allow her mesothelioma to keep her from doing the things she wants to do. Her courage, resiliency and positive outlook have been an inspiration to all of us.

Jose was a 55 year old estimator when he was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma. Jose is married with three children, all of whom were still living with Jose at the time of his diagnosis. Jose had spent the early part of his career working as a marine insulator aboard ships, primarily in San Diego. Jose also grew up in a household where his stepfather worked in the ship building and repairing trade.

Our office had been collecting information about California shipyards, ship repair contractors and products used in California shipyards for many years. We were able to quickly develop a list of products and companies that were likely responsible for Jose’s asbestos exposure. We filed suit against these companies, and our team of investigators went to work–interviewing scores of witnesses who worked with Jose, or who worked for other contractors on the same ships. We took the depositions of many of these witnesses, who helped us prove which products Jose was exposed to. Jose also told us that he used masks to try to prevent asbestos exposure during his years in the shipyard, but told us the masks were not very effective. We learned that the company that made the masks sold them for use around asbestos, but knew they did not adequately protect workers. We also sued the manufacturer of the masks. We forced the company to give us tens of thousands of pages of relevant documents, which we combed through to find the truth about the company’s masks, and about what the company knew and what it did with this knowledge. We took the deposition of the company’s representative over two days, asking him about the key documents. We began a trial against the mask manufacturer, and settled during trial.

The manufacturers of the asbestos products settled before trial, for a total settlement of over $5 million. As of this writing (June, 2008), Jose is still doing well, over four years after his diagnosis. He is still living an active life, thanks to chemotherapy which has slowed the growth of his tumor. After his case resolved, Jose has tried to help other shipyard workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, by testifying as witness in several other court cases.

Mary was 74 years old when she was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. At the time of her diagnosis she was a retired nurse. Mary was never occupationally exposed to asbestos. However she did breathe in asbestos fibers at home when she laundered her husband Cal’s dirty work clothes. Mary’s husband had worked in a foundry and at a ship–dismantling yard in Richmond, California.

Mary and Cal first consulted with another well–known asbestos law firm in California, and were disappointed when that firm rejected their case. But when Mary called Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason, we determined that she and Cal were entitled to compensation. We sued Cal’s employers. We were able to develop evidence to prove that Cal’s employers should have known about the hazards of asbestos, and should have taken steps to protect Cal and his family members from being exposed to asbestos fibers. We argued that Cal’s employers had a duty to protect Mary from the asbestos Cal encountered at work, and that they failed to take any steps to prevent her from being exposed. We argued that Cal’s employers should have instructed their employees about asbestos hazards, that they should have provided them with breathing protection, and that they should have provided changing rooms and laundry facilities so the employees did not bring home fibers home to their families.

We settled with the responsible companies just before trial for a total of $4.4 million.

Frank and his wife Dana were enjoying their retirement when Frank suddenly began to have trouble breathing in the Summer of 2006. A series of tests lead to the diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Frank and Dana were shocked. They hired us to pursue compensation. Frank had been exposed to asbestos during his career as a plumber and controls technician in Nevada and Northern California. We interviewed everyone we could find whom Frank had worked with to determine the manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos products he was exposed to during his career. Frank himself had done work installing sectional boilers, and he was able to identify the asbestos components of the boilers he installed. We also located insulation contractors who had worked with Frank, and they helped us identify manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos insulation to which Frank was exposed. We settled with most of these companies just prior to trial for a total of $3.8 million. The insurance company for one of the liable companies refused to pay to defend Mr. Ham’s claim. We obtained an additional $2.7 million judgment against the company, and filed suit against its insurance company to collect the judgment. That suit was eventually successfully settled in Federal District Court in San Francisco.

Larry was a painter for most of his life, but he was working as an insulation company estimator at age 62, when he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He entered the insulation business late in his career, long after asbestos was last used in insulation products. He was earning a good living as an estimator, and wanted to keep working for several years to build a nest egg that would allow him and his wife to retire. But the diagnosis of mesothelioma ended his ability to work, and threatened the secure future that Larry and his wife had hoped for. He turned to us for help. We determined that Larry’s exposure to asbestos occurred not in the insulation trade, but when he worked as a painter. As a young man, Larry had done painting at the Thule Air Force Base in Greenland. We obtained records from the National Archives that showed which companies’ asbestos products Larry was exposed to in Greenland. We also determined that he was exposed to asbestos at a Westinghouse turbine manufacturing facility in South Philadelphia where he had done painting work in the early 60’s. We obtained records from Westinghouse showing that asbestos was used in Larry’s presence, and showing that Westinghouse had knowledge of asbestos hazards going back to the 1940’s. Also, we were able to prove that Larry was exposed to drywall and joint compound products containing asbestos when he moved to California in the mid 1960’s. Based upon the case we built against the companies responsible for Larry’s asbestos exposure, Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason recovered settlements of over 3.3 million dollars.

Bob had just retired from his career as a math, physics and chemistry instructor when he was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. Prior to his diagnosis, Bob was an active bicyclist and swimmer. He also enjoyed camping, caring for his fruit trees and making preserves with his wife, Darlene. Most importantly, he and Darlene were the guardians of their five year–old grandson.

Bob knew very little about how he might have been exposed to asbestos. Our investigation found two primary sources of asbestos exposure Bob’s past: first, he was exposed to asbestos in drywall joint compounds that were used by his parents during the course of additions they made to their small home in Humboldt County, California. Although these exposures dated back to the early 1950’s, and Bob had no idea where his parents purchased the joint compounds, we were able to determine which company was responsible. We started a trial with that company, but the defendant paid nearly two million dollars to settle the case before it went to the jury. We also found that some of the laboratory equipment used in Bob’s chemistry classes had some asbestos components. We obtained substantial additional recoveries from the companies that made and sold the laboratory equipment, for a total settlement of $2.6 million.

Phil was 57 years old when he was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. He had spent most of his career working as a machinist. For two years during his career, Phil had an assignment with one of his employers that involved machining parts for an aluminum foundry using Molten Metal Marinite, an asbestos–containing material. This was Phil’s primary asbestos exposure. Unfortunately, the Molten Metal Marinite was all manufactured by Johns Manville Corporation, a company that has been bankrupt since the early 80’s. Although we were prevented by the bankruptcy from suing Johns Manville, we sued the aluminum foundry that hired Phil’s employer to machine the Marinite. We uncovered internal corporate documents that proved that the aluminum company knew working with Marinite lead to high asbestos exposures. Furthermore, the documents showed that the aluminum company sent the work to Phil’s employer to prevent their own employees from being exposed to asbestos above the OSHA exposure limits. Essentially, they dumped their asbestos problem on Phil’s employer, who had no experience dealing with asbestos or with Marinite. And the aluminum company told Phil’s employer nothing about the asbestos problems they had experienced with the Marinite.

We settled Phil’s case during trial for more than $2.4 million. Phil was able to retire with the settlement money we recovered.

Anthony was a young man–just 35 years old–when he was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. At the time, he was working as a supervisor for developmentally disabled adults in New Mexico. He was married with three children. He and his wife, Irene, were working hard just to pay the bills and to care for their kids. Anthony had been born into a poor family, and grew up moving from small apartment to apartment in the Los Angeles area. He had worked as a busboy and cook. He had never worked with asbestos. We decided that Anthony must have been exposed to asbestos somewhere. We looked at the Los Angeles School District, where Anthony had been shuffled from school to school growing up. We found that asbestos was used in many of Anthony’s schools. Some of it became airborne and led to his being exposed as a student. We sued the companies that made and installed the asbestos products in Anthony’s schools. Doctors that were hired by the asbestos companies claimed that Anthony’s mesothelioma was not caused by asbestos. They claimed that most of the mesotheliomas that occur in young people like Anthony are not caused by asbestos at all, but that they occur “spontaneously”. We fought against the companies and their doctors and were able to recover over two million dollars in settlement for Anthony. Much of the settlement money was put into a trust for his children’s future.

Jack was an 81 year-old client who contracted disabling asbestosis. Jack had such severe scarring in the lining of his lung that on X–rays it looked as if he had a corset encasing his lung. Jack. had spent many years of his career working at the Union Oil refinery in Oleum, California. His main job was as an operator, watching the gauges in the control room. On shutdowns and during routine maintenance, Jack’s job required him to be present during the work that outside contractors were performing on the machinery and equipment. Jack’s case was tried to a jury in San Francisco Superior Court against one of the contractors that exposed him to asbestos, resulting in a $1.8 million verdict.

D.L. and his wife of 43 years contacted us from their home in New Jersey approximately eight months after he had been diagnosed with mesothelioma. Clapper, Patti, Schweizer & Mason traveled to his home immediately, in order to determine how he had been exposed to asbestos. For the last 45 years, D.L. owned a landscaping business. However, in the 1950s, D.L. served in the U.S. Navy. It was here, aboard ships, where he came into contact with multiple products containing asbestos that eventually resulted in his illness. After obtaining the naval archive records for the ship on which D.L. served, as well as interviewing others who served on the ship, we were able to determine the specific manufacturers of the asbestos–containing products. We also discovered that D.L. performed numerous brake and clutch jobs on his own cars and trucks. This is a common way for exposure to asbestos to occur, and we included the manufacturers of these asbestos–containing products in our suit, along with those mentioned above. We filed D.L.’s case in San Francisco, California. Due to his illness, the court in San Francisco granted an early trial date. This trial, though, never occurred. All of the defendants settled before trial for a large total recovery. D.L. is currently receiving medical treatment and is still active, taking cruises and enjoying his retirement.