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Sen. Baucus’ advocacy for asbestos victims merits special praise, says attorney Joseph W. Belluck of the New York personal injury firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP. New York, NY (PRWEB) March 24, 2012 New York mesothelioma lawyer Joseph W. Belluck applauded the U.S. Senate – especially Sen. Max Baucus – for passing a resolution that designates the first week of April as “National Asbestos Awareness Week.” “The serious harm caused by exposure to asbestos is a nationwide and...

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to consider a bill to halt asbestos lawsuits and create a $140 billion fund for people suffering from asbestos-related diseases, but many hurdles to the bill's approval remained. For years, asbestos fibers were widely used for their insulating and fire-retardant capabilities, but they are linked to lung-scarring diseases, including cancer. Hundreds of thousands of asbestos injury claims...

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to consider a bill to halt asbestos lawsuits and create a $140 billion fund for people suffering from asbestos-related diseases, but many hurdles to the bill's approval remained. For years, asbestos fibers were widely used for their insulating and fire-retardant capabilities, but they are linked to lung-scarring diseases, including cancer. Hundreds of thousands of asbestos injury claims have been...

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Military veterans and victims of asbestos-related diseases fanned out in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to plead for and against an asbestos compensation bill ahead of a Senate vote that aides said was too close to call. For years, asbestos fibers were widely used for their insulating and fire-retardant capabilities, but they are linked to lung-scarring diseases, including cancer. Hundreds of thousands of asbestos injury claims have been filed,...

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Military veterans and victims of asbestos-related diseases fanned out in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to plead for and against an asbestos compensation bill ahead of a Senate vote that aides said was too close to call. For years, asbestos fibers were widely used for their insulating and fire-retardant capabilities, but they are linked to lung-scarring diseases, including cancer. Hundreds of thousands of asbestos injury claims have been filed,...

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Co-sponsors of a controversial U.S. Senate bill to create a $140 billion asbestos injury fund warned on Thursday it was the last chance for such a measure to pass Congress in the foreseeable future. But Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Arlen Specter and Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy made no predictions about whether their proposal could overcome expected procedural hurdles when it is brought up for debate in the Senate on Monday. "If this...

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to create a $140 billion asbestos compensation fund will come to the Senate floor for debate on February 6, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said on Tuesday. "That's the day we will open the arguments on, opening statements on asbestos," Specter told a meeting of the Judiciary Committee he chairs. And U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said he was determined to go ahead with the bill, despite a suggestion by...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate floor debate on a bill to create a $140 billion fund to compensate asbestos victims will begin on February 6, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said on Tuesday. "That's the day we will open the arguments on, opening statements on asbestos," Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, said at a committee meeting. He is co-sponsor of the asbestos bill along with Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy. Asbestos, a fibrous mineral, was widely used...

By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Progress in curbing asbestos suits at the state level and fewer claims at one of the biggest existing trusts has some questioning the need for a $140 billion national compensation fund. While U.S. lawmakers have haggled for years over creating an asbestos fund, laws were passed in Texas, Ohio, Florida and Georgia that impose medical criteria on asbestos lawsuits and make it harder for unimpaired claimants to sue. Other states have cracked down...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to create a $140 billion asbestos compensation fund is not expected to come up on the Senate floor before the August recess, the legislation's co-author, Sen. Arlen Specter, said on Wednesday. "It does not look at this point as if the majority leader is going to find time for it," Specter said, referring to Sen. Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican. Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke at a news conference that was called to discuss President...