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Mesothelioma is caused by Asbestos. With a minimum of 103 known sites of natural asbestos deposits in the state, Arizona was one of the nation’s leading asbestos-producing states. The mining industry and production companies expanded around areas rich with this mineral. Asbestos mining dates back to around 1872 when asbestos materials were extracted from a ground from a town appropriately named Chrysotile, one of the materials in asbestos. 96 of the known sites are chrysotile deposits, many of which are located throughout Gila and Pinal counties. The highest concentrations of the naturally-occurring material are located in northern Gila County in Salt River Canyon. Since 1872, approximately 75,000 tons of the dangerous material were dug from Arizona asbestos mines until 1982. If you have mesothelioma or another asbestos related illness its important to contact a lawyer to learn about filing a lawsuit or a claim.
Arizona mine workers were exposed to asbestos at the jobsite. Asbestos from these mines were shipped across the United States and the world. Many Indian reservations owned properties that contained asbestos, which also distributed it in its natural forms and through products to local and national businesses.
Arizona was once widely sought out for its asbestos, which was considered some of the highest-quality ore available at the time. This material is strong and resistant to electricity, chemicals, heat and fire. These properties made it an ideal material for construction projects and industrial uses.
Arizona military bases were built with asbestos-containing materials. Civilians were exposed to the dangerous material when they worked in power plants filled with the material or in the manufacture of various construction and other products. Asbestos was commonly used in copper mining and smelting industries due to its heat-resistant property. It was used on nearly 3,000 different products that were used by workers around the country in nearly every industry in America.
Quick Links:
Arizona Asbestos Regulatory Agencies
Arizona Asbestos & Mesothelioma Statistics
Arizona Laws Concerning Asbestos
Arizona Statute Of Limitations
Arizona Asbestos Trust Funds
Arizona Mesothelioma Verdicts and Settlements
Arizona Asbestos Exposure Site List
Arizona Mesothelioma Lawyer Locations
Rates of Mesothelioma in Arizona
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arizona has a mesothelioma incident rate of about 9 per million per year. At least 798 Arizona residents have been diagnosed with mesothelioma from 1999 to 2015. Arizona is ranked 16th in the nation for asbestosis diagnoses with more than 253 people being diagnosed with asbestosis between 1999 and 2013. A minimum of 2,888 people have been diagnosed from this same time period from non-mesothelioma lung cancer according to asbestos nation.
Diagnoses have primarily come from the following Arizona Cities:
Arizona Asbestos Law
Arizona has a series of laws that can impact a claim regarding injuries caused by asbestos exposure. These laws limit when a person can file a claim, the standard for liability and the extent of damages that can be recovered from a claim of this nature. Some of the most important Arizona asbestos laws are:
Arizona Court Exposure Standard
Arizona has adopted the Lohrmann test regarding the level of exposure that a claimant must demonstrate in order to establish the causation aspect of a negligence claim. To meet this test, the plaintiff must provide a reasonable probability between the plaintiff’s disease and the product manufactured by the defendant. The plaintiff must do this by establishing the frequency, regularity and proximity between the product and the plaintiff. The jury can then determine if the plaintiff’s statements and the inferences raised are within the range of reasonable probability to connect the product with the plaintiff’s disease. It is not enough to simply show that the defendant manufactured asbestos-containing products during the time when the plaintiff was exposed to them. Instead, the plaintiff will have to establish the time, location and circumstances surrounding his or her exposure to the asbestos-containing product manufactured by the defendant.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations establishes a time limit for when a case must be brought. Arizona applies a two-year statute of limitations for asbestos cases. The two years start to run from the time that a person is officially diagnosed with an asbestos-related illness. It does not begin when the person is first exposed to asbestos or when symptoms first appear; a diagnosis is the starting date. This is favorable to plaintiffs since many cases of asbestos exposure are not recognized until 10 to 50 years after exposure. The same two-year limit applies to wrongful death cases in which the victim dies from exposure. The statute of limitations starts from the date of death in these cases.
Prohibition Against Duplicative Claims
Arizona has passed legislation that is specific to claims alleging asbestos exposure and limitations on a plaintiff’s right to recover. A.R.S. § 12-782 went into effect on July 3, 2015. The law prevents claimants from obtaining duplicate or what the legislature considers excessive recovering in asbestos personal injury lawsuits. If the claimant submitted a claim to an asbestos bankruptcy trust, he or she must disclose this information within 45 days from the defendant’s answer in an asbestos lawsuit. Additionally, the claimant must also disclose any claims he or she reasonably anticipates filing with an asbestos trust. The plaintiff must provide the named defendant with a copy of the proof of claim, trust documents, settlement documents and other documents that are part of the trust claim. Additionally, a defendant can seek discovery from the asbestos trust and the claimant cannot claim privilege to try to stop such disclosure. The claimant also has a duty to supplement their disclosure if there is a new claim submitted or new information about the claim is received.
If the claimant has filed an asbestos trust claim, the court stays the proceedings against the defendant until the trust claim is filed. The court cannot schedule a trial in the personal injury claim until at least six months have passed since the plaintiff made the required disclosures. Additionally, the defendant can ask the court to delay the proceedings and submit a trust claim if it discovers an asbestos trust that the plaintiff should file a claim with that was not disclosed by him or her.
The jury can consider the submission of a claim to an asbestos trust to determine liability. The jury can consider that the exposure may have been a substantial factor in the plaintiff’s injury that is also at issue in the personal injury claim. The jury can also consider this information in apportioning fault between the parties. If a plaintiff receives compensation from an asbestos trust after the personal injury case proceeds to trial, the amount of compensation can be credited against the judgment to the extent that the amount of compensation exceeds the fault apportioned to the asbestos trust by the jury. If multiple defendants are found liable for damages, the court distributes the amount of the setoff or credit proportionally between the defendant’s, based on their degree of liability.
Asbestos Trusts
Asbestos bankruptcy trusts are personal injury settlement trusts that defendant asbestos companies set up when they filed for bankruptcy. These companies used federal bankruptcy laws so that victims of asbestos-related illnesses could receive compensation for their current or future damages. There are currently 60 bankrupt companies that have established these trusts that compensate claimants. They collectively manage $36 billion to over 100,000 claimants a year. If you worked for a specific corporation that filed bankruptcy and established an asbestos trust, you can find it here. Talk to your mesothelioma lawyer to learn more about the particular trust and if funds may be available to you without having to go through the full extent of filing a personal injury lawsuit.
State Regulatory Agencies
The United States Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for developing and enforcing regulations to protect the public from exposure to airborne contaminants such as asbestos fibers. The EPA establishes most regulations related to asbestos use in Arizona. Any company or contractor that demolishes or renovates a building with asbestos must comply with the regulations of the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants Program.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responsible for establishing regulations to be used in the workplace to protect workers who may work around this dangerous material. The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health lends to these efforts on a local and state level.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality maintains the notification forms that are necessary when renovating or demolishing buildings where asbestos is contained. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality defines asbestos as “a collection of naturally occurring minerals once popular in construction for its durable, fire retardant, corrosion-resistant and insulate properties.”
In addition to the state and federal regulations, Maricopa, Pima and Pinal Counties have additional asbestos regulations that must be followed on the local level.
Arizona Site Exposure List
Many workplaces throughout Arizona exposed workers to asbestos, including warehouses, power plants, manufacturing plants and military bases. Some of the more prominent locations that are linked to asbestos include:
- Ari-Zonolite – Glendale
- Arthur Enders Co. – Fort Apache Indian Reservation
- Chandler Power Plant – Chandler
- Aqua Fria Powerhouse – Glendale
- Luke Air Force Base – Phoenix
- Valley Bank Building – Phoenix
- Arizona Bank – Phoenix
- Phoenix Civil Plaza – Phoenix
- Good Samaritan Hospital – Phoenix
- R. Grace/Solomon Mines – Phoenix
- Yuma Marine Corps Air Station – Yuma
- Metate Asbestos Corp. – Gila County
- American Asbestos Cement Corporation – Gila County
- University of Arizona – Tucson
- Tucson Gas & Electric Company – Tucson
- Kyrene Powerhouse – Tempe
- Arizona Public Service Plant – Temp
- Apache Mine – San Carlos Campus
- Phillips Asbestos Mines – Globe
- Indian Hospital – Ajo
Arizona Asbestos Verdicts and Settlements
Due to the extensive use of asbestos products and their manufacture and mining, there have been many lawsuits against the manufacturers of asbestos-containing materials. Some of the noticeable verdicts in Arizona found in public news involving unaffiliated law firms include:
- $240,000 – The EPA imposed hefty civil penalties in 2008 when the City of Winslow demolished multiple buildings that used asbestos-containing materials in violation of the Clean Air Act and disregarding safety instructions established by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality. Many of the materials were burned, which caused dangerous airborne fibers to enter the air stream.
- $1.79 billion – Tucson-based ASARCO established a $1.79 billion bankruptcy settlement in 2009 with the EPA and other agencies that would fund cleanups after the company with a long history of releasing toxic pollutants like asbestos and lead filed bankruptcy after being sued by thousands of claimants across the country.
Individual law firms may be able to discuss settlements that were received in cases in which they have been involved without violating confidentiality agreements that were part of the terms of settlement. Many law firms report multi-million dollar settlements due to the exorbitant costs of care for patients.
Arizona Mesothelioma Lawyers
Given its history in mesothelioma, our lawyers that specialize in mesothelioma and asbestos cases are prepared to travel to Arizona locations such as:
Avondale <> Flagstaff <> Goodyear <> Lake Havasu City <> Buckeye <> Casa <> Grande <> Sierra Vista <> Maricopa <> Oro Valley <> Prescott <> Bullhead City <> Prescott Valley <> Apache Junction <> Marana <> El Mirage <> Kingman <> Queen Creek <> Florence
If you are located in an Arizona town with a population of 30,000 or less such as the following, contact our mesothelioma attorneys today so we may schedule a visit to your location:
San Luis <> Sahuarita <> Fountain Hills <> Nogales <> Douglas <> Eloy <> Payson <> Somerton <> Paradise Valley <> Coolidge <> Cottonwood <> Camp Verde <> Chino Valley <> Show Low <> Sedona <> Winslow <> Safford <> Globe <> Page <> Tolleson <> Wickenburg <> Youngtown <> South Tucson <> Snowflake <> Bisbee <> Guadalupe <> Litchfield Park <> Benson <> Holbrook <> Cave Creek <> Eagar <> Thatcher <> Colorado City <> Pinetop-Lakeside <> Taylor <> Clarkdale <> Dewey-Humboldt <> Willcox <> Quartzsite <> St. Johns <> Carefree <> Clifton <> Parker <> Williams <> Wellton <> Superior <> Pima <> Star Valley <> Springerville <> Kearny <> Gila Bend <> Huachuca City <> Miami <> Mammoth <> Tombstone <> Fredonia <> Patagonia <> Duncan <> Hayden <> Tusayan <> Jerome <> Winkelman
