"frivolous asbestos lawsuits"

I heard something on the radio today about the number of deaths and injuries caused by asbestos. I didn't find that specific report, but here are a couple related ones:

From Cox News :

Indictment Charges W.R. Grace, Executives Over Asbestos-contaminated Mine

MISSOULA, Mont. -- A federal indictment charges that W.R. Grace and Co. and seven of its executives knew a mine was releasing cancer-causing asbestos into the air and tried to hide the danger from workers and townspeople.
A newspaper study linked nearly 200 deaths to asbestos from the vermiculite mine in the small town of Libby, about 130 miles northwest of Missoula near the Canadian border. More than 1,200 became ill over the 30 years that Grace, a global supplier of chemicals and building materials, operated the mine.
The federal grand jury handing down the indictment said top Grace executives and managers kept secret numerous studies spelling out the risk the asbestos posed to its customers, employees and Libby residents.
According to the indictment, Grace _ knowing the risks _ provided vermiculite for a junior high school running track and as a base for an ice rink, and sold or leased some of its contaminated properties for homes and businesses, baseball fields, even city use.
The indictment, unsealed Monday, also accused Grace and Alan Stringer, former manager of the now-closed mine, of trying to obstruct efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate the extent of the asbestos contamination beginning in 1999, when a study by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer linked the nearly 200 deaths and hundreds of illnesses to the mine.
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The company could face a fine of up to $280 million, twice the amount of after-tax profits the government alleges W.R. Grace made from the mine, according to the Justice Department. Grace filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2001 after it was overwhelmed by asbestos-related lawsuits.
Stringer could be sentenced to as many as 70 years in prison, while Wolter and Bettacchi each face up to 55 years. The other defendants could get five years.

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From Progress For America :

Bush to Push Congress on Asbestos Reform
WASHINGTON - Claiming that asbestos lawsuits clog the courts and hinder economic growth, President Bush is urging Congress to change the way people are compensated for diseases caused by the deadly material.
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"Why isn't the president of the United States standing up for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who were poisoned by these companies that knew precisely what they were doing? They continued to expose their workers and their customers to this dangerous substance. Now the president wants to reward them." Asbestos, commonly used in insulation and fireproofing material until the mid-1970s, has tiny fibers that can cause cancer and other ailments when inhaled.
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Republicans say Democrats wouldn't let previous bills pass because trial lawyers don't want to lose the money they make from asbestos lawsuits. Democrats argue that the GOP bills didn't have enough money for victims and that Republicans are only trying to help their friends in the business and insurance communities by immunizing them from lawsuits.
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In Illinois on Wednesday, Bush renewed his effort to impose nationwide ceilings on medical malpractice awards for pain and suffering. On this issue, he faces strong opposition from Democrats in Congress, who say patients deserve the right to seek awards, without arbitrary ceilings, for medical mistakes.
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I wondered why bush mentioned "asbestos" lawsuits in particular in his SOTU address last week until I saw this:

From NPR :

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks with Tess Vigeland of Marketplace about a business development that means one less headache for Halliburton. The Texas-based oil conglomerate has finally settled thousands of asbestos claims it inherited with the purchase of an engineering and construction firm.

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Not so surprising now, is it?! I was going to ask why bush doesn't want to help people who were injured and died from this poison, but its obvious that he cares for no one and nothing other than the rich and the big corporations. I guess the 200 people who died in Montana were just being "frivolous"!