The United States’ status as the most industrialized nation in the world was built largely with asbestos-containing materials throughout much of the 20th century. As such, tens of thousands of Americans have passed away due to mesothelioma and other fatal asbestos-related illnesses.

While few cities have been completely untouched by the harms of asbestos exposure, the town of Libby, Montana has inarguably suffered more than most.

Libby Asbestos Exposure

The blue collar town of Libby has been absolutely decimated by the deadly asbestos poison resulting from work in the local mine. Out of a population of merely 2,600 residents, appallingly more than 1,000 are ill from asbestos exposure. Worse, health officials estimate that 400 died because of their asbestos exposure.

Miners died in abundance, and a quarter of the victims were immediate family members of miners. This proud mining town produced 80% of the world’s vermiculite at one point in time, but a deadly form of naturally occurring asbestos existed within the vermiculite.

The dust that miners proudly carried home as a sign of a hard day’s work was breathed in by their loved ones. And, unbeknownst to the miners, the dust was poisoned by asbestos and caused loved ones to die.

These facts alone would be tragic enough on their own merit, but the asbestos exposure took a sordid twist when it was revealed that WR Grace and Co., the entity that owned the mine, had knowledge of the toxic asbestos and took efforts to conceal this knowledge.

It took a decade for these painful truths to be revealed, but the victims now know that the harms inflicted upon Libby occurred with Grace and Co. knowing about the health risks of asbestos, all while failing to disclose this knowledge to Libby’s mining community.

Libby Asbestos Victims Continue to File Lawsuits Today

17 years after the exposure problem began to surface, lawsuits continue to be filed. And, since it can take decades for asbestos exposure to lead to mesothelioma, it was sadly not surprising to hear pulmonologist Dr. Alan Whitehouse state at trial that, although the mine closed in 1990, Libby patients were still being diagnosed with asbestos-related diseases at the rate of one new diagnosis per week.

Libby’s rate of lung disease is between 40 and 60 times the national average and the long latency period of asbestos diseases can lead to a mesothelioma diagnosis four decades after exposure, two facts that highlight why Montana asbestos-disease claims continue to be filed.

The EPA recently issued a “last call” for property owners in Libby to benefit from the largest asbestos cleanup effort in United States history, but the lasting damage left behind by the negligent acts of WR Grace will never go away.

Talk to a Libby Mesothelioma Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been the victim of the asbestos exposure in Libby, talk to a mesothelioma lawyer who will fight for your right to legal compensation. The Ledger Law Firm represents Libby mesothelioma victims who have the right to legal compensation because of WR Grace’s negligent actions.

Contact us online to discuss how we help mesothelioma victims receive legal compensation and justice that holds negligent parties accountable for their actions.