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With no known natural deposits of asbestos, most occurrences of mesothelioma are due to occupational hazards. Power plants and small manufacturing industries comprise the most significant occupations with possible exposure to asbestos.
One particular occupation at risk were workers at the W.R. Grace Western Minerals Products facility located in Omaha, Nebraska. This company had vermiculite ore that was contaminated with asbestos and originated from Libby, Montana. The ore was processed to make such products as insulation, construction materials and gardening materials. Workers unloaded, bagged, warmed up and swept this contaminated material, potentially breathing in harmful asbestos dust in the process.
Asbestos was also often used in power plants, including coal-based power plants. Asbestos was often contained in power plant boilers, pipes, gaskets and other materials. Fibers from this equipment could become dislodged and inhaled by maintenance and production workers. Individuals who repaired or operated machinery that was often at high heat could have been exposed to asbestos and were diagnosed with diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis decades later.
Additionally, manufacturers of construction products, such as concrete aggregate, insulation, flooring products and ceiling tiles could have been exposed to asbestos, which was often included in these types of products. While these products were often placed in homes or public buildings, they did not usually pose a risk. However, if they became dislodged due to repairs, floods or natural disasters, fibers could enter the air and be inhaled by the people around the site. If you or a loved one were diagnosed with mesothelioma, its important to contact an attorney to learn more about legal recourse such as lawsuits and trust claims to get compensation for injuries.
Nebraska Mesothelioma Diagnoses
Reports show Nebraska ranks 36th in the nation for mesothelioma and asbestosis incident rates. It has a lower than average mesothelioma diagnosis rate. There were over 231 Nebraska residents who were diagnosed with mesothelioma between 1999 and 2015. Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy Counties have the highest rate of mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases in the state. There were at least 78 Nebraska residents who were diagnosed with asbestosis and another 988 Nebraska residents who were diagnosed with other non-mesothelioma lung cancers between 1999 and 2013. The majority of mesothelioma cases in Nebraska are found in the following cities: Omaha – Lincoln – Fremont – Hastings – Columbus – Bellevue – Grand Island
Nebraska Asbestos Laws
Nebraska has laws related to when mesothelioma victims must pursue their claims and what they must prove in order to receive compensation.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the time limit by which a person has to bring forth a particular claim. In Nebraska, the statute of limitations is four years for personal injury claims and two years for a wrongful death claim. This means that a person must file a lawsuit within four years of being diagnosed with mesothelioma or an asbestos-related condition. If the individual dies from mesothelioma or an asbestos-related condition, the family has two years from the date of death to file a lawsuit.
Court Exposure Standard
Each state develops its own exposure standard that the plaintiff must establish in negligence cases and cases involving asbestos exposure. The most common standard is the Lohrmann test, which requires a mesothelioma victim to establish that the defendant’s product was a substantial factor in him or her developing mesothelioma or another asbestos-related condition. Nebraska has used this standard in previous cases. A plaintiff establishes a prima facie case of substantial causation by providing evidence that he or she was actually exposed to the defendant’s product that had asbestos dust on or in it while working in a confined space within a time period when the injury could have occurred and under circumstances where exposure to the asbestos could have been extensive enough to cause substantial harm to the plaintiff. If the plaintiff can establish these facts, the burden then shifts to the defendant to prove that the exposure was unlikely to have been frequent or long enough to constitute a substantial factor in causing injury to the plaintiff.
Nebraska Asbestos State Regulatory Agencies
Federal regulatory agencies are responsible for developing and enforcing regulations necessary to protect the public from dangerous substances, including asbestos. However, there are also state regulatory agencies that develop and enforce regulations specific to Nebraska, including the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality.
Various entities throughout Nebraska are subject to asbestos regulations, including any person working on an asbestos project or in an asbestos occupation in the state, entities that provide a training course that can qualify a person to work with asbestos in the state and any person or entity that works on an asbestos project as defined below.
Asbestos projects that require pre-licensure include determining whether asbestos-containing materials are present, determining the condition of any asbestos-containing materials, preparing plans and specs for an asbestos project, performing the project and performing duties to determine the air or soil sample in a project that involved asbestos.
Property owners or contractors must give notification to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality at least ten working days before beginning demolition. Before a building is demolished or renovated, it must be inspected to determine if asbestos-containing materials are present. If asbestos is suspected, a sample must be sent to a lab for determination, or the contractor must proceed as though it is asbestos and asbestos regulations must be followed. All asbestos must be completely removed before demolishing a building or performing other work that would disturb it. Once the material is removed, it must be transported according to additional asbestos regulations.
If the job is an emergency project, the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality must be notified as soon as possible. Notification must include the date of the emergency and a detailed description of the emergency event.
Projects performed in Lancaster County also require the Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department be notified before beginning work. If the project is in Omaha, the Omaha Air Quality Control Board must be notified before beginning work.
Nebraska Definition of Asbestos
Nebraska’s Administrative Code contains the following relevant definitions related to asbestos:
- Asbestos – asbestiform varieties of chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite and actinolite.
- Asbestos containing materials or ACM – any material or product which contains more than 1% asbestos.
- Asbestos project – an asbestos encapsulation project, an asbestos removal project, an asbestos enclosure project, an asbestos related demolition project or an asbestos related dismantling project, but does not include (a) any activities which affect three square feet or less or three linear feet or less of asbestos-containing material on or in a structure or equipment or any appurtenances thereto, or (b) any activities physically performed by a homeowner, a member of the homeowner’s family, or an unpaid volunteer on or in the homeowner’s residential property of four units or less.
Nebraska Asbestos Trusts
Once workers, consumers and residents were exposed to asbestos and diagnosed with deadly diseases linked to asbestos, the number of asbestos-related lawsuits dramatically increased throughout the country. Some of the companies that exposed individuals to asbestos faced hundreds or even thousands of lawsuits. In response, many of these companies were forced into bankruptcy. Some of them established asbestos trusts as part of the bankruptcy proceeding. These trusts provide compensation to current and future claimants. If an asbestos trust is available, a person can make a claim against it without having to go through the entire process of filing a lawsuit.
While there are no asbestos trusts that were established by companies that were headquartered in Nebraska or that are administered in Nebraska, many of the companies that formed asbestos trusts are national and may have operated in Nebraska. A Nebraska mesothelioma lawyer can explain whether there may be any asbestos trust available for your particular claim.
Nebraska Asbestos Site Exposure List
Some locations that may have used asbestos or exposed workers to asbestos in Nebraska include:
- Lincoln Air Force Base – Lincoln
- United States Naval Ammunition Depot – Hastings
- University of Nebraska – Lincoln
- General Electric – Omaha
- Nebraska Power & Light – Omaha
- Western Electric Co. – Omaha
- Blue Hill City, Light & Water – Blue Hill
- Whelan Energy Center – Hastings
- Omaha Public Power Company – Omaha
- Sheldon Power Station – Hallam
- Union Pacific Railroad Company – Grand Island, Omaha
- Zurn Industries, Inc. – Hastings
- Allied Chemical Co. – Omaha
- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. – Lincoln
- R. Grace Western Mineral Products Facility – Omaha
- Vaughn Insulation Co. – Lincoln
- Ace Drywall Co. – Omaha
- Western Mineral Products – Omaha
- Midwest Asbestos Co. – Omaha
- Armstrong Contracting & Supply Corporation – Omaha
- Western Brick & Supply Company – Nebraska City
Nebraska Mesothelioma & Asbestos Litigation
Public news reports indicate there have been a few asbestos cases that make it to a trial in Nebraska. Many of these cases are resolved through confidential settlements with asbestos companies, and the cases noted below involved unaffiliated law firms:
In a 2007 case, a widow of a man who worked at DeMarco Brothers Company from 1954 to 1980 as a construction and remodeling worker alleged that her husband’s death from pleural mesothelioma was due to exposure at the job. The trial court held there was sufficient evidence that this was the case, and the former employer was required to reimburse the wife a considerable amount for the cost of treatment and travel.
In a 2012 case, five former railroad workers and a widow of a sixth worker filed a lawsuit against their former employer, BNSF Railway. They alleged that the railroad company’s operations in Lincoln exposed them to asbestos. The claimants had various professional positions, including freight carmen, boilermaker and blacksmith. Most of them developed asbestos-related lung disease. It is not publicly known how the case was resolved.
When a lawyer represents a claimant, he or she may be able to procure a settlement agreement. The details of these settlement agreements are often not made public as a condition of the agreement. Some of these agreements may be worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, but the claimants and the lawyers may not be able to share this information with others.
Nebraska Mesothelioma Law Firms
Due to the lower incidence of mesothelioma in the state, most Nebraska attorneys do not focus on representing mesothelioma victims. However, our attorneys can represent clients in Nebraska, and will travel to you. Please contact us below to learn more.
