Mesothelioma Lawyer Utah
4/11/11, “Utah Mesothelioma Lawyer” Even though the state of Utah is not a major oil producing region, the state has a number of oil refineries. This means that asbestos was used in these facilities, leading to eventual asbestos exposure for workers. There are mesothelioma attorneys Utah available to help victims seek financial compensation.
The state of Utah has a number of known asbestos-exposed areas. Individuals who are living or working near these areas should be checked regularly for signs of mesothelioma and should contact a mesothelioma lawyer Utah as soon as possible after diagnosis in order to file a Utah mesothelioma lawsuit within the state’s statute of limitations. While many of the suspected asbestos-exposure sites have been inspected and some have been cleaned up, anyone who worked or lived in these areas before asbestos contamination was reported can still be affected.
Despite the fact that there have been no recent mesothelioma lawsuits Utah, this does not mean the state is not affected.
An important Utah asbestos-related case took place in 2000. The case, known as the State of Utah, by and through the Utah Air Quality Board v. The Truman Mortensen Family Trust and Roxanne Jensen-Daley, involved Roxanne Jensen-Daley, who was responsible for the Truman Mortensen Family Trust, a body which owned properties in Idaho and Utah. In 1997, the Environmental Health Division of the Salt Lake County Health Department ran an analysis of the ceiling tiles as part of the inspection of one of the buildings that the Trust owned. The tiles were found to contain asbestos, and the department advised Jensen-Daley of the issue. Jensen-Daley allegedly hired workers to remove the ceiling. When a Utah State Division of Air Quality (DAQ) inspector arrived at the site, he found that workers hired by Jensen-Daley were using improper asbestos handling techniques and were in fact producing large amounts of asbestos-containing dust.
Five days later, the inspector arrived again to witness further violations involving the removal of the asbestos. He verbally told Jensen-Daley of the dangers and advised her to hire qualified workers. The DAQ then received a phone call from one the building residents advising the DAQ that after the inspector’s departure, Jensen-Daley herself was removing asbestos, again incorrectly. The DAQ Board issued the Trust and Jensen-Daley a “Notice of Violation and Order to Comply or Cease and Desist” for violations of various state asbestos regulations. The document outlined specific code violations, indicated that the order was to become effective immediately and would become final within 30 days unless a hearing was requested in writing, and made clear that failure to comply might result in penalties. Jensen-Daley was ultimately fined $23,000, which she appealed repeatedly. The Supreme Court upheld the fine.
Individuals that are interested in filing a mesothelioma lawsuit Utah should know that the statute of limitations for personal injury law is two years with a discovery rule that states that this amount of time begins when the problem either was discovered or should have been discovered and that a mesothelioma attorney Utah will be most helpful in ensuring that important deadlines are upheld. Wrongful death cases follow the same statute of limitations and discovery rule. There is a special provision for asbestos cases and mesothelioma settlements Utah which allows the increase of the statute of limitations to three years instead of two.