NBC Dropped from Merlin Olsen Asbestos Lawsuit
Most asbestos lawsuits involve workers that were regularly exposed to asbestos in trades such as mining, shipbuilding, manufacturing, and construction, but a high profile case involving former NFL great and actor Merlin Olsen has been drawing headlines.
It was announced on June 20th that NBC had been dropped from the wide-ranging lawsuit in the Olsen case, which Olsen launched in 2009 just a year before his death.
Olsen claims that he contracted mesothelioma due to contact with asbestos in heavy equipment parts, construction materials used on Hollywood television sets, and other consumer and construction products.
Olsen’s lawyer John Langdoc claims that NBC was dropped from the lawsuit due to no direct evidence that they were aware of the dangers of asbestos.
While asbestos lawsuits are currently raging across the country there’s still no clear consensus as to how much burden many companies should bear for mesothelioma cases and other illnesses caused by asbestos.
Asbestos was a very common additive to building materials and other products for decades until the link to cancer was discovered, so many judges and juries struggle with the question of just how responsible most companies should be when they had no real evidence to suggest that exposure to asbestos was dangerous and potentially life threatening.