Angiosarcoma Lawyer & Attorney : Burke & Eisner Law Firm : Vinyl Chloride

The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear the case of a Texas woman, Melissa Bellinger, who was denied life insurance proceeds of $426,000 because her husband's employer changed policies after he became sick.  A lower court had ruled a federal retirement law did not entitle her to sue for compensation.

Her husband died in February of 2001.  He had cardiac angiosarcoma, a rare cancer that started in his heart, then spread to his lungs and brain.  His company's insurer denied the benefit because Thomas had not returned to work for at least a day after the new policy took effect.  That one day at work would have triggered his life insurance coverage.

His wife's lawyers maintained that Thomas could have put in at least one day even though he was quite sick.  However, his employer never told him of that requirement, wouldn't give insurance plan documents to him and assured Thomas that he was covered with the switch of insurers.

According to an Associated Press report, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 allows beneficiaries to sue to get equitable relief.  That kind of relief usually involves a court injunction or ordering restitution.  Legal relief would involve money damages.

A federal judge in Houston and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans didn't allow the lawsuit to go forward, saying that Bellinger couldn't sue for monetary relief equal to the insurance benefits.

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An Arkansas woman has filed suit against Playtex Products because of the use of the chemical bisphenol A in its plastic baby bottles.  The lawsuit seeks nationwide class-action status to represent what it says are thousands of people who bought plastic bottles containing the chemical from Playtex or other companies.

Bisphenol A is a chemical found in polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins.  Polycarbonate plastics are used in a variety of products  such as compact discs, medical devices, food and drink containers including water bottles and baby bottles, helmets and goggles just to name a few.  Epoxy resins are used to line metals products such as bottle caps and food cans.

Is it safe?  The American Chemistry Council thinks it is.  They claim that the only research done has been on animals and that the human exposure is  extremely small and not a hazard to human health.

"Consumers would have to eat more than 500 pounds of food and beverages in contact with polycarbonate plastic or epoxy resins every day of their lives to exceed exposure levels determined to be safe by the European Food Safety Authority and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," states the American Chemistry Council, adding that typical human exposure to bisphenol A "is approximately 1,000 times below the safe exposure levels."

The Canadian government, to be prudent, proposes banning bisphenol A in polycarbonate baby bottles and taking other steps to reduce bisphenol A exposure in babies even though they feel that exposure is below risk levels.

The National Institute of Environmental Health suggests the following tips for those who want to limit their exposure to Bisphenol A.

1) Use baby bottles that are free of bisphenol A.

2) Reduce your use of canned foods.

3) Don't microwave polycarbonate plastic food containers. Polycarbonate plastic is strong and durable, but over time it may break down from use at high temperatures.

4) When possible, opt for glass, porcelain, or stainless steel containers, particularly for hot food or liquids.

The lawsuit filed in Connecticut last week contends that there are hundreds of studies that have repeatedly shown that bisphenol A can be very toxic even at extremely low levels.

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Raytheon Corporation environmental experts spoke to a large crowd of residents last week and  said that the plume of toxic chemicals that has spread from the plant is not a health risk.  Among those  at the meeting were state lawmakers, city council members and lawyers representing homeowners who have contaminated ground water under their homes.

It's been 17 years since the toxic plume was discovered when the Pinellas Trail recreation path was being built but most of the residents didn't find out until news reports surfaced in March.

There are about 700 irrigation wells within a mile radius of the plant plant.  Of about 200 that have been tested, 12 have been found to be contaminated.

Gregory Taylor, senior environmental scientist at Raytheon, told the crowd there is no threat to public health. There is a risk of "less than one in a million" of developing cancer from any exposure scenario, he said.

Taylor noted, however, that experts tapped for the environmental assessment could not agree with the state on a computer model to determine whether fruit and vegetables irrigated with the contaminated water pose a health risk.

However, an environmental science professor at the University of South Florida put the test results into a formula that state health officials use for determining health risks.   According to that formula the chance of developing cancer increased between one in a million and nine in a million if water from contaminated wells was used in growing fruit and vegetables.

Ratheon's Taylor responded by saying that any poisoning would be relative to the dose absorbed and the chemicals - TCE(trichloroethylene), vinyl chloride and 1,4-Dioxane - are also found in things like shampoo, spot remover and cigarette smoke.  He went on to say that too much of anything can be hazardous, even eating too many bananas or carrots.

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