Living Meso Victims Seek Immediate Trials
Three men who recently filed asbestos-related suits in Madison County, Ill. are seeking immediate trial dates due to the fact that their doctors claim they each have a very short period of time to live.
According to an article in the Madison County Record, plaintiffs George Mielke, Stanley O’Day and Stanley Kaminski claim that a provision in the Illinois constitution guarantees that a litigant has the right to “obtain justice by law, freely, completely, and promptly.”
The litigants also claim that all general discovery in their cases is complete, and their attorney has made reference to a previous order issued by Judge Daniel J. Stack in which the judge said he would consider cases out of random drawing based upon hardships, the article points out.
The plaintiffs argue that a 1983 Second District appellate ruling in Froud v. Celotex could cause their claims for punitive damages to be denied unless their cases are tried prior to their deaths. They have asked Judge Stack to add them to the Jan. 12, 2009 docket in order to assure that they can be present at the trial.
The plaintiffs claim they will each suffer “great prejudice and irreparable harm” if they cannot try their cases before they die, the article notes.
Mielke, an electrician, has filed suit against 102 defendant corporations. O’Day, a general laborer, names 59 defendants. Kaminski, a laborer and maintenance mechanic, names 101 defendants in his suit. Each case is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $400,000, plus costs.
