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Asbestos victims typically receive compensation from the government, their employers or other asbestos victim funds. But what happens when those responsible for paying out the asbestos victim funds unlawfully take the money?
Victims of occupational injuries associated with asbestos who have received or are entitled to receive compensation from the CSST and/or the CNESST in Quebec for asbestos-related injuries, may soon find themselves Class Members in this new proposed class action lawsuit.
Quebec Accused of Pocketing Asbestos Victim Funds
The plaintiffs in the case are accusing the defendants, the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) and the government of Quebec of “breaches of conduct.” The breaches referred to in the asbestos fund class action lawsuit consist of pocketing excess funds and undeclared indemnities from American companies that manufactured and sold asbestos-based products and from various funds and trusts set up for compensating asbestos-related injuries.
CNESST, a provincial body established by the Quebec government, entrusted with the promotion of labour rights, ensures that labour rights and obligations are respected by Quebec workers and employers. Among its various obligations, CNESST is charged with paying asbestos victims for injuries sustained as a result of asbestos exposure.
However, CNESST allegedly pocketed certain funds, to which it expressly has no right to by law, accuses the asbestos fund class action lawsuit. The plaintiffs further argue that CNESST did not inform all asbestos victims of available indemnity funds.
CNESST is accused of appropriating asbestos victim funds from American manufacturers, as well as from victims’ employers. The class action lawsuit request therefore highlights that this “double pocketing” of asbestos victim funds creates a situation of unjust enrichment vis-à-vis asbestos victims as well as their employers.
The asbestos fund class action lawsuit is primarily seeking compensatory damages in addition to punitive damages.
Asbestos Cancer Rates on The Rise
The deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, mesothelioma, is reportedly the leading cause of work-related deaths in Canada.
The number of cases of mesothelioma has nearly doubled in Quebec since 2010, according to 2018 government statistics.
The Montreal Gazette reports that the number of asbestos-related cancer cases jumped from 45 in 2010 to 88 in 2017, a 95.6% hike.
Despite the vivid increase in asbestos cancer cases, a 2017 study by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec pointed out that the provincial health ministry is likely under-reporting the true incidence of the disease. The study concluded that many doctors do not fulfill their obligation under the law to report cases.
Mesothelioma is one of the several diseases that is supposed to be monitored by public health authorities in a database known as MADO (maladies à déclaration obligatoire). However, a study of three Quebec hospitals discovered that 68.7% of patients suffering from mesothelioma and asbestosis were not registered in the MADO database.
Canadians across the nation are still being exposed to asbestos, including electricians, plumbers, construction workers, and even teachers. Due to the fact that it can take years for those exposed to asbestos to develop symptoms of mesothelioma, the number of cases is expected to rise in coming years.
The number of Canadians who have died from mesothelioma continues to climb as well. In 2000 alone, 292 people died from the asbestos cancer, and by 2016 the number increased to 510, according to Statistics Canada.
Asbestos in Canadian Household Products
Some ordinary household products may contain traces of asbestos, which led to several lawsuits.
For example, Johnson & Johnson has been the target of thousands of lawsuits over allegations that talc, an important ingredient in its baby powder, causes cancer. The complaints claim that because talc is mined close to asbestos, a known carcinogen, it is linked to cancer that has developed in consumers.
“Johnson & Johnson remains steadfastly confident in the safety of talc-based Johnson’s baby powder,” states the company in its news release. “Decades of scientific studies by medical experts around the world support the safety of our product. We will continue to vigorously defend the product, its safety, and the unfounded allegations against it and the Company in the courtroom. All verdicts against the Company that have been through the appeals process have been overturned.”
Have you or a loved one suffered from an asbestos-related disease? Did you receive compensation money? Tell us your story in the comments below.
Potential Class Members are represented by Desroches Mongeon Avocats and De Louya Markakis Avocats.
The Asbestos Fund Class Action Lawsuit is Anne-Marie Gélinas et Isabel Gélinas v. Procureur Général du Québec, aux droits et obligations du Ministre du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité Sociale, et al., Case No. 500-06-001099-205, before the Superior Court of Québec, District of Montreal, Canada.
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One thought on Asbestos Victim Funds Pocketed By Province Claims Class Action Lawsuit
My mother used shower to shower daily for years . I remember her showing me how she put it in her underwear to smell nice. She was diagnosed of ovarian cancer in the summer of 1989. Of course no evidence because it was long ago. She died in September of 1990. She was just 48 . Palliative Care Halifax Infirmary Nova Scotia. If anything this is for statistics