IBM SUED!!! Court Okays Two Can Sue IBM Over Cancer Causing Toxins!!! - GoFuckYourself.com

Greg B · 09-30-2003, 11:23 PM

This shit is just the tip of the iceberg, believe you me...

Wednesday, October 1, 2003

2 can sue IBM over cancer
Ex-workers say Big Blue hid dangers
The Associated Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Two former IBM employees who believe their semiconductor factory jobs exposed them to cancer-causing chemicals can pursue a suit against the firm, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Superior Court Judge Robert Baines said the cases of Alida Hernandez and James Moore, who worked in IBM's South San Jose, Calif., microchip assembly plant for much of the 1970s and 1980s, could proceed to a jury trial starting Oct. 14.

IBM contended in court last week that Hernandez and Moore's cases had no merit and should not be heard. Baines also dismissed two other cases against IBM on Tuesday.

IBM allegedly lied

Hernandez and Moore allege the Armonk-based technology giant knowingly exposed workers to cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene and arsenic, and lied to them about the health risks.

They say IBM doctors knew an alarming number of workers in its semiconductor factories were dying from rare cancers in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

Hernandez was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy two years after retiring from IBM, despite having no family history of the disease. Moore, who began working for IBM in the late 1960s, is battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

They're seeking unspecified damages from IBM and chemical suppliers including Union Carbide, Shell Oil and Fisher Scientific.

''We've been fighting to get IBM in court for five years, so we're looking forward to the trial,'' said Richard Alexander, lead attorney for the San Jose workers. ''It's time the truth was heard.''

More than 250 lawsuits

The San Jose case is the first of more than 250 lawsuits filed against IBM from workers in Silicon Valley, Minnesota and New York, which includes the East Fishkill microelectronics site.

In 2001, the company settled a lawsuit filed by a teenager whose parents had worked in the East Fishkill plant in the 1980s.

That suit claimed the boy's severe birth defects and blindness were caused by processing chemicals used by his parents.

In rulings issued Tuesday, the judge dismissed cases against IBM by former employee Maria Santiago and the children of Suzanne Rubio, an IBM disk assembler and inspector who died of breast cancer at age 37.

David J. DiMeglio, an attorney representing IBM, called the dismissals ''deeply gratifying.''

He said the ruling ''essentially guts the entire theory that all plaintiffs were proceeding by,'' DiMeglio said in a phone interview from his office in Los Angeles. ''The ruling sets a high legal standard that the remaining plaintiffs won't be able to meet.''

The judge refused to dismiss cases by Santiago and Rubio's children against IBM chemical suppliers Shell Oil and Union Carbide. They will go to trial with Moore and Hernandez's cases.

A ''corporate mortality file'' used to document the deaths of 30,000 IBM employees from 1969 to 2000, shows an unusually large number of workers contracted lymph, blood, breast and brain cancers, as well as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia and the very rare multiple myeloma.

IBM and its attorneys say it's impossible to know if exposure to toxins in IBM plants -- and not genetic factors or lifestyle -- led to early deaths and illnesses.

''Their claims just don't have the factual or legal support,'' DiMeglio said

09-30-2003, 11:23 PM	#1
Greg B So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: EARTH (for the time being) Posts: 7,014	IBM SUED!!! Court Okays Two Can Sue IBM Over Cancer Causing Toxins!!! This shit is just the tip of the iceberg, believe you me... Wednesday, October 1, 2003 2 can sue IBM over cancer Ex-workers say Big Blue hid dangers The Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Two former IBM employees who believe their semiconductor factory jobs exposed them to cancer-causing chemicals can pursue a suit against the firm, a judge ruled Tuesday. Superior Court Judge Robert Baines said the cases of Alida Hernandez and James Moore, who worked in IBM's South San Jose, Calif., microchip assembly plant for much of the 1970s and 1980s, could proceed to a jury trial starting Oct. 14. IBM contended in court last week that Hernandez and Moore's cases had no merit and should not be heard. Baines also dismissed two other cases against IBM on Tuesday. IBM allegedly lied Hernandez and Moore allege the Armonk-based technology giant knowingly exposed workers to cancer-causing chemicals such as benzene and arsenic, and lied to them about the health risks. They say IBM doctors knew an alarming number of workers in its semiconductor factories were dying from rare cancers in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Hernandez was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy two years after retiring from IBM, despite having no family history of the disease. Moore, who began working for IBM in the late 1960s, is battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. They're seeking unspecified damages from IBM and chemical suppliers including Union Carbide, Shell Oil and Fisher Scientific. ''We've been fighting to get IBM in court for five years, so we're looking forward to the trial,'' said Richard Alexander, lead attorney for the San Jose workers. ''It's time the truth was heard.'' More than 250 lawsuits The San Jose case is the first of more than 250 lawsuits filed against IBM from workers in Silicon Valley, Minnesota and New York, which includes the East Fishkill microelectronics site. In 2001, the company settled a lawsuit filed by a teenager whose parents had worked in the East Fishkill plant in the 1980s. That suit claimed the boy's severe birth defects and blindness were caused by processing chemicals used by his parents. In rulings issued Tuesday, the judge dismissed cases against IBM by former employee Maria Santiago and the children of Suzanne Rubio, an IBM disk assembler and inspector who died of breast cancer at age 37. David J. DiMeglio, an attorney representing IBM, called the dismissals ''deeply gratifying.'' He said the ruling ''essentially guts the entire theory that all plaintiffs were proceeding by,'' DiMeglio said in a phone interview from his office in Los Angeles. ''The ruling sets a high legal standard that the remaining plaintiffs won't be able to meet.'' The judge refused to dismiss cases by Santiago and Rubio's children against IBM chemical suppliers Shell Oil and Union Carbide. They will go to trial with Moore and Hernandez's cases. A ''corporate mortality file'' used to document the deaths of 30,000 IBM employees from 1969 to 2000, shows an unusually large number of workers contracted lymph, blood, breast and brain cancers, as well as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, leukemia and the very rare multiple myeloma. IBM and its attorneys say it's impossible to know if exposure to toxins in IBM plants -- and not genetic factors or lifestyle -- led to early deaths and illnesses. ''Their claims just don't have the factual or legal support,'' DiMeglio said