The link between asbestos and the lethal cancer mesothelioma has long been established and in the United States, the firms who manufactured and used asbestos in their products have in many cases settled thousands of asbestos related lawsuits and/or established a fund to provide compensation to victims.

Those bankruptcies have created a barrier for at least one Canadian who feels she has a valid mesothelioma lawsuit that she cannot pursue.  The plaintiff, Raven Thundersky, is blocked from suing the U.S. manufacturer according to Canadian law because that firm filed for bankruptcy.   According to Canadian law, that protects the American manufacturer of the insulation, W.R. Grace.  While W.R. Grace did file bankruptcy because of its asbestos liability, it has emerged and is once again in operation.

W.R. Grace is in fact a thriving multinational that has settled over 100,000 asbestos suits and has another 102,000 to go.  An insulation they produced in the 1960s was used to build housing for Canadian ‘aboriginals’ on tribal lands.  The impact on this particular individual has been devastating.

Twelve years ago her sister died from mesothelioma.   Since that first death 12 years ago, Thundersky has buried four more close relatives, three from mesothelioma and one from asbestosis.  Five more members of her family are ill with asbestos-related diseases. She, herself, has asbestosis.