A Trust Fund Victims Can't Trust
Robert N. Johnsen’s story
San Jose, California. Robert is 74 years old. As a young man he served on board a ship in the U.S. Navy. While on that ship he was exposed to asbestos. Later in life he was exposed to asbestos again when he worked in a building under construction. He was never adequately told of the dangers asbestos posed.
Robert was a successful consultant to the high-tech industry until he — a lifelong non-smoker — was diagnosed with lung cancer on February 3, 2005, and with mesothelioma, a terminal cancer caused only by asbestos, on March 25, 2005.
A formerly active man who raised four children, Robert now constantly suffers from extreme fatigue, sleeping nine hours each night and frequently throughout the day to fight his exhaustion. He has difficulty breathing. Fluid constantly collects in his abdomen, causing his weight to increase by about 25 pounds — until that fluid is drained from his body and the whole cycle repeats itself.
How would the asbestos bailout bill hurt Robert’s family?
Robert filed his case with the Superior Court of the State of California on July 11, 2005. His case is set for trial in 2006. If the proposed asbestos bill is enacted, Robert’s case will be eliminated and never heard in court. He would have to start the claims process under the proposed asbestos trust fund from the very beginning.
