A Monterey County Calif. Superior court judge, his former bailiff and another Salinas courthouse employee have filed civil asbestos lawsuits against two contractors alleging injuries due to exposure to asbestos and other toxic substances during renovation of the building's north wing. Employees are experiencing respiratory symptoms frequently related to toxic asbestos exposure.The asbestos lawsuits ask for medical expenses, as well as general and exemplary damages, against Skanska USA Building, Nova Partners Inc. and their respective project managers who are overseeing renovation of the north wing.
The state Attorney General's Office is also prosecuting all four of the defendants on criminal charges stemming from their management of construction and asbestos removal from the building last year. Some of those charges were dismissed by the visiting judge handling the case, but it remains set for trial in January.
The north wing of the courthouse has been closed on numerous occasions in recent years when elevated asbestos levels were detected. The building was completely closed to business in September 2006 when the county's certified asbestos consultant -- who has since quit the job in anger -- determined that loosened asbestos continued to fall in previously abated areas where no work was being conducted. Asbestos is a known carcinogen.
The criminal charges against Skanska, Nova and their project managers stem from events on Feb. 9, 2005, and March 31, 2005, in which they allegedly allowed workers to saw-cut and jackhammer concrete on the second story of the building, releasing dangerous asbestos into the court's ventilation system. (Monterey)
