Victims of Tobacco Gather In Jacksonville
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 415
Approximately 300 people who currently suffer from tobacco-related illnesses, as well as family members of those who have died from these diseases, will gather at the downtown Jacksonville Public Library Auditorium, Wednesday, September 26th at 6:30 p.m. to hear the progress and current status on their lawsuits against the tobacco industry.
A news conference will follow, updating reporters on the upcoming January 11, 2008 deadline for filing individual actions in Florida against Big Tobacco.
The Jacksonville law firm of Wilner Block PA, is partnering with Farah and Farah, P.A. to handle over 1,000 individual cases of Floridians injured or killed by cigarette smoke. A record number - 661 cases - have already been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Of those cases, 257 Plaintiffs are deceased and the lawsuits are being filed on behalf of their families.
The suits name R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, who owns Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, and The American Tobacco Company; and Phillip Morris U.S.A..
The current claims arise from a class action lawsuit brought in Miami on behalf of thousands of Floridians. The lawsuit, named for now-deceased pediatrician Howard Engle, found that
a) Tobacco companies were negligent; b) Their products are defective and unreasonably dangerous; c) Cigarettes are addictive; d) Cigarette companies conspired to conceal health and addiction information with the intention of consumer reliance on the misinformation; and e) Cigarette companies were liable for breach of express warranty.
The suit also established that cigarette smoke caused 16 different diseases including lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and others.
All Florida citizens and residents, and their survivors, who have suffered, presently suffer or who have died from a tobacco-related illnesses can file a lawsuit if the condition first manifested itself by the cut-off date of November 21, 1996. The suits must be filed by January 11, 2008.
Clients range in age from their 40's to their 90's. Most were addicted to nicotine before their 16th birthday. "Most of our clients are suffering from lung cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, an umbrella term for bronchitis, emphysema and other lung disorders," says attorney Eddie Farah, who will attend the news conference. "Almost all tried for most of their lives, unsuccessfully, to break their addiction."
Also in attendance will be the "Winston Man," Alan Landers, a former model who advertised Winston cigarettes in magazines and billboards in the late 1960's. Landers now devotes himself to the fight against cancer urging young people not to smoke (www.winstonman.com). He is a spokesman for the World Health Organization and is a two-time lung cancer survivor who is now permanently disabled.