February 22, 2012 – Bonnie Anderson is a 10-year survivor of peritoneal mesothelioma. It has been a decade-long fight that began with her diagnosis in February 2002 and a fight that Bonnie still wages on a daily basis. Bonnie also zealously advocates for countless others exposed to asbestos in an effort that has become her life’s work.
NEW YORK, New York, February 22, 2012 – Bonnie Anderson is a 10-year survivor of peritoneal mesothelioma. It has been a decade-long fight that began with her diagnosis in February 2002 and a fight that Bonnie still wages on a daily basis. Bonnie also zealously advocates for countless others exposed to asbestos in an effort that has become her life’s work.
Bonnie Anderson, a former librarian and avid horseback rider from Linden, New Jersey, was only 53 years old when she was diagnosed with peritoneal mesothelioma. The doctors told her that she had 18 months to live. Bonnie underwent two abdominal surgeries, aggressive chemotherapy, and radiation in an effort to fight her mesothelioma.
Bonnie Anderson was exposed to asbestos as a result of “take home” asbestos fibers unknowingly brought home on the work clothes of her husband John Anderson during the decades that he worked at the Exxon Bayway Refinery in New Jersey. Bonnie was exposed to these cancer-causing fibers as a result of washing her husband’s contaminated work clothes. Bonnie also worked at the Exxon Bayway Refinery from 1975 to 1985.
On May 28, 2008, a Middlesex County jury rendered a verdict of $7.5 million for the pain and suffering and loss of consortium claims resulting from Bonnie Anderson’s asbestos-related peritoneal mesothelioma. This award was affirmed by the New Jersey Appellate Division in a landmark decision that will serve to protect the rights of anyone who launders the contaminated work clothes of their spouse.
Bonnie is a warhorse in the mesothelioma community. She helps other mesothelioma victims through her advocacy with the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, a national organization dedicated to helping those afflicted with mesothelioma and seeking to cure this fatal disease. She regularly counsels, comforts and speaks with numerous people diagnosed with mesothelioma. In addition, Bonnie lobbied elected officials at the local, state, and federal level, and helped get resolutions passed designating September 26 as Mesothelioma Awareness Day.
Bonnie continues to advocate for mesothelioma research funds for a cure, as well as for a complete ban on asbestos, as has been done in dozens of countries across the world, but not in the United States. Bonnie was also recently honored at the New Jersey Work Environment Council’s Awards Reception where she was recognized for promoting workplace safety and health advocacy in the state.
For her dedication to the mesothelioma community, Bonnie Anderson has been named Stop Mesothelioma’s “Advocate of the Month” for February 2012. Stop Mesothelioma is a Facebook project created and sponsored by Levy Konigsberg LLP (“LK”) which pledges to donate $1 to mesothelioma research and efforts to ban asbestos for every “Like” the page receives up to $100,000.
LK has been representing families affected by mesothelioma for more than 25 years and has won numerous landmark settlements and jury verdicts on behalf of clients including Bonnie Anderson. For more information, call 1-800-637-6529.
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