Billings, Mont. – An asbestos detection clinic in a small city in Montana where thousands have become ill from the toxic dust of a nearby mine have been abruptly closed by the authorities after an court order to seize the clinic’s assets to pay A BNSF Railroad trial.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s office closed the Asbestos -related disease center in Libby on Wednesday, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the border between the United States and Canada. The city of about 3,000 people is close to a mine that produces asbestos dust for decades, and the clinic has been at the forefront of efforts to help victims.
The courts in Montana have said BNSF contributed to pollution when he brought Contaminated material From the mine to the city, and the railroad faces numerous demands of Asbestos victims in Libby and surrounding communities.
But the Texas -based railroad prevailed in a 2023 demand claiming that the clinic caused some patients to be eligible for the benefits of the government when they knew they were not sick. The railroad challenged the validity of more than 2,000 diagnoses by the clinic and 337 were declared false.
The railroad filed the lawsuit on behalf of the federal government, which provides specialized services from Medicare to the victims of Asbestos de Libby. BNSF was entitled to a part of the $ 6 million sentence against the clinic, and after adding lawyers, judicial costs and interest, the railroad says that it is now owed $ 3.1 million.
“The judge determined the amount of damages that will be paid, and the recovery process is established by law,” said BNSF spokesman Kendall Kirkham Sloan, in a statement.
The executive director of the clinic, Tracy McNew, said that the closure would have a broad impact on public health in the Libby area, since less people are evaluated for health -related health problems.
“Card is still committed to his patients and the community of Libby and will fight to reopen as soon as possible,” McNew said in a statement.
The clinic for more than 20 years has provided health exams, monitoring and treatment of patients with problems caused by asbestos exposure. It was declared in bankruptcy after the sentence was issued in the case of fraud. He continued to operate and did not pay the money under an agreement reached in the Banking Court with the Federal Government that included BNSF.
James “Andy” Patten card bankruptcy lawyer said the Railroad attempts to collect the fraud sentence violated the bankruptcy agreement, which was approved by a federal court.
Sloan declined to comment on the bankruptcy agreement.
