HENDLERLAW AND BILBREY & HYLLA NEGOTIATE $4 MILLION IN SETTLEMENTS FOR 78 YEAR-OLD MESOTHELIOMA VICTIM

Austin, Texas ? December 17, 2004. HendlerLaw of Austin, TX and Bilbrey & Hylla of Edwardsville, IL, recently negotiated settlements totaling nearly $4 million for Luke Lindau, a 78-year old Arlington Heights, IL man who suffers from mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma is the incurable, deadly and extremely painful cancer caused by asbestos exposure. The expected survival rate for people diagnosed with mesothelioma is normally eight to twelve months.

Mr. Lindau, who is married, was exposed to large amounts of asbestos while working as a union painter and doing home remodeling work. He was diagnosed with mesothelioma in October 2002. His lawsuit, which was filed a year ago in Madison County Circuit Court, recently came close to going to trial. Although Lindau was looking forward to telling his story in court, he and his counsel agreed that the settlement was the best course of action. "We believed that the defendants' outrageous efforts to delay this trial would only hurt Mr. Lindau," said Mike Bilbrey of Bilbrey & Hylla. "Our client's interests were paramount in our decision to settle."

Approximately 10 defendants, including Georgia-Pacific and Bondex paid a total of $3.25 million with additional compensation expected to be recovered from defendants who are establishing trust funds to compensate asbestos victims.

Mr. Lindau has already exceeded the life expectancy for a person diagnosed with mesothelioma. Considering his age the settlement value is exceptional. "The overall recovery from all defendants, including individual trust funds established by defendants that sought bankruptcy protection but are still viable and profitable businesses, is a reflection of the merit with which the defendants viewed Mr. Lindau's claims against them and the trial team that represented him," explained Scott Hendler of HendlerLaw.

For more information about HendlerLaw and Bilbrey & Hylla please visit www.HendlerLaw.com and www.BilbreyHyllaLaw.com. For more information about Vioxx and resources for heart attack and stroke recovery, please visit www.vioxxadvice.org.