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| S P E C I A L | Tobacco Under Attack |
Wanted: Restaurant workers willing to sue over secondhand smoke
March 11, 1998
Web posted at: 11:54 a.m. EST (1654 GMT)BOSTON (AP) -- A group of lawyers has turned to newspaper advertisements as it seeks nonsmoking bar and restaurant workers willing to sue over health problems they blame on secondhand smoke.
Lawyers from the Tobacco Control Resource Center at the Northeastern University School of Law placed the ads in Wednesday's editions of The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald.
"We are planning legal actions against the tobacco industry, restaurants and their trade associations," said the ads, which include a telephone number for those interested.
"We hope to underscore the reality that secondhand smoke harms real-life people. Secondhand smoke harms people and also can kill people," said Edward Sweda, senior attorney for the resource center.
The group plans to use its lawyers and paralegal assistants to interview those willing to sue the tobacco and restaurant industries, and to evaluate the merits of their claims.
The group will refer suitable cases to lawyers to file suit. Attorneys' fees would come from settlements or jury awards; Sweda said he did not know if the center would get finders' fees.
Flight attendants settled a class-action suit over secondhand smoke for $349 million in Florida last month, and casino workers have sued in Nevada.
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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