Montana Superfund town’s health clinic accused of submitting false asbestos claims

By MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON
Associated Press

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A major railroad company is trying to convince a federal jury that a Montana clinic submitted hundreds of asbestos claims for people who weren’t sick and bilked taxpayer funds. BNSF Railway was earlier found liable for spreading hazardous asbestos that officials say killed hundreds of people in the Montana community of Libby. The new case focuses on the Center For Asbestos Related Disease. The clinic has certified more than 3,400 people with asbestos-related diseases since 2003. BNSF alleged more than half the certifications were based on false medical submissions. The railway shipped asbestos-tainted vermiculite through Libby from a nearby mine for decades. A seven-person jury began deliberations after the two sides offered closing arguments Wednesday in a civil trial.