Asbestosis Plaintiff Seeks $1.75 Million in Asbestos Lawsuit - LawyersandSettlements.com

Not that anyone is keeping score, but sometimes with an asbestos lawsuit, the more, the merrier. In this case, no fewer than 23 potential defendants in a lawsuit that seeks $1.75 million in damages. That’s the degree of injustice a plaintiff who claims he was exposed to asbestos over a 32-year period feels is involved in the case.

Rex Hill was recently diagnosed with asbestosis. The problem remains, then, at which point of exposure sounded the death knell for the plaintiff? For asbestosis or asbestos mesothelioma can lay dormant in the body for 30 years or more before rearing its head. By then, many plaintiffs may have lost track of work performed within close proximity to asbestos.

For virtually every plaintiff stricken with asbestos cancer, the prognosis is dire. There is no cure. The clock cannot be turned back. It’s only a matter of time.

Hill worked as an insulator for a variety of employers over a 32-year career. Until recently, asbestos was used as insulation, in construction as well as the ship-building industry, as a wrapping around pipes. According to the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (7/28/13), the multi-count lawsuit was filed last month in Morgan County Circuit Court and names various defendants either in the business of manufacturing or selling products containing asbestos fibers, or having owned holdings in that sector.

According to the report, two of the five counts in the civil action Hill is bringing name Sprinkmann Sons, Union Carbide, Georgia-Pacific, John Crane Inc., Owens-Illinois, Brand Insulations, Mechanical Insulation Co., Trane US, Weil McLain, General Electric and CBS Corp. Also named are Ameren Illinois, Archer-Daniels-Midland, Bridgestone Americas, Caterpillar, Commonwealth Edison, Dynegy Power, Exelon, NiSource and Tate & Lyle Ingredients.

In his asbestos lawsuit, Hill contends that he was made to work in and around job sites owned or controlled by the defendants, and compelled to work with materials containing asbestos without the prerequisite safety equipment, or even the knowledge that asbestos was harmful.