Posts Tagged ‘ asbestos at work ’

Asbestos News Roundup: 11.8.12 – Asbestos At Work Class Action

November 8th, 2012. By LucyC

The weekly roundup of recent asbestos-related news and information that you should be aware of. An ongoing list of reported asbestos hot spots in the US from the Asbestos News Roundup archive appears on our asbestos map.

Asbestos Exposure at Work – Who’s Paying for It?

Week after week we report on asbestos lawsuits filed by men and women who have become seriously, if not fatally ill from exposure to the carcinogen throughout their working lives. This week, we came across an employment class action lawsuit filed by employees of a staffing agency who worked with the toxic substance, but also allege they were denied wages by the agency.

Filed October 22, the class action lawsuit states that WMS Solutions, which has offices in Baltimore and Bethesda, has violated state and federal regulations by making employees pay for job-related equipment and training out-of-pocket, and has not paid them for time spent in required training courses.

If you are working around asbestos you should have protective clothing and equipment. If you don’t have protective gear, such as masks, appropriate clothing and gloves, not only are you at serious risk of developing an asbestos related illness, your family and loved ones may suffer take home or second hand asbestos exposure, the consequences of which can also be devastating, as the lawsuits below illustrate all too clearly.

Asbestos Law

Charleston, WV: Mary C. Bowen, widow of the deceased Thomas Jarrett Bowen, has filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 30 companies she claims are responsible for her late husband’s lung cancer and death.

On November 3, 2010, Thomas Jarrett Bowen was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died from the disease on December 5, 2010.

Mrs. Bowen alleges in the lawsuit that her husband was exposed to asbestos and/or asbestos containing products during his employment as a laborer from 1964 until 2001.

Mary Bowen is suing the defendants based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn. Additionally, some of the defendants are also being sued as premise owners and as Thomas Bowen’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the lawsuit.

The 39 companies named as defendants in the suit are A.W. Chesterton Company; Caterpillar, Inc.; CBS Corporation; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Crane Co.; Dravo Corporation; Eaton Corporation; Erie City Iron Works; Flowserve Corporation f/k/a the Duriron Company, Inc.; Flowserve Corporation, as successor-in-interest to Durametallic Corporation; FMC Corporation; General Electric Company; Goulds Pumps, Inc.; Grinnell, LLC; Honeywell International; Howden North America, Inc.; IMO Industries Inc.; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand Company; ITT Corporation; McJunkin Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Rapid American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Schneider Electric; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Swindell Dressier International Corporation; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC. (wvrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: A Paynesville widow has filed an asbestos lawsuit, alleging her husband’s death from asbestos-related disease was caused by exposure to the carcinogen during his working life. She has named 93 companies she asserts are responsible for her husband’s asbestos mesothelioma and subsequent death.

Clyde Junior Blankenship was diagnosed with mesothelioma, from which he died on June 30, the lawsuit states. He worked as a welder and a mine operator from 1974 until 2012.

Certain defendants are also being sued as premise owners and as Clyde Blankenship’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the suit.

The 93 defendants named in the suit are: 3M Company; A.O. Smith Corporation; A.W. Chesterton Company; Adamson Global Technology Corp.; Ajax Magnethermic Corporation; Aladdin Carpet Mills, Inc.; Allied Glove Corporation; Borg-Warner Corporation; Breeding Insulation Company, Inc.; Cabin Craft, Inc.; Caterpillar, Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Challenge-Cook Bros. of Georgia, Inc.; Chicago Boiler Company; Clark Equipment Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Continental Steel Tank Company, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Coronet Industries, Inc.; Crane Co.; Crown Cotton Mills Proprieties, Inc.; Dalton Carpet Finishing Company, Inc.; Dalton Supply Company; Dravo Corporation; E.T. Barwick Industries, Inc.; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; Elite Processing, LLC; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Ford Motor Company; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; General Electric Company; Genuine Parts Company; Georgia Pacific Corporation; Goulds Pumps; Grinnell, LLC; Hercules, Inc.; Hobart Brothers; Honeywell International; Howden North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Devalco Corporation; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand; ITT Corporation; J. H. Fletcher & Co.; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Lattner Boiler Company; Lincoln Electric Company; Maremont Corporation; McNeil Corporation; Mestek, Inc.; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mine Safety Appliances Company; Modern Carpet Industries, Inc.; Mohawk Industries, Inc.; Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc.; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Oakfabco, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Rapid-American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Rust Constructors, Inc.; Rust Engineering & Construction, Inc.; Rust International, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; Shaw Industries, Inc.; Spiraxsarco, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Sunbeam Corporation; Sunoco, Inc.; Surface Combustion, Inc.; Swindell Dressler International Corporation; Tasco Insulations, Inc; The Dow Chemical Company; The Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Co.; The Sager Corporation; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; United Conveyor Corporation; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Group International; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; Weil-McLain Company; West Point-Pepperell, Inc.; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; World Carpets, Inc.; Yale Materials Handling Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC. (wvrecord.com)

Charleston, WV: On August 9, 2012, Paul Everett Beckman Sr. was diagnosed with asbestos mesothelioma. Consequently, Mr. Beckman and his wife have filed an asbestos lawsuit naming 81 companies they claim are responsible for his illness.

In their lawsuit, the Beckmans claim the defendants exposed Mr. Beckman to asbestos during his career as a mechanic and laborer since the 1940s and through his wife, who worked at Owens Illinois Glass Factory, and his father and brother, who were utility workers with Consol Energy.

The defendants are being sued based on theories of negligence, contaminated buildings, breach of expressed/implied warranty, strict liability, intentional tort, conspiracy, misrepresentation and post-sale duty to warn. Certain defendants are also being sued as premise owners and as Beckman’s employers for deliberate intent/intentional tort, according to the lawsuit.

The 81 companies named as defendants in the suit are: 3M Company; A.W. Chesterton Company; Airtek, Inc.; Aurora Pump Company; Autozone Stores, Inc.; Beazer East, Inc.; Borg-Warner Corporation; Caterpillar Inc.; Certainteed Corporation; Clark Equipment Company; Cleaver-Brooks Company, Inc.; Consol Energy, Inc.; Copes-Vulcan, Inc.; Crane Co.; Dravo Corporation; Eaton Electrical, Inc.; F.B. Wright Co. of Pittsburgh; Fairmont Supply Corporation; Flowserve FSD Corporation; Flowserve US, Inc.; FMC Corporation; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Gardner Denver, Inc.; General Electric Company; Genuine Parts Company; George V. Hamilton, Inc.; Georgia Pacific Corporation; Georgino Industrial Supply (Pittsburgh), Inc.; Goulds Pumps; Grinnell, LLC; Harvey Hubbell, Inc.; Hercules, Inc.; Honeywell International; Howden North America, Inc.; I.U. North America, Inc.; IMO Industries, Inc.; Devalco Corporation; Industrial Holdings Corporation; Ingersoll-Rand; ITT Corporation; J. H. Fletcher & Co.; Joy Technologies, Inc.; Kelsey-Hayes Company; Lewis-Goetz And Company, Inc.; Maremont Corporation; McJunkin Red Man Corporation; McNeil Corporation; Metropolitan Life Insurance Company; Mine Safety Appliances Company; Morgantown-National Supply, Inc.; Nacco Materials Handling Group, Inc.; Nagle Pumps, Inc.; Nitro Industrial Coverings, Inc.; Ohio Valley Insulating Company, Inc.; Owens-Illinois, Inc.; P&H Mining Equipment, Inc.; Petroleum Pipe and Supply Company, Inc.; Pettibone/Traverse Lift, LLC; Phillips Corporation; Pneumo Abex Corporation; Premiere Refractories, Inc.; Rapid-American Corporation; Riley Power, Inc.; Ritter Technology LLC; Rockwell Automation, Inc.; Schneider Electric USA, Inc.; State Electric Supply Company; Sterling Fluid Systems (USA), LLC; Sunray Electric Supply Company; Tasco Insulations, Inc.; The Goodyear Tire & Rubber, Co.; Union Carbide Chemical & Plastics Company; Uniroyal, Inc.; United Conveyor Corporation; United Engineers & Constructors and Washington Groups International; Viacom, Inc.; Vimasco Corporation; West Virginia Electric Supply Company; Yale Materials Handling Corporation; Yarway Corporation; and Zurn Industries, LLC. (wvrecord.com)

Unpaid Wages and Asbestos Exposure: Class Action Filed Against WMS Staffing

Bethesda, MD: Employees listed with the WMS staffing agency in Bethesda, who work with asbestos and other toxic materials, have filed an employment class action lawsuit alleging they were victims of “intentional schemes to deny them wages.”

WMS provides temporary staff to work sites and contractors to work in asbestos removal, as well as mold and lead removal, the lawsuit contends.

Filed October 22, the lawsuit contends that WMS Solutions, which has offices in Baltimore and Bethesda, has violated state and federal regulations by making employees pay for job-related equipment and training out-of-pocket, and has not paid them for time spent in required training courses.

Class members are seeking unpaid wages and the costs of training programs, physicals and personal protection equipment that the company is required by law to provide to employees at no cost, the complaint states.

Marvin Blandon, one of the named plaintiffs in the lawsuit and a WMS employee, said that without proper training, he could get sick or bring asbestos home on his clothes to his wife and baby: this type of asbestos exposure is called ‘second hand’ or ‘take home’ asbestos exposure.

“I’ve been forced to pay hundreds of dollars just to make sure I don’t get sick from my work,” Blandon said through a translator. “Specialty training, equipment and trips to the doctor are also required so that I can do my job safely, and my employer should pay for them, not me.”

According to the lawsuit, WMS deducted $110 from Blandon’s wages in 2011, for a Washington, DC, asbestos license fee, and may have made other unauthorized deductions from his wages during his employment with them. Blandon further claims he has paid approximately $300 for annual asbestos refresher course fees, as well as about $32 for a respirator he is required to wear when performing asbestos abatement work.

To date, over 30 WMS workers have joined the asbestos employment class action lawsuit, however hundreds of workers may be affected. (gazette.net)

Tags: Asbestos, asbestos at work, asbestos class action lawsuit, Asbestos Exposure, asbestos lawsuit, Asbestos Mesothelioma
Posted in Asbestos Mesothelioma, Class Action, lawsuits | No Comments »