Asbestos Mesothelioma: A Lawsuit is His Legacy

Irving, TXYou wonder when all this will come to an end. Maybe it never will. The fact remains, however that asbestos exposure keeps claiming lives, and major corporations continue to put their employees in harm's way of asbestos cancer.

Omar Phillips may have been one of them—at least that's what the lawsuit brought against giant Exxon Mobil by his children claim. Filed in Jefferson Country District Court just after Labor Day, the suit alleges that Exxon knew all about the evils of asbestos mesothelioma, and yet did nothing to shield its employees from the harmful affects of asbestos exposure.

Just how harmful? Well, if you wanted to ask Omar Phillips himself you're too late. The loving father of Curtis Blake Phillips and Beverly Babin died "a painful and terrible death" on July 24th of last year.

All he did, day in and day out, was do what any good and responsible provider would do: get up and go to work—in Phillips' case as a pipe fitter and welder for Exxon. A company man, who did his work diligently and never complained.

His reward? A terrible and painful death.

As a result of prolonged exposure to asbestos dust and asbestos fiber, Phillips developed asbestos-related lung cancer. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and suspected as such ever since the turn of the century. No, not this one but the LAST one. Documentation referencing the evils of asbestos date all the way back to 1904. However, in spite of a growing knowledge base, asbestos continued to dominate the industrial revolution, until somebody in the mid-1970s decided that workers deserved to be shielded from almost certain death from prolonged exposure.

Even so, many companies continued to turn a blind eye to safety, so fixed were they on the bottom line.

The lawsuit filed by the children of Omar Phillips alleges that Exxon Mobil knew for decades that asbestos-laden products could cause disease, and asbestos cancer—and yet still allowed their employees to work with the product. The suit goes on to accuse the defendant of acting with malice and / or gross neglect.

The suit alleges that Exxon Mobil failed to warn their employees of asbestos in the workplace, failed to take safety precautions, and failed to provide training to ensure that Phillips was not exposed.

The unkindest nature of asbestos exposure relates to the lag time between exposure, and the emergence of symptoms of asbestos cancer. We're talking decades. With the vast majority of other injuries or exposures the onset of illness is rapid, motivating the affected patient to seek treatment right away. What's more, regular screenings are done for some well-known and prevalent cancers, in an attempt to catch them early, which in turn increases the chance for survival.

But not with asbestos. A person may have had a prolonged exposure thirty years prior, but remained in the picture of health until, suddenly, the asbestos related cancer rears its ugly head—but by then it's too late. Without active symptoms, how would a patient know he, or she was sick?

The allegation is that the company knew the risk—but wasn't telling. Instead, the employer stands idly by, while the time bomb within their valued worker slowly ticks away.

A slow death, from the inside, before their very eyes.

Sadly, there will be more lawsuits like the Phillips'. Lots more.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed on behalf of the late Omar Phillips are seeking a broad range of damages, including exemplary damages, on behalf of their late father's estate.