Jacksonville, ILNot 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.
To that end, in Hill’s asbestos claims, defendants Pneumo Abex, Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Owens-Illinois and Honeywell International are alleged to have conspired to keep their employees in the dark with regard to the dangers of working with asbestos. Further, the asbestos lawsuit contends that educational pamphlets outlining so-called safe practices of handling asbestos omitted details as to the potential for serious asbestos disease. The lawsuit further contends that the various products produced and purchased with the named defendants omitted warnings in kind.
The Jacksonville, Illinois plaintiff has his diagnosis of asbestosis. Now comes the waiting game for his lawsuit to percolate through the courts. It is naturally hoped that his lawsuit would conclude with relative quickness, given the plaintiff’s diagnosis and prognosis. Some plaintiffs do not live to see their day in court, all thanks to asbestos and the asbestos cancer that shows up to sound the death knell…
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