The children of a Montana man who died of asbestos lung disease is suing Union Carbide Corp. and Foster Wheeler LLC, alleging his exposure to products manufactured by the companies on various worksites caused his wrongful death.

The plaintiffs, two sons and five daughters of deceased Charles J., allege in the asbestos lung cancer lawsuit that their father repeatedly inhaled asbestos fibers released during the handling of asbestos-containing products provided by the defendants at his jobsites throughout the years.

Charles died on Jan. 23, 2014 from “cumulative, progressive, incurable lung diseases” caused by his repeated exposure to asbestos products manufactured, distributed and/or sold by Union Carbide and Foster Wheeler, the asbestos lawsuit alleges.

Charles’ children claim that at no point in time during their father’s employment was he warned that he was working with asbestos products, and the defendants failed to provide him or other employees with protective gear.

Charles’ children are suing Union Carbide and Foster Wheeler for general, punitive and fraud damages; loss of income, wages and earning potential; medical and related expenses; legal costs; and whatever other relief the Court deems just and proper.

The asbestos lawsuit is Case No. 3:14-cv-04644-VC, in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, San Francisco Division.

Overview of Asbestos Lung Cancer

Despite lung cancer being the most common cause of death for cancer patients, asbestos lung cancer is very rare, where damage is specifically caused by inhaling asbestos fibers. Annually, medical experts estimate 4,800 patients with asbestos lung cancer succumb to death, and that this statistic represents four percent of all lung cancer fatalities.

American doctors first became concerned with asbestos lung cancer in 1935 after the correlation between asbestos exposure and lung disease became noticeable in injury reports. Seven years later, a member of the National Cancer Institute confirmed asbestos lung cancer can occur if asbestos fibers are inhaled. Then in 1986, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) proclaimed that asbestos lung cancer and related asbestos lung diseases are the greatest risk for Americans who work with asbestos fibers.

Asbestos fibers are 700x smaller than a human hair and are invisible to the naked eye, causing potential victims to be unaware that they may be in danger. They are naturally occurring fibers that were popularly used for building projects since the 1800s, and were used popularly up until the last decade or so when major health complications were discovered to be associated with the inhalation of asbestos fibers.

Currently, lawsuits over asbestos-related injuries are the longest-running mass tort in the history of the United States with no signs of stopping. As of now, thousands of potential plaintiffs are taking legal action against American manufacturing companies for negligently exposing them to asbestos.