In a recent asbestos lung cancer lawsuit, a grieving widow told her story of how her husband became unbearably ill due to asbestos exposure. Grieving widow Mary A. attended the most recent court hearing set for the wrongful death of her husband.

Late World War II Navy veteran, James A., had served his time in the war and had gone to work as welder for a major manufacturing company after the war ended. James was employed as a welder for Akron for 41 years, working regularly at the company’s Goodyear subsidiary. Mary claims that her husband was exposed to asbestos during his time on Navy war ships and his time as a welder for his employer, leading to his development of asbestos lung cancer.

Asbestos lung cancer is a rare variant of the most common type of cancer in the United States, which is estimated to cause approximately 4,800 deaths a year. As implied by the name, asbestos lung cancer is specifically caused by asbestos fibers that are inhaled into the body. These fibers either lodge themselves in the wall of the lungs or leave scarring in the lungs and throat, which can later develop cancer cells.

This asbestos-related condition can take many years to develop; the time it takes to show any asbestos lung cancer symptoms has been reported to be between 20 to 50 years, leaving many patients to be diagnosed at a latent stage of prognosis. Due to how long it takes for this disease to express itself, it has only been recently that former factory workers and military veterans have come forward to report asbestos lung cancer or other asbestos-related injuries that they may have developed decades prior.

Overview of Asbestos Lung Cancer Allegations

After contending with this condition for several years, James died in 2001 at the age of 73. As devastating as this lawsuit is, it is one of 1,300 lawsuits filed in Summit County Probate Court on behalf of the families of asbestos exposure victims who later died of complications. Each of the deceased workers had been previously employed by Akron, and had worked as rubber-makers and automakers, where they were exposed to asbestos.

This legal settlement process started after a certain article was published on June 15, 2015, in the Beacon Journal, detailing the court’s involvement in reaching out to possible heirs and other possible family members of the asbestos victims.

Probate Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer stated her office has received over 200 emails and calls in the last week alone. Another law firm that specializes in asbestos-related litigation reported receiving close to 300. Mary was one of 30 residents from her residency area who went to the recent court hearing to begin the formal process of filling out required paperwork for asbestos injury claims.

A settlement fund was setup by Akron in 2004 for $80 million, after witnessing an insurance giant settle with tens of thousands American laborers who had been allegedly exposed to asbestos since the 1980s.

The insurance company in question, Travelers Cos., had stood beside one of its biggest policyholders, Johns Manville Corp. of Denver, as a fellow defendant against numerous asbestos-related allegations; Johns Manville was one of the largest asbestos-using manufacturing companies for over half a century at the time. After the company launched a number of appeals to delay payouts, the 2^nd U.S. Circuit Court in New York finally consolidated the claims and ordered the insurance company to pay the damages last summer. The damage claims ranged from $2,100 to $23,000, based on severity of the case and medical diagnosis.

Throughout the litigation battle against these companies, investigators revealed that the asbestos levels were exceedingly high in Johns Manville Corp, with the asbestos fibers being as large as snowflakes. These asbestos flakes drifted through the air in great clouds, and were inhaled daily by the unsuspecting workers. According to legal documents, no protective equipment of safety procedures were in place to prevent health hazards.

Going back to Akron’s legal woes, law firms and legal representatives are continuing to receive calls from potential plaintiffs. The court has appointed an independent administrator to begin finalizing the paperwork, which will go to the special claims company facilitating the payout settlement fund. Lawyers for the plaintiffs and defendants believe that the claim review company will have analyzed all submissions by early August 2015.