In a large asbestos lawsuit, a man from Merritt is suing over 50 companies for allegedly causing him to be exposed to asbestos. Plaintiff Melvin G. claims that for over 65 years, he had been inhaling the deadly substance on a daily basis in his work place, which caused him to develop asbestosis.

This asbestos lawsuit was filed recently in Morgan County Court, and has been brought forth by a firm that represents plaintiffs from Illinois who suffered asbestos exposure injuries. Melvin is one of these plaintiffs. He claims that he was exposed to asbestos in the 1950s and 1960s, when he worked as a farmer and with farm equipment. During this time period, he was also employed as a utility man at Wood River Power Station in Alton, an automobile technician, and service technician for GTE. Rach of these occupations had caused him to be exposed to asbestos on a daily basis.

The constant asbestos exposure later caused him to develop asbestosis in November 2013, as well a chronic lung cancer variation called mesothelioma. Similar to many other plaintiffs, Melvin claims that his employers had failed to protect him and other employees from the asbestos exposure and had failed to warn him of the potential dangers. According to the asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, the defendants failed to disclose any product warnings or provide them any special warnings, but the defendants had the civil responsibility of protecting their employees and protect consumers who bought asbestos-containing products.

Along with his wife Louise, Melvin is seeking at least $50,000 to cover his medical damages, pain and suffering, and any other punitive damages. Experts believe that Melvin will require medical care for the remainder of his life, as most mesothelioma and asbestosis patients are often diagnosed at a latent stage.

Overview of Asbestos Mesothelioma Complications

It is important to note that one of the main commonalities between asbestos-exposure conditions is that they take many years to develop. For mesothelioma, it often takes between 20 to 50 years for the patient to show any signs of the condition, because it takes that long for the embedded fibers to fester. This leaves very little treatment options for patients, with doctors having little faith in long-term survival chances.

Mesothelioma itself is very difficult to treat as it is one of the most devastating forms of lung cancer with its aggressive progression. It is caused by the accidental inhalation of asbestos fibers that become attached to the mucus lining of the lungs, which eventually fester into cancer cells and spread.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fiber that is 700 times smaller than a human hair. It was used as a construction material before the 1990s, popular for its fire and chemical resistant qualities, and was used by many construction and manufacturing companies. At its prime, asbestos was used heavily in U.S. Navy shipyards, in insulation vents, and in other similar products. Unfortunately, it has only been recently that the scope of asbestos problems has been discovered.

Many manufacturing companies neglected to tell consumers and employees across the United States that the fibers could induce fatal health conditions, like asbestosis and mesothelioma.

The legacy of the asbestos litigation movement has become the largest mass tort in the history of the United States, with over 600,000 plaintiffs and 6,000 defendants.