A Tennessee couple has filed an asbestos cancer lawsuit against 3M Company and nine other named defendants alleging that they played a role in the wrongful asbestos exposure that led to the plaintiff developing mesothelioma, a terminal cancer affecting the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity.

Plaintiff Michael M. alleges that his diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma in October 2015 was the result of the defendants’ failure to warn workers about the danger of asbestos exposure.

Michael, whose wife also joins him in the asbestos lawsuit against 3M, claims that during his commission in the U.S. Air Force as a maintenance technician from 1972 to 1975, Michael repeatedly used asbestos-containing products, including 3M Aircraft Adhesive, unaware that he was inhaling the dangerous asbestos fibers.

Additionally, Michael claims he developed the asbestos-related disease after a lifetime of exposure, including years of exposure performing insulation work using products supplied by the defendants.

Despite knowing of the presence of asbestos, Michael claims he was not aware of the dangerous nature of asbestos exposure nor was he warned about possible risks associated with asbestos exposure.

The mesothelioma lawsuit alleges that as a direct result of exposure to several asbestos-laden products during the 1960s and 1970s Michael developed the deadly cancer. The couple has requested a jury trial for this case.

The Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-10927, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.

Asbestos Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. Asbestos, once regarded as a miracle mineral, was popular due its lightweight but tough characteristics as well as for its heat-resistant properties.

This naturally occurring mineral was used in many commercial and consumer products, from construction materials such as cement, roofing shingles and insulation, to consumer and industrial applications such as hair dryers, automobile brake pads and pipe insulation.

Sometimes people who worked with asbestos for as little as one or two months get mesothelioma. Most people who were exposed to asbestos worked on jobs where they breathed asbestos; others were exposed to asbestos in a household environment, often without knowing it.

Very little exposure to asbestos can result in a mesothelioma diagnosis, and oftentimes the development of the cancer can be many years after the initial exposure to the asbestos fibers.

The “latency period” refers to the time between asbestos exposure and diagnosis of the disease. For mesothelioma, the latency period can be decades long, and people exposed in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, and 70s are now being diagnosed and may be entitled to settlement compensation.

Companies such as 3M have known about the dangers of asbestos since at least the early 1940s, asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits allege. However, many workers were not informed about the dangers until well into the 1970s or 1980s.