An injured machinist filed an asbestos lawsuit
against American Optical Corporation, alleging that the company sold a respirator that was unable to prevent asbestos exposure, which resulted in the man developing incurable asbestos lung cancer.

Plaintiff Louis T. claims in the asbestos lung cancer lawsuit that American Optical Corporation was aware of the fact that their respiratory device was defective and would not be able to prevent asbestos exposure, yet concealed this information.

According to attorney Joseph Satterley, who is representing the plaintiff and his wife, said that the Louis is suffering a “slow painful death” after his asbestos lung cancer diagnosis just last year.

The main culprit for this depressing and early fate (the plaintiff is only 62 years old) is the defective respirator from American Optical Corporation, Satterley said. Louis used this respiratory device while working as a machinist surrounded by asbestos-containing materials.

This asbestos lung cancer lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including negligence negligent failure to warn, concealment and intentional misrepresentation, and several others.

However, the American Optical Corporation is diverting the attention from its own defective respiratory device to the machine shop where Louis worked for nearly twenty years, which allegedly also caused substantial asbestos exposure.

The plaintiff began working at this shop, Foundry Service & Supplies, when he was only 19 years old. The occurrence of asbestos in the lungs was not only extensive, but also began very early in his life.

According to the asbestos exposure lawsuit, the machine shop’s owners did not do enough to control the asbestos fiber dust in their shop. Employees did not always use respirators, and no one used protective clothing. The shop’s owners did not measure asbestos levels properly, if at all.

Satterley said that these allegations were simply the result of American Optical attempting to shift the blame away from them.

“They’re charging Foundry, this little 2,000-square-foot operation, as being negligent because they didn’t have a respirator program and they didn’t have the proper dust collection systems and they didn’t do certain things,” Satterly said.

According to the plaintiff’s experts, the shop did actually have protections in place to combat asbestos exposure.

Satterley noted that “Foundry Service & Supplies wasn’t doing anything worse than any other entity in the ’70s and ’80s.”

Indeed, it was due to problems with American Optical’s defective respirator that lethal asbestos fibers were allowed to get inside the plaintiff’s lungs.

“What they sold for many, many years through this product was a false sense of security,” Satterly said. “They sold a product to make people think they’d be ok.”

The lawsuit alleges that American Optical knew its R2090 respirator would not effectively prevent asbestos in the lungs. Despite this knowledge, the company continued to sell the product, placing company profit over consumer safety.

The lawsuit is asking for at least $1.8 million in damages.

Asbestos Exposure

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA), asbestos in the lungs is one of the highest risks associated with lung cancer. After smoking, asbestos is the second most common cause of lung cancer.

Asbestos lung cancer is usually latent for several or even dozens of years. Once it is eventually diagnosed, a patient has often progressed into the later stages of the disease. Late stage cancer is more dangerous and less treatable than it is early on.

Unfortunately, the lung cancer survival rate is fairly low, and is usually under two years.

Asbestos Exposure Lawsuits

Asbestos lung cancer can cause extreme physical and emotional pain and suffering for both the patient and their family. Filing an asbestos lawsuit cannot heal a family member, but it can help to alleviate some financial stress from medical expenses.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an asbestos disease such as lung cancer, you may be able to file an asbestos exposure lawsuit.