A Tennessee couple has filed an asbestos cancer lawsuit against 3M Company and 31 other named defendants alleging that they played a role in the asbestos exposure that led to the plaintiff developing mesothelioma, a terminal cancer affecting the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity.

The mesothelioma lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to warn employees about the danger of asbestos exposure.

Plaintiff Mark C. and his wife allege in the 3M asbestos lawsuit that while commissioned in the United States Air Force he was repeatedly exposed to asbestos.

Additionally, Mark claims he developed the asbestos-related disease after a lifetime of exposure, including years of exposure during a home remodeling project and performing automotive repair work using products supplied by the defendants.

Despite knowing of the presence of asbestos, Mark claims he was not aware of the dangers of asbestos exposure nor was he warned about possible asbestos exposure.

The mesothelioma lawsuit alleges that as a direct result of exposure to several asbestos-laden products during the 1960s and 1970s Mark developed the deadly cancer.

Mark and his wife are filing the asbestos cancer lawsuit because he alleges that the defendants negligently and knowingly subjected him to exposure to the dangerous fiber and did not provide reasonable protection from asbestos exposure.

As a direct result of 3M and the other named defendants’ acts, Mark claims he sustained severe injuries and damage.  He and his wife are seeking compensatory damages in the amount of $5 million dollars and punitive damages in the amount of $10 million dollars.

Dangers of Asbestos Exposure

Asbestos is a mineral fiber. It can be positively identified only with a special type of microscope. In the past, asbestos was added to a variety of products to strengthen them and to provide heat insulation and fire resistance.

Prior to 1980, many military servicemen may have been exposed to the fiber, which was commonly used for a variety of purposes throughout the armed forces as it worked as an effective flame retardant.

Asbestos was used in a variety of products to control heat, and consumers may have come in contact with this material on everything from household items to automotive products.

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

From studies of people who were exposed to asbestos in factories and shipyards, we know that breathing high levels of the fibers can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity.

The risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma increases with the number of asbestos fibers inhaled. People who get these asbestos cancers have usually been exposed to high levels of asbestos for a long time. The symptoms of these diseases do not usually appear until about 20 to 30 years after the first exposure to the material.

The Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit is Case No. 1:15-cv-02222-DDD-JDK, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.