A resident of Arizona has filed a lawsuit against Air & Liquid Systems Corporation, accusing them of misusing asbestos products in the “course and scope of the employment and in furtherance of the business.”

The plaintiff, Thomas G., files the lawsuit against the defendants, who he claims have been “engaged in the business of manufacturing, and/or distributing, and/or supplying or selling asbestos and asbestos-containing products, and/or products requiring and/or incorporating the use of asbestos, and/or other fibrogenic and carcinogenic materials…”

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff had breathed in and was contaminated with asbestos dust and fibers on the premises of the defendants between 1950 and early 2000s. Accordingly, he claims, he was exposed to asbestos and as a result suffered and was later diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was an employer of some of the named defendants, including Air & Liquid Systems Corporation. After serving in the United States Navy and being employed by the defendants, he claims he was exposed to “asbestos dust and fibers.”

The lawsuit states that Thomas’s asbestos exposure “was the direct, foreseeable and proximate cause of the injuries and damages averred by the plaintiff herein.”

The lawsuit states that the plaintiff “has sustained an asbestos-related injury and was diagnosed with Pleural Mesothelioma on or about January 2017. Plaintiff was informed of his mesothelioma diagnoses on or about February 2017.”

Pleural Mesothelioma Facts

According to Mesothelioma.com, pleural mesothelioma is defined as “a rare and malignant cancer caused by asbestos. Mesothelioma tumors from in the pleura, a thin membrane of cells that line the lungs and chest wall.”

Pleural mesothelioma is the most common type of cancer related to asbestos exposure. It allegedly accounts form up to 80-90% of all mesothelioma cancer cases.

Pleural mesothelioma also differs from other cancers in specific ways. The location of pleural mesothelioma is between the lungs and chest wall. This area of the body is known as the pleura.

Additionally, pleural mesothelioma is a disease that mostly affects the function of the lungs. The specific symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include shortness of breath, a condition affecting the respiratory system. Pleural mesothelioma may also affect the thoracic cavity causing chest pain.

Treatment of pleural mesothelioma includes surgery, which according to Mesothelioma.com, “often includes removal of some or all of the pleura and possibly part of the lung, combined with chemotherapy and/or radiation.”

The prognosis for pleural mesothelioma is not great. Pleural mesothelioma “has a median survival time of about 1 year,” according to Mesothelioma.com. They report, however, that “there are cases of long-term survival, in some cases as long as 20 years.”

The Pleural Mesothelioma Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-01110-YK, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.