In July, a deceased mechanic’s son told jurors that while growing up, he consistently witnessed his father being exposed to dust while using Caterpillar Inc. machines that contained asbestos. The son, Marcos G., further alleges that Caterpillar failed to provide warnings about this toxic material that he claims killed his father.

Pablo G., the deceased, died at age 79 in 2011 shortly after being diagnosed with mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs, and has been associated with asbestos exposure.

Background on Asbestos Lawsuit

According to the Pablo’s family, his lung cancer was directly caused by exposure to asbestos dust from Caterpillar and Dana Holding Corp. products, and that the defendants failed to adequately warn about the dangerous asbestos hazards associated with their products.

Pablo’s son testified that he saw his father sanding down parts of machinery in order to make repairs, which would create dust. An asbestos expert brought forward to testify told jurors that after grinding brake parts he found a large quantity of asbestos dust in the air.

The asbestos cancer wrongful death lawsuit further alleges that Caterpillar has known about the harmful toxicity of asbestos dust since 1959, but sold machines with parts that contained asbestos from the 1920s until as late as 1990. Pablo’s family therefore argues that because the company failed to so much as include warnings about asbestos on its products until 1984, twenty five years after the company gained knowledge of the dangers of asbestos exposure, the defendant should be held accountable.

Dana Holding Corp. bought Victor Gasket Manufacturing Co., which has received customer complaints since the 1970s about the dangerous levels of asbestos dust in their products, but did not put warnings on those products until 1985, and did not stop making the product with asbestos until 1988. Even then, these warnings did not specify about the dangers of cancer or death. The warnings also failed to advise consumers to wear a respirator during work with the products.

The defendants deny that Pablo’s mesothelioma was caused by asbestos exposure from their products. However, Steven Compton of MVA Scientific Consultants, an expert witness who analyzes small particles and dusts, said that his company has measured asbestos fibers in quantities thousands of times larger where Caterpillar brake parts were being cut or ground than typical ambient amounts.

For more than three decades, Pablo worked construction jobs with or near Caterpillar machinery prior to his diagnosis and death.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with or died from an asbestos-related disease, and have been exposed to asbestos because of Caterpillar or other machines or equipment, you may be able to file an asbestos lawsuit.

The Caterpillar Asbestos Lawsuit is Case No. 2013-CA-031838, in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida.