A Connecticut couple has filed an asbestos exposure lawsuit against multiple employers claiming that the husband, an electrical engineer, developed asbestos mesothelioma because he was exposed while on the job.

Plaintiffs Robert K. and Margaret K. have filed this asbestos exposure lawsuit because as an electrical engineerfor multiple employers, Robert worked in jobs that regularly exposed him to asbestos, he claims.

From 1964 to 1967, Robert worked as an electrical engineer aboard the USS Cambria stationed in Norfolk, Va. He believes he experienced regular asbestos exposure while working aboard the USS Cambria when it was docked at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

Robert says that his office “was in the ship’s electronic workshop where the ship’s radios and other movable electronic equipment were continually taken for maintenance and repair.” This asbestos exposure lawsuit claims that the Navy has admitted that “electronic equipment for Navy ships contained asbestos.”

Robert’s next job was on the Polaris Missile System from 1967 to 1969, where he was an electrical engineer for Control Data Corporation in Minneapolis.

From 1969 to 1972, Robert worked for General Electric Company also as an electrical engineer. While at General Electric, he worked in various capacities and claims he suffered asbestos exposure while working at the Aerospace Group at 32nd & Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia, Pa. This asbestos exposure while working as an electrical engineer occurred, he believes, from radio and electronic equipment containing asbestos.

Later, Robert worked as a Patent Agent for General Electric in Crystal Plaza in Arlington, Va., from January 1973 to August 1979. During this time he also attended the University of Baltimore and earned a law degree in May of 1979.

From this point on, Robert generally worked in jobs that did not offer him exposure to asbestos, but he believes he was exposed in all of his electrical engineering positions prior to 1973.

In December 2017, Robert was diagnosed with mesothelioma. His asbestos exposure lawsuit states “such diagnosis was accompanied by discernible or ascertainable physical symptoms and/or functional impairment and/or other detrimental effects as a result of the exposure to asbestos, Plaintiff has developed symptoms due to his asbestos inhalations and injuries. There is no other generally accepted cause of mesothelioma except asbestos.”

An employer is responsible to their employees to offer safe working environments, including protection from asbestos.

Asbestos is a mineral that naturally occurs in the earth and has been widely used for its flame retardant and heat resistant qualities. It is not dangerous when left undisturbed, but when its tiny particles are released into the air, it can be dangerous for those nearby.

Over time, if people experience asbestos exposure on a regular basis, that exposure can cause dangerous conditions such as mesothelioma and other cancers. The tiny asbestos particles are lodged in the lungs when inhaled and can cause inflammation. This, in turn, can cause cancer in the lining of the lungs. Cancer of the lining of the lungs is called mesothelioma.

Robert’s Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit is Case No. 2:18-cv-02119-ER in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County.