A resident of Great Britain has filed an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit against Bae Systems Inc. and 24 other named companies, alleging that they played a role in the asbestos exposure that led to him developing mesothelioma.

Plaintiff Michael D. alleges in the asbestos mesothelioma lawsuitthat his service in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, part of England’s Ministry of Defense, regularly brought him to various ports and shipyards in the United States.

Michael participated in an engineer exchange program with the USS Allagash in which a United States engineer went to work on a British ship and vice versa.

Additionally Michael worked on RFA ships docked in the United States for extended maintenance periods. During these maintenance periods, Michael repaired asbestos-containing clutches and brakes associated with winches and cranes aboard RFA ships.

As a result he was repeatedly exposed to asbestos-containing products and machinery requiring or calling for the use of asbestos products.

According to the asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit, filed in April, 65-year-old Michael was diagnosed with mesothelioma and alleges that as a result of his asbestos mesothelioma, he currently endures debilitating cancer treatments and medical procedures for which he has incurred substantial medical expenses.

Michael also experiences physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, and overall loss of enjoyment of life.

Michael is filing the asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit because he alleges that Bae Systems Inc. and the other named defendants negligently and knowingly subjected him to exposure to dangerous asbestos and did not provide reasonable protection from asbestos exposure.

Michael’s wife, Patricia, is also named in the Asbestos Mesothelioma lawsuit, against Bae Systems Inc. and the named defendants, alleging loss of consortium (loss of intimacy with a spouse) as a result of her husband’s asbestos mesothelioma and the negligence of the defendants.

Asbestos Exposure Dangers

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.

Companies and manufacturers dealing with asbestos have known for almost a century that the inhalation of asbestos fibers is associated with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and several other debilitating and often fatal asbestos-related diseases.

Thousands of unsuspecting workers were exposed daily to this dangerous carcinogen as they worked in naval shipyards and other industrial occupations.

From studies of people who were exposed to asbestos in shipyards, we know that breathing high levels of asbestos fibers can lead to an increased risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma (a cancer of the lining of the chest and the abdominal cavity), and asbestosis, in which the lungs become scarred with fibrous tissue

The risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma increases with the number of asbestos fibers inhaled. People who get asbestosis 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 asbestos.

The Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit is Case No. 0:15-cv-61599-WJZ, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.