The widow of a man who died of mesothelioma from asbestos exposure at Pearl Harbor has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Plaintiff Leon J. was a boiler technician in the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1992. He was assigned to work in or on a variety of ships during those years. According to his widow’s complaint, Leon worked on the USS Benjamin Stoddert and the USS Goldsborough. He also was assigned to the Fleet Maintenance Assistance Group (FMAG) and to the Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity, both at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.

Leon allegedly experienced asbestos exposure at Pearl Harbor because he worked with asbestos products and many people around him were working with asbestos-based materials.

According to the complaint, he allegedly inhaled asbestos dust and fibers that caused him “to develop malignant mesothelioma and asbestos-related diseases and injuries to his lungs, chest cavity, cardiovascular system and other parts of his body, which were not discovered and/or were disguised until about November 2017.”

The asbestos exposure at Pearl Harbor came in many forms. Pumps, boilers, turbines, compressors, condensers, valves, distillers and electrical equipment contained asbestos products. The Navy and other shipyards used asbestos materials to overhaul, build, refit and maintain the ships that Leon worked upon.

Companies Allegedly Responsible for Asbestos Exposure at Pearl Harbor

Leon allegedly worked with asbestos gaskets and other parts that required asbestos-based insulation to work properly. Among the companies and the products mentioned in the lawsuit are:

• Cleaver-Brooks – auxiliary boilers, distilling plants, distillers, evaporators
• Davis Engineering – fuel oil heaters, heat exchangers, feed water heaters
• Crane Co. – steam valves, gate valves, globe valves, check valves
• Flowserve – Edward valves, main and auxiliary feed valves, globe, angle and stop check valves
• Ingersoll – pumps, compressors, air ejectors, turbines
• Viking – fuel oil transfer pumps, lube oil transfer pumps

While those of us not in the Navy or shipbuilding industry will most likely be unable to discern one of those parts from another, the sheer number of different asbestos-based materials allows us to imagine the level of exposure to asbestos dust and fibers.

Leon’s widow alleges the companies failed to warn Leon and fellow workers of the dangers of asbestos exposure at Pearl Harbor.

Asbestos has been a known carcinogen since the 1930s. Inhaled asbestos fibers burrow into the deep tissue of the lungs. Over time, the fibers irritate and damage the structure of the cells. These corrupted cells can eventually produce cancer cells. The period of time between asbestos exposure and symptomatic damage can be between 10 and 50 years.

From 1940 to 1978, nearly 11 million people experienced asbestos exposure, according to the National Institutes of Health. Men are more than four times more likely than women to be diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer because they are more apt to work in jobs that expose them to asbestos. People over age 60 have a 10 times greater risk of developing mesothelioma than anyone under age 40.

The Asbestos Exposure at Pearl Harbor Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-00188-KJM-NONE in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit for the State of Hawaii.