A Colfax man who developed asbestos cancer after working at a Bloomington firm for over 50 years has been awarded $4.6 million.

Plaintiff Charles M.,73, won a significant victory as the jury handed down a $4.6 million judgment against Hobart Brothers Co. Charles worked for Portable Elevator Co. since the age of 19.

According to Charles’ attorney, “the jury found that Hobart Brothers had knowledge of the hazards of asbestos and negligently failed to warn Charles McKinney about the hazards of the asbestos in the flux of its welding stick electrodes.”

Charles developed mesothelioma, a type of asbestos cancer that is only caused by exposure to the toxic substance.

Asbestos Exposure Dangers

Asbestos is a fibrous mineral. Asbestos fibers are so small that they can be seen only with the help of microscope. Until a few decades back, asbestos was used extensively in a variety of construction and industrial products in order to strengthen them and to add fire resistance and heat insulation properties to them.

Asbestos fibers produce dust. When inhaled, asbestos dust forms deposits in the lungs that can cause illnesses including mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis. Workers exposed to asbestos from the 1940s through the 1970s continue to develop mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis after a very long latency period

Asbestos Cancer: Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of asbestos cancer that affects the thin membranes lining organs in the chest (pleura) and abdomen (peritoneum). Mesothelioma is closely linked with asbestos; most cases of mesothelioma result from direct exposure to asbestos at work.

Studies have found an increased risk of mesothelioma among workers who are exposed to asbestos, as well as among their family members and people living in the neighborhoods surrounding asbestos factories and mines.

Mesothelioma typically takes a long time to develop. The time between first exposure to asbestos and diagnosis of mesothelioma is usually 30 years or more. Unfortunately, the risk of mesothelioma does not drop with time after asbestos exposure. The risk appears to be lifelong. Unlike lung cancer, mesothelioma risk is not increased among smokers.

Asbestos Cancer Lawsuits

Many victims of asbestos cancer and their families are entitled to receive asbestos exposure compensation because manufacturers of asbestos-containing products often knew about the dangers of asbestos.

In fact, asbestos has been linked to cancer as early as the 1930s. The evidence shows that many companies did not advise workers of the potential hazards of their products, nor did they make any effort to put warning labels on the products to inform workers of the dangers of asbestos.

As a result of this failure to warn, hundreds of thousands of workers have developed asbestos cancer and related diseases over the past century.

The majority of asbestos litigation consists of plaintiffs who have been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma or other asbestos-related diseases after prolonged exposure to asbestos in the workplace.