A South Carolina couple has filed suit against 3M Company and 32 other businesses because the husband is fighting asbestosis due to this exposure to asbestos-containing products.

Cleo and Jacqueline J. claim Cleo was exposed to asbestos-containing industrial dust for years through his work as a mechanic in the U.S. Navy on board naval vessels, as an ironworker at Ken Kraft in Camden, South Carolina, and as a maintenance mechanic at E.I. DuPont, also in Camden.

Dangers of Asbestos-containing Products Allegedly Ignored

The complaint alleges the companies were negligent and reckless by allowing Cleo to work with asbestos-containing products that were “poisonous, and highly harmful to plaintiff’s body, lungs, respiratory system, skin and health.”

Plaintiffs say the companies failed to inform Cleo of any clothing or protective equipment that could have protected him from being poisoned and disabled. No warnings were placed on containers of asbestos materials to warn workers of the dangers of working with asbestos-containing materials, the plaintiffs allege.

The companies are accused of inadequately warning employees of the dangers of breathing in asbestos and asbestos-containing materials, “even after they knew of the dangers and cancer-causing effects.”

Dangers of asbestos exposure have been known since 1929, but the defendants are accused of intentionally withholding that information from Cleo and his fellow employees.

The claim says that “[t]op management officials of defendants rejected advice of other corporate officials to warn of the hazards of their asbestos products; such rejection by top management officials being motivated by the possibility of adverse effects on profits.”

Asbestosis Is a Chronic Lung Disease

Asbestosis is a chronic lung disease that scars the lung tissue, leading to long-term breathing difficulties. There is no cure.

Extended exposure to asbestos-containing products leads to fibers accumulating in lung tissues, where they cannot escape. The lung tissues thicken over time as scarring builds, causing pain and restricted breathing.

Asbestosis causes shortness of breath with very little physical activity. Asbestosis victims’ risk of developing lung cancer is eight to ten times higher than those without the disease.

People with asbestosis are apt to die from heart failure because the heart has to pump faster due to the decreased lung function. Other complications include high blood pressure and other lung complications, such as the formation of calcium deposits or fluid collection in the lungs.

In the asbestos lawsuit, Cleo contends he has “suffered continuing and lingering injury to himself due to the defendants’ asbestos fibers previously inhaled. Said fibers, once inhaled, cause repeated and continuing injury to plaintiff.”

The companies named as defendants stand accused of placing profits ahead of Cleo’s safety because he was required to work with asbestos and asbestos-containing materials without proper warnings or appropriate safety apparel or safety precautions.

The Asbestos-Containing Materials Lawsuit is Case No. 3:17-CV-00674-JFA in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Columbia Division.