A man has filed a mesothelioma claim after learning his disease was allegedly caused by 34 years of asbestos exposure.

Plaintiff Daniel A. says he was employed from 1970 to 2004 as a mechanic and in other capacities that led him to be exposed to asbestos dust and particles.

He alleges he also took part in non-occupational work projects, including home repairs and remodeling and automotive repairs, that placed him in a vulnerable position with airborne asbestos. Ultimately, he argues this led to a mesothelioma claim. 

Daniel says he was diagnosed with the asbestos-related disease known as mesothelioma in September 2016. According to Daniel’s mesothelioma claim, he was unaware that his exposure to asbestos could result in damage to his health until he was diagnosed with the disease.

Mesothelioma Claim Names Many Defendants

According to the mesothelioma claim, Daniel was in the U.S. Air Force from 1972 to 1979, where he served in various capacities, including as an aircraft mechanic.

The mesothelioma claim alleges he “was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed asbestos fibers emanating from certain products he was working with and around…”

These products were made by a variety of companies and corporations that are named as defendants who allegedly should have known such asbestos exposure was toxic and dangerous to the health of those working in and around asbestos-containing products.

Multiple defendants are accused of failing to provide any or adequate warnings to employees working with asbestos that inhaling or ingesting asbestos fibers could harm them, including the potential they could develop asbestosis and cancer.

Among the companies named as defendants is Metropolitan Life Insurance Corporation, which is accused of being a conspirator with various employers of Ayotte. The insurance company is among those accused of knowing since the 1940s that asbestos exposure could cause serious disease and death, but allegedly failed to warn employees of the hazards.

The mesothelioma claim says that conspirators knew that if they adequately warned people of the risks of asbestos disease, workers would want to leave the industries using asbestos. The alleged conspirators feared such warnings would reduce the sale of asbestos and cause those who were exposed through household and neighborhood work to lobby against asbestos-containing products, the lawsuit says.

Named conspirators purportedly went a step further than failing to warn about asbestos by allegedly suppressing information about the dangers and asserting that asbestos products were safe.

The mesothelioma claim alleges one or more of the named conspirators “agreed in writing not to disclose the results of research on the effects of asbestos upon health unless the results suited their interests.”

In addition, at least one of the conspirators allegedly had an agreement with the editors of ASBESTOS trade magazine to never run articles that indicted asbestos was linked to any disease. The agreement allegedly was in place from the 1930s to the 1970s.

The Mesothelioma Claim Lawsuit is Case No. 1:18-cv-02662 in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, County Department, Law Division.