A man is joining thousands of others by filing a lawsuit against his former employers for that he developed cancer from asbestos.

Plaintiff Helmut E. filed the cancer from asbestos lawsuit as a citizen and resident of New Bern, N.C.

He says that while regularly working for several employers, including American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Audi of America LLC., and Volkswagen Group of America Inc., that he was directly exposed to “asbestos-containing vehicles, products, and parts and/or worked regularly in close proximity to others who were handling, installing, and manipulating these asbestos-containing materials.”

The many years of exposure and frequency of exposure to asbestos greatly contributed to his development of asbestos mesothelioma, alleges Helmut in his lawsuit against his former employers.

The cancer from asbestos lawsuit was filed on multiple counts including strict liability, negligence, failure to warn, breach of warranty, and recklessness.

Overview: Cancer from Asbestos

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), asbestos forms in the environment as bundles of fibers. They are durable, thin, resistant to heat, fire, and chemicals, and do not conduct electricity. These are some of the reasons why asbestos fibers have been extensively used across different industrial and commercial applications.

Since the late 1800s, asbestos fibers have been used commercially in North America with increasing usage throughout World War II. Some industries where asbestos has been extensively used include the building and construction industries, shipbuilding industry, and automotive industry.

However, asbestos was banned by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1989 for uses such as in wallboard patching compounds and gas fireplaces. Due to asbestos health hazards the EPA, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have all classified asbestos as carcinogenic, or a product that causes cancer.

There are several serious and severe adverse side effects linked to asbestos exposure. According to the NCI, asbestos exposure can cause serious health hazards such as asbestosis, or the “inflammatory condition affecting the lungs that can cause shortness of breath, coughing, and permanent lung damage.” Other potential health hazards linked to asbestos exposure includes: mesothelioma, or a tumor of the tissue that lines the lungs, nonmalignant lung and pleural disorders, pleural thickening, benign pleural effusions, and pleural plaques.

Those most at risk for the development of an asbestos-related disease includes through that have substantial or great environmental contact with asbestos and often work directly with asbestos. This often includes those who have worked on military ships or facilities, those who have worked in the construction or heavy industry, or those who work at an asbestos mine or asbestos processing plant. Additional asbestos exposure could also occur in residential areas or by living near an asbestos mine/contaminated site.

However, they NIC does advise that, at some point, “Everyone is exposed to asbestos at some time during their life.”

The Cancer from Asbestos Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01327, in the Superior Court J.D. of Fairfield at Bridgeport.