North Carolina plaintiff Christopher S. is suing several manufacturing companies including Colgate-Palmolive Company, DAP Products Inc., and Georgia-Pacific LLC for his asbestos-related injuries. Christopher claims that in direct result of the defendants’ negligent actions, he developed asbestos mesothelioma.

According to the asbestos cancer lawsuit, Christopher states that he has been exposed to asbestos throughout his life without awareness, until now. Christopher alleges his exposure to asbestos began in his childhood, after using one of the defendant’s products, talcum baby powder, for hygienic purposes. The next period of asbestos exposure was between the years of 1969 to 1987, when he assisted his father in renovating their personal home; the building materials were composed of asbestos. The other period of asbestos exposure was between 1977 and 1990, when he was making repairs to his car, to which asbestos was a component in the car parts.

Christopher was diagnosed with the asbestos cancer known as mesothelioma sometime in February 2015, a form of lung cancer specifically caused by asbestos fibers becoming lodged in the mucous layer surrounding the lung cavity. While it has a long inactive period, mesothelioma victims often do not have a lot of treatment options by the time they are diagnosed — mesothelioma can take from 20 to 50 years to show any symptoms.

The asbestos cancer lawsuit further claims that none of the defendants provided any kind of advanced warning to Christopher or his family about the fact that their products contain asbestos and the health risks related to it. Christopher insists that if he had known about the dangers asbestos presented, then he never would have used the defendants’ products.

Christopher is suing Colgate-Palmolive Company, DAP Products Inc., Georgia-Pacific LLC, and other manufacturing companies for being allegedly responsible for manufacturing, distributing, marketing, and selling dangerous products. The charges include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

Overview of Mesothelioma Complications

Mesothelioma is an extremely rare and aggressive form of lung cancer that is specifically caused by asbestos exposure. This cancer typically develops when the patient inhales the asbestos fibers, which then causes the fibers to become lodged in the mucus lining of the lung cavity. This cancer can also be caused through second-hand asbestos exposure, after victims inhale the fibers attached to clothes. Asbestos fibers themselves are fibrous particles that are 700 times smaller than a human hair and were commonly used in various products before the 1990s for chemical and flammable resistant qualities.

One of the ways asbestos was commonly used was in installation materials in products like boilers, pipes, fire doors, electrical fittings, roofing, and other construction materials. While asbestos is not harmful when left undisturbed, the dangers of asbestos exposure increase when the fibers become airborne, putting those exposed to it at risk. Experts warn that asbestos exposure is most likely to occur in mines, shipyards, railroads, power plants, and construction sites. By proxy, retired citizens who had worked in certain fields of occupation may be at high risk for developing mesothelioma or other asbestos injuries, these occupations include: boiler or furnace technicians, car mechanics, construction workers, Navy shipyard workers, and other similar work fields.

The health hazards of asbestos exposure have become so widespread that an asbestos litigation movement began in the 1960s after numerous shipyard and military veterans reported being diagnosed with mesothelioma. This battle still persists today, with over 600,000 plaintiffs and 6,000 defendants involved in asbestos litigation; making it the longest-running mass tort in American history.

The Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. 1:2015cv00286, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, Greensboro Division.