Avondale Industries, Inc., now known as Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Inc. along with several other companies is facing a secondhand asbestos exposure lawsuit for failing to adequately inspect and provide sufficient warning to foreseeable users exposed to asbestos products deemed defective and unreasonably dangerous.

Plaintiffs Victor B., Sr., Victor B., Jr. and Ms. Nicole B. are the heirs of Ruth B. who they allege died from secondhand asbestos exposure.

They make the claim that the asbestos products, “and/or asbestos-containing equipment mined, manufactured, sold, distributed, supplied and/or used by these defendants were defective [and] unreasonably dangerous,” the asbestos lawsuit states.

The lawsuit recounts the incident where Victor B., as an intended bystander and worker, was exposed to the asbestos products and then transferred the dust particles home to his now deceased wife, Ruth B., who breathed in the asbestos contained clothing while doing laundry. This is known as secondhand asbestos exposure.

The asbestos lawsuit explains that “the decedent was exposed to and caused to inhale, during the decedent’s exposure period from approximately 1969 through at least the late 1970s dangerous amounts of asbestos dust and fibers during the routine handling and laundering of petitioner Victor [B.’s] asbestos contaminated clothing.”

Consequently, the complaint states that, “she developed mesothelioma from which she suffered and died.”

The secondhand asbestos exposure lawsuit alleges that the defects include the sale and distribution of the asbestos products as being unreasonably dangerous and that by possessing that unreasonable dangerous property, it presents a high potential for causing serious injury not limited to: cancer, respiratory disease, and death, as was the case with Ruth B.

Moreover, there was no sufficient warning or sufficient safety instructions that could have helped decrease the risks involved in being associated and exposed to the asbestos products. The defendants did not ensure proper safety precautions, and they did not ensure the safety of those users that were exposed to the asbestos products.

The asbestos lawsuit states that the defendants failed in inspecting “these products to assure sufficiency and adequacy of warnings and safety cautions.” Moreover, the defendants failed to “test or adequately test these products for defects or hazards they could present to the intended or foreseeable users,” the asbestos lawsuit argues.

Moreover, the defendants failed to “test or adequately test these products for defects or hazards they could present to the intended or foreseeable users,” the asbestos lawsuit argues.

The failure of the defendants to properly package these products, the failure of the defendant to alert the plaintiff for the need of adequate hygiene measures or assert proper procedures in controlling the level of exposure to asbestos, and failure to inform the plaintiff of probable risks to the exposure of asbestos products, deems the defendants liable in the plaintiff’s and decedent’s injuries, according to the family’s complaint.

The plaintiffs raise claims for strict liability and negligence as alleged in the complaint. They assert that the causes of action in negligence are due to the sale of the asbestos products and their contribution and proximate cause in the “decedent’s asbestos exposure and resultant malignant mesothelioma.”

The plaintiffs say the defendants lacked care in the use and handling of the asbestos products and failed to warn the plaintiff of the product’s hazards. Accordingly, “these defendants are strictly liable for manufacturing and selling dangerous and defective products.”

Alternatively, the defendants are allegedly liable for their negligence in manufacturing and selling dangerous and defective asbestos-containing products and for failing to properly warn regarding their dangers, the complaint said.

The Secondhand Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-CV-02636-JCZ-DEK, in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans for the State of Louisiana.