A shipyard lung diseaselawsuit has been filed by a man who claims his exposure to asbestos led to his ailments.

In December 2016, plaintiff Larry P. was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was also diagnosed in March 2017 with an asbestos-related pleural disease.

Since 1960, Larry worked in a variety of jobs that exposed him to asbestos. Airborne asbestos fibers are easily inhaled and land in the lining of the lungs, known as the pleura. Asbestos may remain in the lungs for 10 to 50 years before its effects become known.

The shipyard lung disease complaint says Larry’s inhalation of asbestos fibers over the years resulted in his development of “cumulative, progressive, incurable lung diseases.”

Plaintiff Says Work Environments Caused Shipyard Lung Disease

According to his asbestos lung disease lawsuit, Larry suffered asbestos exposure while on a number of jobs. As early as 1960, he worked in a shipyard where he helped demolish buildings. He tore down walls that were made of plaster and drywall joint compound, both of which allegedly contained asbestos. He also stripped insulation made of asbestos from pipes and helped demolish a vinyl asbestos tile floor.

Larry’s shipyard lung disease was further encouraged when he worked on new construction and repairs of submarines and boats. He says he was an insulator who cut, removed, and installed a variety of asbestos-based insulation materials.

He also claims he worked with asbestos-containing valves and gaskets while he was employed as a pipefitter’s helper. These parts often needed to be cut to fit, trimmed, or altered in a way that put asbestos fibers in the air.

Even when Larry worked in jobs that did not involve working directly with asbestos, his exposure to the toxic material was evident. He worked for a sugar company pouring brown sugar down chutes where it would be packaged. As a result of helping remodel a warehouse, he “worked in close proximity to insulators removing, cutting, and installing asbestos-containing insulation.”

As a driver for a parcel delivery service from 1964 to 1982, Larry delivered packages, but “was in close proximity to mechanics removing and replacing asbestos-containing brakes,” says the shipyard lung disease complaint. As an inspector for pipefitter work, Larry worked closely with welders who were using “worn, dusty asbestos cloth blankets.”

In his younger years, Larry says he repaired vehicles and helped his friends with their automotive repair work. His assistance included grinding asbestos-containing clutch linings prior to installation.

In the early 1950s, his family used a popular imitation snow product on Christmas trees. Larry says his family would use four or five boxes of an asbestos-containing product called Snowdrift every year on the family Christmas tree. Larry cleaned the floor of Snowdrift, and he and his brother participated in Snowdrift “snowball fights.”

Other childhood asbestos exposure unwittingly came from his father, who worked as a rigger at a shipyard. Larry says his dad would drive him to baseball practice and other places in the same car he used to drive to and from work while wearing asbestos-containing work clothes.

The Shipyard Lung Disease Lawsuit is Case No. 2:17-cv-02329-TLN-KJN in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.