A widow from Beaumont, Texas is suing a major oil company alleging that the company exposed her late husband to asbestos which led to his death from lung cancer.

According to the asbestos lung cancer lawsuit, Donaldson P. worked for the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) back when the company was Sinclair-Kopper. The asbestos cancer lawsuit was filed by Donaldson’s widow, Wilma P. This asbestos lung cancer lawsuit holds that Donaldson’s work exposed him to asbestos fibers, which caused his eventual asbestos lung cancer.

Asbestos Exposure Dangers

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral that has some very useful properties—but also can cause serious health problems like asbestos cancer. Asbestos is comprised of tiny, glass-like fibers. These fibers are functionally fireproof, even under industrial conditions. Additionally, asbestos is an exceptional thermal insulator. This would make asbestos very useful, if it didn’t carry the risk of asbestos cancers like asbestos lung cancer.

Asbestos exposure is tightly linked to a wide range of serious health problems. Asbestos lung cancer, as well as mesothelioma, is more likely in individuals who worked with asbestos. This connection between asbestos and diseases like lung cancer has been postulated by medical science since the end of the 19th century, the connection was firmly established in medicine by the 1920s. Scientists have several working models to explain the link between asbestos exposure and lung cancer. It is believed that asbestos fibers are small enough to directly damage DNA, promoting cancer. Others speculate that asbestos fibers promote inflammation in various tissues, promoting cancer. Though the exact mechanism is not known, the connection between asbestos and asbestos cancers like lung cancer are well-demonstrated.

Despite the long-standing knowledge of asbestos cancers, asbestos came into widespread use during the Industrial Revolution and continued to be deployed in construction, shipbuilding, and manufacturing. In fact, many of the warships built during World War II included asbestos as fireproofing and insulating material. It was not until the 1970s and 80s that asbestos was fully phased out in the United States. Unfortunately, it can take decades for asbestos cancers like lung cancer to fully manifest, and as such, asbestos lawsuits are still working their way through the court system.

Asbestos Lawsuits

Asbestos lawsuits typically allege that companies like ARCO knew—or reasonably should have known—that working with asbestos could eventually lead to asbestos cancers like lung cancer or mesothelioma. Asbestos lawsuits further allege that this exposure led to serious health consequences, like lung cancer. Asbestos lawsuits typically seek compensation for wrongful death, pain and suffering, medical costs, lost wages, and other costs related to lung cancer or other asbestos cancers.

The Asbestos Cancer Lawsuit is Case No. E-196279, filed in the Jefferson County District Court.