A Montana woman recently filed an asbestos secondary exposure lawsuit against her late husband’s former employer after being diagnosed with asbestos disease.

The plaintiff, Mary R., alleges in her lawsuit that she suffered from asbestos secondary exposure in Libby, Mont., a town that was near a vermiculite mine loaded with asbestos. The town itself was exposed to asbestos fibers because of the mine’s nearby facilities.

Mary was not only a homeowner and resident of a community dangerously near to a mine dangerously filled with asbestos for over half a century, but also the wife to a lumbermill worker exposed to contaminated timber, leading to significant secondary asbestos exposure over the years.

Unfortunately, Mary has since been diagnosed with asbestos disease. According to her asbestos secondary exposure suit, however, she could have avoided this diagnosis had she been properly warned about the risks of asbestos exposure in the area.

She alleges that had her husband been provided with proper equipment and instruction to avoid taking asbestos fibers home with him, had workers been warned of the serious risk of asbestos secondary exposure to their families, and had the mining and lumber operations not exposed townspeople to this risk, the disease would not have happened.

According to her lawsuit, filed August 17, Mary has suffered loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and loss of insurability, among several other damages. Mary filed her asbestos secondary exposure lawsuit on multiple counts, including strict products liability, common law strict liability, and negligence.

Asbestos Mesothelioma

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral used for manufacturing purposes such as electrical or building insulation, as well as countless other uses. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, a substance capable of causing cancer.

Mesothelioma is a dangerous form of cancer that affects thousands of Americans each year. It attacks the lining of the lungs, a thin layer of tissue known as the mesothelium. Mesothelioma cancer generally take a long period of time to develop—there is usually a delay of several decades between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma cancer diagnosis.

The vast majority of mesothelioma cases can be linked with exposure to asbestos. Not of all these cases involve direct exposure to the substance. There are also people like Mary who may be exposed to asbestos fibers secondhand over long periods of time, allowing fibers to build up.

Filing an Asbestos Secondary Exposure Lawsuit

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer and believe you may have been exposed secondhand to asbestos fibers, such as when a loved one comes back home after being exposed to these dangerous fibers at work, you may be able to file an asbestos secondary exposure lawsuit.

Filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering of cancer like mesothelioma, but it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical bills and lost wages.

The Asbestos Secondary Exposure Lawsuit is Case No. 4:17-cv-00084-BMM, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.