A man has filed a lawsuit alleging the companies his dad worked for did not protect his father from carcinogenic dust that caused him lung cancer after asbestos exposure.

Plaintiff Michael L. says his father Maurice L. died Sept. 20, 2017 of asbestos lung cancer that was diagnosed March 6, 2017.

Michael claims his father’s initial exposure to asbestos occurred when Maurice worked for Narragansett Airways as a laborer, pilot and aviation mechanic. His father also held positions as a laborer and mechanic at Northeast Airlines, Gillette Corp. and ITT Corporation. He worked on both repairs and new construction at all of the companies, Michael says.

Maurice allegedly handled asbestos-containing packing, asbestos-containing gaskets and other asbestos-containing products, all of which created large amounts of asbestos-containing dust that he “inhaled on a frequent and recurring basis.”

Michael alleges his father also worked with asbestos-containing friction materials, components, insulation and asbestos-insulated aircraft engines. Maurice purportedly used sealants, coatings, adhesives and brake products that also were asbestos-based.

Michael says his father worked with a variety of asbestos-based products from the 1940s through the 1970s.

Allegations of Lung Cancer After Asbestos Exposure

During the years Maurice worked with asbestos-based products, he allegedly inhaled tainted dust and asbestos fibers. After years of working in polluted environments, Maurice allegedly developed lung cancer after asbestos exposure.

As early as 1932, studies showed a large number of employees at a Manville, N.J. factory suffered from asbestosis, including employees who were not directly involved in the manufacturing of asbestos-laced materials. Manville and the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company allegedly worked together to suppress the study from publication in order to prevent workers from knowing about the adverse health effects of asbestos exposure.

Asbestosis is scarring of the lung tissue caused by inhaled asbestos dust over a long period of time. Asbestosis makes it hard to breathe and may take 20 years after exposure before the symptoms become evident.

The asbestos lung cancer lawsuit alleges Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Johns Manville Corporation and Raymark Industries, Inc. hid the test results that “clearly indicated that the inhalation of asbestos dust and fibers… were unreasonably dangerous, hazardous, deleterious to human health, carcinogenic and potentially deadly.”

Even though the dangers of asbestos have been known for decades, many employers, including those who employed Maurice, are accused of allegedly disregarding safety precautions that should be taken to protect workers from asbestos exposure.

According to the American Lung Association, “Nonsmoking asbestos workers are five times more likely to develop lung cancer than nonsmokers not exposed to asbestos; if they also smoke, the risk factor jumps to 50 or higher.”

Workers like Maurice who inhaled microscopic asbestos fibers years ago were never able to cough the material out of the their lungs because the fibers become embedded immediately. Over time, the fibers burrow deeper into the tissue of the lungs where they cause irritation to the point they eventually interfere with cellular structures. Damaged cells eventually produce cancer cells.

The Lung Cancer After Asbestos Exposure Lawsuit is Case No. 1:19-cv-10071-WGY in the Trial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Superior Court.