In Harm's Way: Asbestos Exposure in the Navy
Representation of Navy Veterans Exposed to Asbestos
About 30 percent of mesothelioma victims are military veterans, and U.S. Navy personnel were the most heavily exposed to asbestos. At sea and on the docks. In shipyards and below decks. Sailors and officers.
The dangers of asbestos exposure were sounded in 1939 by the Navy Surgeon General, but asbestos was heavily used — in fact mandated by Navy brass to be used in shipbuilding — for at least another 40 years after that.
Our clients were shipyard and dry dock workers, longshoremen, engineers and mechanics, pipefitters and insulators, and enlisted men and officers who suffered second-hand exposure from the work their shipmates performed. We have brought successful lawsuits involving heavy asbestos exposure from boilers and turbines, or the asbestos-laden piping, wiring, valves and pumps aboard Navy ships.
These men and women never knew the dangers of the materials and machines they worked with. They never knew that, decades after their military service, the toxic fibers were still working their slow poison.
Legal Recourse
Our lawyers pursue all avenues of compensation to pay for the expensive, intensive medical treatment for the Navy retirees we serve:
- Veterans' Administration (VA) disability benefits
- Personal injury lawsuits against product manufacturers and shipbuilding companies
- Wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of family members for the economic loss and the victim's pain and suffering prior to death
- Jones Act claims for civilian sailors exposed to asbestos aboard ships
- Additional lawsuits against employers and manufacturers for asbestos exposure in civilian jobs after Navy careers
The statute of limitations, the grounds for lawsuits, the potential damages and other aspects of litigation vary widely from state to state. The law firm of Wallace & Graham has litigated asbestos claims for Navy personnel in virtually all fifty states.
Attorneys and law partners Bill Graham and Mona Lisa Wallace have nearly 40 years of combined experience in mesothelioma and other asbestos exposure litigation. Contact our Salisbury, North Carolina, law office for a free case evaluation and discussion of what to expect in your case.
