Woman cites secondary exposure to asbestos in her lawsuit

In our last post, we discussed the fact that family members of people who work with asbestos are at risk of being exposed and suffering an asbestos-related illness. This is known as secondary or indirect exposure, and it is something that has put many lives in danger.

Recently, for example, a woman filed a lawsuit against 47 companies after she was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a devastating illness caused by asbestos. She never worked with asbestos-containing materials herself, but over the course of 40 years, she says she was exposed to the deadly fiber as a result of her husband and son’s jobs.

According to reports about the lawsuit, the woman claims that her husband and son tracked the asbestos into the home on their bodies and clothes. Her husband worked at a boat company changing brake pads and her son worked on an oil rig, which are both industries and lines of work where asbestos exposure is a very serious risk.

When people work with asbestos, they should be wearing adequate protective gear and understand the proper way to remove any traces of asbestos dust to avoid tracking it around. Unfortunately, employers cut corners when it comes to asbestos regulation compliance, especially decades ago when oversight and reporting was much less visible. This left workers and family members all over the country vulnerable to the devastating effects of asbestos.

In cases like the one recently filed, it seems clear that workers were not properly protected from asbestos at work and did not understand the risk that exposure posed to their health and the health of their loved ones. This could be an indicator of negligence on the part of product manufacturers, employers and other parties who should have taken more seriously their duty to protect people from unsafe products, which could be grounds for a lawsuit.