Alabama Shipyard Asbestos Lawyer

Shipyard Asbestos Attorney in Alabama, GA

If you or a loved one worked for years in a shipyard on the Gulf Coast or other parts of Alabama, an Alabama shipyard asbestos lawyer from Wallace & Graham, P.A., can help you hold negligent corporations accountable for their decades of reckless behavior. Asbestos has long been used to insulate boilers, turbines, and pipes aboard naval and commercial ships.

As a result, workers at shipyards like those in Mobile and Pascagoula may have breathed in these toxic fibers on a daily basis for years without realizing the dangers. Today, many of those workers and their families are fighting mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases that are directly linked to shipyard asbestos exposure.

Hire a Shipyard Asbestos Lawyer

The founding attorneys of Wallace & Graham, P.A., Mona Lisa Wallace and Bill Graham, have been helping shipyard workers and Navy veterans for more than 30 years. In the process, we have uncovered how corporations continued to use asbestos insulation, gaskets, and boiler materials even after they knew it could cause deadly diseases like mesothelioma.

We can help Alabama shipyard workers fight back by combining legal, medical, and historical research to file a claim and obtain compensation for the damages they have suffered.

Common Shipyard Jobs With the Highest Asbestos Exposure

Thousands of Alabamians spent their working lives in shipyards where asbestos fibers were a daily presence. Pipes, boilers, and turbines were all lined with this deadly material. Tasks as simple as repairs or cleanup could easily cause asbestos to become airborne and put your health at risk. In many cases, workers didn’t have to touch asbestos materials to be exposed.

If the dust became airborne, everyone in the shipyard could be at risk of exposure. Shipyard workers who were most often at risk include:

• Pipefitters and boilermakers who removed insulation
• Machinists and electricians who worked on engine repairs
• Welders who worked in tight, poorly ventilated spaces
• Painters and sandblasters who disturbed asbestos-containing surfaces

Shipbuilding Along Alabama’s Gulf Coast

From Mobile Bay to Pascagoula, shipyards have a long history in naval and commercial maritime activity. Shipbuilding companies like Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Company (ADDSCO) employed thousands of residents who unknowingly inhaled asbestos daily.

As they repaired old ships and built new ones, toxic asbestos fibers were released into the air, only to remain suspended for years. Now, many of those same workers and even those who lived nearby are being diagnosed with mesothelioma decades later.

The Lasting Health Impact of Shipyard Asbestos Exposure

Shipyard workers continue to be among the highest occupational groups at risk for asbestos exposure. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that around 2,669 new cases of mesothelioma were diagnosed in the U.S. in 2022.

Of these cases, many are directly tied to commercial and military maritime work. In Alabama, work repairing ships and insulating pipes can cause deadly diseases like mesothelioma, lung cancer, and asbestosis up to 50 years after workers’ last day on the job.

Legal Options for Shipyard Workers and Their Families

Shipyard asbestos victims can often file for multiple types of compensation, although Alabama law generally gives victims just 2 years after diagnosis to file a claim.

For this reason, it is important for victims to act quickly and consult an Alabama shipyard asbestos lawyer as soon as possible. Legal counsel can help you determine your eligibility and work to obtain important documents like:

• Employment and naval records establishing a link between asbestos exposure and work sites
• Medical documentation that confirms the diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease
• Witness statements from coworkers or supervisors
• Historical information on asbestos-containing products used at work sites

FAQs

Where Did Asbestos Exposure Occur in Alabama Shipyards?

Shipyard workers along the Gulf Coast, particularly in Mobile and Pascagoula, routinely worked with asbestos. The mineral was heavily used as insulation on boilers, turbines, and steam lines throughout ships.

Workers installing, repairing, and removing the asbestos insulation on board ships, including repair crews, welders, and pipefitters, were directly exposed to airborne fibers. Shipyard administrative staff and nearby communities may have been secondarily exposed through dust that traveled home on work clothes and equipment.

Which Shipyard Jobs Were Most Dangerous?

Jobs that entailed working with high heat or in confined spaces, like boiler rooms or engine departments, had the highest risk of asbestos exposure. Constant exposure also existed for ship painters, electricians, and machinists who sanded, cut, or repaired insulation materials. Breathing in even small amounts of asbestos fibers in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces over a long period of time can lead to mesothelioma or asbestosis later in life.

How Does Shipyard Asbestos Exposure Cause Mesothelioma?

When asbestos materials are disturbed, their fibers become airborne and may be inhaled or swallowed. Once inside the body, the tiny fibers travel to the lungs or the lining of the abdomen, where they become trapped and cause irritation and scarring over time.

This long-term scarring may develop into mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs or abdomen. Repeated and prolonged exposure in enclosed spaces puts shipyard workers at a much higher risk.

What Is the Time Limit to File an Asbestos Claim in Alabama?

In Alabama, people diagnosed with mesothelioma typically have two years from the date of diagnosis to file a personal injury claim. In wrongful death cases, families also have two years to file a claim, beginning on the date of death.

Asbestos cases are unique in that they often rely on careful documentation and analysis of historical records. As such, it is vital to contact a shipyard asbestos lawyer in Alabama right away to protect your rights to compensation.

Contact an Alabama Shipyard Asbestos Lawyer

Shipbuilding has been a part of Alabama’s story since our state’s earliest days. Alabama workers have built and launched some of the most critical vessels to travel the world’s oceans. The ships built by these dedicated workers through intense labor and sacrifice became fundamental to America’s economic development and military security.

That service, however, came at a cost: exposure to deadly asbestos fibers. The bill for that work continues to be paid each year by families across Alabama. At Wallace & Graham, P.A., we help families uncover the facts behind their exposure and fight for accountability. Hire a shipyard asbestos lawyer to take the first step toward healing and closure.