North Carolina residents who worked in close proximity to asbestos-containing products, such as pipe fitters, plumbers and boiler installers, are generally thought to be the typical asbestos victim. Another class of victims is now emerging - wives who contracted an asbestos-related disease after years of washing their husband's asbestos-contaminated clothing.
Asbestos contractors target homeless, other vulnerable people
This blog has written about asbestos contractors who face fines and prison sentences for failing to follow proper procedures in removing asbestos and in protecting their workers. A recent federal court trial in Detroit reveals a new variant: asbestos removal contractors who hire persons living in homeless shelters, undocumented immigrants or other vulnerable persons to remove asbestos-containing products from buildings undergoing renovation. The newspaper report of the trial stated that similar examples have been discovered across the country, and North Carolina residents are therefore potentially at risk for such exploitation.
Faulty respirator leads to $16 million asbestos verdicts
Most people in North Carolina are familiar with respirator masks, those small paper-like masks that cover the lower half of a person's face. The masks are sold for a number of different purposes, from preventing inhalation of dust while cleaning a garage or attic to keeping asbestos fibers out of workers' lungs. Unfortunately, not all such masks are effective in preventing the inhalation of asbestos fibers, and not all manufacturers took pains to warn workers of this failing. In a recent case in California, a jury awarded $16 million in compensatory damages to a machinist who used the masks but was unaware of the fact that they could not prevent asbestos product exposure.
