Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma in Louisiana
With Louisiana’s close proximity to both the sea and sources of crude oil, it should come as no surprise that the state has a large number of oil refineries, petrochemical plants, and shipbuilding facilities. Unfortunately, those are the types of operations that used dangerously large quantities of asbestos at job sites in which workers labored without any warnings about the hazards of asbestos. Inhalation of airborne asbestos, a fibrous material once used for its heat- and fire-retardant properties, can cause mesothelioma and other serious illness but generally doesn’t show symptoms until a few decades after exposure.
Anyone exposed to asbestos that has been disturbed, causing fibers to be released, particularly if it occurred on the job over a long period of time, may be at risk for developing mesothelioma. It is well-established that even brief or “low-level” exposures can cause mesothelioma. Asbestos exposures at the following five worksites in Louisiana exposed large numbers of workers and their family members to asbestos. These are just examples of a few of the many job sites in Louisiana in which the lawyers at MesoLawyersCare have successfully handled legal claims:
1. Avondale Shipyard
The sprawling shipyard, headquarters building, multiple wharves, floating dry dock, and other assets of the Avondale Shipyard comprise roughly 229 acres (2 million square feet of which is enclosed), employing more than 5,500 people. Avondale Shipyard, one of the largest shipbuilders in the country, started building military and commercial ships and other vessels in the 1950s. For example, in 2016, a Louisiana jury awarded $5.5 million to a man suffering from mesothelioma from his work as an insulator at a facility owned by Avondale (among other defendants corresponding to other worksites). Specifically, the jury found that Avondale and two other parties were negligent when they failed to warn about the dangers of exposure and failed to exercise due care in protecting the workers. Companies that have been found liable or that have settled mesothelioma cases involving exposure at the Avondale Shipyard include the shipyard itself, insulation suppliers, insulation contractors, manufacturers of gaskets and packing and equipment companies. The attorneys at MesoLawyersCare have successfully represented both workers and their family members that have developed mesothelioma from exposure from this shipyard.
2. ExxonMobil Refinery (Baton Rouge)
The ExxonMobil oil refinery in Baton Rouge, originally built by Standard Oil in 1909, is flanked by petrochemical processors, aluminum plants, natural gas facilities, and other complementary industrial sites. Since oil refineries regularly heat petroleum and its byproducts to high temperatures and there’s always a risk of fire, refineries once used large amounts of asbestos in the construction and regular maintenance of the facilities (the use of paint containing asbestos, for example). In 2000, a Louisiana jury awarded $9.25 million to the surviving family members of two men who died from malignant mesothelioma roughly 50 years after they were first exposed to asbestos. They worked at the Baton Rouge Exxon (prior to its merger with Mobil) refinery from the mid-1940s to the 1970s. The lawyers from MesoLawyersCare are familiar with the asbestos exposures that occurred at this refinery based on historical documents obtained in litigation and based on successfully representing workers and their families who suffered asbestos exposure from this job site.
3. American Cyanamid Chemical Plant (Waggaman)
American Cyanamid (now a subsidiary of Germany-based BASF), founded in 1907, manufactured household products such as household cleaners and shampoos as well as pharmaceuticals and other chemical-based goods. Asbestos was used throughout its facilities, including its chemical plant in Waggaman (constructed in 1952). The Louisiana plant, which is now owned by Cornerstone Chemical Company, covered roughly 800 acres and employed nearly 500 workers. In an appeal by American Cyanamid to an award of $3.5 million to the spouse of a worker who died from mesothelioma, where the spouse also developed the illness through contact with her husband, the company unsuccessfully argued that it had no duty to protect her health (as a non-employee). The court disagreed, affirming the lower court’s judgment. MesoLawyersCare has represented many clients who have developed asbestos-related disease, including mesothelioma, from the dangerous use of asbestos at this job site.
4. Shell Oil and Chemical Plants (Norco)
The Norco Refinery, purchased by Shell Oil in 1929, started out as a modest refinery in 1919 and grew to become one of the world’s largest petrochemical manufacturing facilities. It processes roughly 200,000 barrels of oil per day and employs about 1,400 workers. Asbestos exposure at the plant came mainly from the use of asbestos-based insulation, asbestos-cement pipes, asbestos-based floor and ceiling tiles, gaskets, packing and other components. In a case brought by a former pipefitter at the Norco-based plant (in the early 1970s) that was appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2009, Justices affirmed the lower court’s decision to award the plaintiff $2.8 million for general damages. At issue was whether the award was excessive. In cases against the oil and chemical industry, the MesoLawyersCare attorneys draw upon a large volume of internal documents showing that the companies actually knew about the hazards of asbestos at the time of our clients’ asbestos exposures. Yet, these companies failed to provide adequate warnings so that workers could protect themselves and their family members.
5. Cities Service Company
Founded in Oklahoma in 1910, the Cities Service Company (now a part of petroleum company Citgo) operates a number of oil wells and refineries throughout Louisiana, including facilities in Lake Charles and Westlake. As in other refineries during the early to mid 20th century, the Cities Service facilities used large quantities of asbestos-containing materials such as insulation and ceiling tiles. Also common among oil refineries and other facilities that used asbestos is the companies’ unwillingness to take precautionary measures when the dangers of asbestos became well known, partially due to the long lead time from exposure to illness, which is why so many workers became exposed. The attorneys with MesoLawyersCare have decades of experience in mesothelioma cases involving exposure to asbestos at oil refineries.
The legal professionals from MesoLawyersCare have recovered more than $10 billion dollars for people diagnosed with mesothelioma. Our firm has successfully represented workers exposed to asbestos in Louisiana. For more information or a free consultation, fill out the form on this page, have a live chat now with one of our representatives, or call our offices.
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