Mesothelioma Lawsuits - Friday, April 13, 2007 11:32 - 0 Comments

Our Firm’s Mesothelioma Trial is Set in Texas

Mike Andrews, along with James Ferrell and Andrew McEnaney of the law firm of R.G. Taylor and Associates, will try an asbestos/mesothelioma death case in July against several corporate defendants in Beaumont, Texas. After working for over 40 years as a joiner, or marine carpenter, in the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, our client’s husband contracted mesothelioma. It is now being recognized that mesothelioma is a “signature disease” caused by exposure to asbestos. In fact, no other cause of mesothelioma is recognized by the American medical community. Occasionally defendants debate just how dangerous certain types of asbestos fibers are and offer experts who downplay the dangers, but the science is clear and irrefutable: mesothelioma is caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.

In his job as a joiner, our client’s husband was responsible for installing the interior surfaces of ships. Many of the interior surfaces were covered with a laminate material similar to formica material found on countertops. Although similar in appearance to formica, the material installed on ships was comprised of sandwiched inner layers of asbestos sheets covered by hard decorative coating. In some ships, joiners would install around a million square feet of asbestos laminate. Because the installation required the joiners to cut the material to custom fit the ship, the joiners and those nearby were continually exposed to hazardous airborne asbestos fibers. Unfortunately, premises owners and employers waited until the 1970s before instituting dust or airborne fiber protection procedures for employees and other persons exposed to the fibers. In addition to working at the Ingalls Shipyard, our client’s husband also worked at the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in Beaumont, Texas in the 1970s. As we look forward to presenting this case to a Jefferson County, Texas jury, we continue to evaluate mesothelioma cases around the country. We have dedicated an adequate number of lawyers and support personnel to this project. Mike Andrews is the lead lawyer for the firm on these cases.