Sixteen Joint Asbestos Suits Filed

July 13, 2006 - In a state where asbestos suits are at a record high, lawyers filed 16 joint asbestos suits this week in a Kanawha County, West Virginia court, naming a total of 143 defendants.

Each of the 17-count complaints allege that the plaintiffs "were exposed to and did inhale asbestos dust and other dust from products of the defendants, which caused the conditions … resulting in disability." 

The complaints also stated that “the injuries and cause of action occurred in West Virginia as a result of the defendant corporations doing business in West Virginia.”

The plaintiffs were employed by a number of different companies in a variety of different fields including boilermakers, electricians, crane operators, painters, glassworkers, steelworkers and bricklayers. They live or lived in a number of different states, including West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Illinois.

According to an article in the West Virginia Record, some of the plaintiffs worked at Weirton Steel, others at Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel.  Many of the suits have been filed on behalf of individuals who are already deceased.  The article also states that all the men had or have asbestosis and that the majority of the plaintiffs were or are stricken with mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs and the chest cavity, caused by inhalation of asbestos fibers.

In addition, the complaint states that the plaintiffs were exposed to products made by various defendants, and the products reached the plaintiffs' job sites or plaintiffs' locales.  They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.