Wisconsin Man Names 49 Defendants in Asbestos Case

June 23, 2006 - Donald Crawford, a Fairview Heights, Wisconsin resident, has filed suit against nearly 50 companies for failure to warn him of the dangers of exposure to asbestos and dangerous airborne asbestos fibers. 

The plaintiff was employed by Union Electric from 1949 until 1988 as a millwright and engineer at various locations, including the Venice Powerhouse in Venice.  His claim states that “during the course of his employment he was exposed to and inhaled, ingested or otherwise absorbed large amounts of asbestos fibers emanating from asbestos-containing products he was working with or around including pipe covering, block insulation, mud/cement and fireproofing.”

He also claims to have worked with “mastics, gaskets, packing pipe, wall compound, plaster, floor and ceiling tile, siding, shingles, roofing, friction material, raw asbestos fiber and machinery with asbestos” supplied by the 49 defendants.

An article in the Madison County Record notes that Crawford was diagnosed with asbestosis in July 2004 and that his condition is worsening.  Attorneys maintain that the defendants “knew or should have known” that the asbestos fibers contained in their products would be harmful and damaging to the health of those who worked with the products on a daily basis. 
Specifically, the complaint states that “the defendants failed to exercise ordinary care and caution for his safety” by:

• Including asbestos in their products, even though it was foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated that people working with or around the products would inhale or ingest large amounts of asbestos;
• Including asbestos in their products when they knew that the asbestos fibers would be harmful and damaging to the health of people inhaling or ingesting them;
• Including asbestos in their products when adequate substitutes were available;
• Not providing warnings to people working with or around asbestos;
•  Not providing any or adequate instructions concerning the safe methods of working with or around asbestos; and
• Not conducting tests in the asbestos or asbestos-containing products to determine the hazards to which workers might be exposed while working with the products.

Some of the 49 defendants named in the suit are large companies such as General Electric, John Crane, Honeywell International, A.W. Chesterton, Union Carbide and Viacom.