Lawsuit Alleges Defendants Knew Work Clothing Worn In Job Sites Full Of Asbestos-Containing Products Would Expose Person Washing Clothing To Asbestos Dust At Home
According to a June 2010 news article, “Suit alleges woman contracted mesothelioma by washing family’s work clothes”, Claudia Headley died of mesothelioma after cleaning work clothes covered with asbestos dust for years. Claudia’s surviving family members — husband, Robert, and two sons, Scott and Steven Headley — filed a wrongful death suit against Shell Energy North America, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobile Corp., and Alon USA.
Claudia’s family sued these companies because the companies should have warned the workers of the hazards of asbestos exposure at work and
should have taken necessary precautions to protect their employees.
Additionally, the defendants did not warn their employees about how the asbestos-containing products they worked with and around on the job could also put the health of family members at risk by means of indirect, at-home asbestos exposure (also commonly referred to as second-hand exposure).
It was the work clothes of her husband and son Scott, as well as her father, that Claudia washed for many years. Each of them worked at job sites where there was daily exposure to asbestos dust, and these workers did not change clothes before they came home from work.
The article quoted from the lawsuit Complaint this allegation: “Decedent contracted mesothelioma as a result of household exposure to asbestos from repeatedly checking the pockets of and washing the Family’s clothes, which were coated with asbestos dust.”
Even though the events in this article did not take place in North Carolina, second-hand asbestos exposure and subsequent tragedies, such as Claudia’s asbestos-related death, can happen anywhere.
Often times it can be determined how the asbestos exposure at the home happened and, in turn, an asbestos lawsuit for legal compensation can be filed on behalf of the mesothelioma victim or her surviving family.