ConnocoPhillips indicated in asbestos trial
Early last month Troy Loften was awarded more than $15 million after his former employer was found to have negligently exposed him to dangerous asbestos dust.
Troy Loften suffers from asbestosis, a crippling disease caused by asbestos exposure which attacks the lungs and causes severe respiratory difficulty as well as general pains and weakness. In addition to being reliant on a 24 hour supply of oxygen, he also suffers from a severely diminished quality of life and a much greater risk of developing mesothelioma or another fatal cancer triggered by asbestos.
The lawsuit against CP Chem showed that Troy was required to handle large amounts of materials that contained dangerous amounts of asbestos. One product in particular, a material known as Flosal, was often shipped to Troy and his co-workers in 50 lb bags; they were then required to dump the dusty contents into other equipment by hand. Flosal, as was shown in the lawsuit, contains asbestos dust, and this dumping process thoroughly contaminated the air with microscopic asbestos fibers which are incredibly dangerous when inhaled.
While regulations for enforcing the safe handling of asbestos were not in place until the late 1980’s, the health concerns associated with the substance have been around for nearly one hundred years. Medical studies published as early as the 1920’s and 1930’s noted scarring of the lungs in asbestos factory workers, and by the middle of the century the substance could be directly linked to various serious and even fatal diseases.
Asbestos companies worked to suppress information about the substance’s health hazards, owing to its importance in various industries and its growing profitability. These efforts effectively postponed the formation of state and federal restrictions throughout much of the twentieth century, allowing hundreds of thousands of individuals to develop serious asbestos related illnesses as a direct consequence.
Today, state and federal regulations severely limit the use of asbestos in the United States, and oversee its safe handling and proper disposal. While the laws have only been around since the late 1980’s, companies that acted wrongfully while possessing knowledge that asbestos fibers can cause disease and death can be held liable in a court of law.
Troy Loften’s successful lawsuit of a division of Conoco Phillips could very well open the floodgates for similar cases. Already, more than 700 additional lawsuits involving former employees of the oil company are pending.
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