The McCrossin, Lockheed, Asbestos & Mesothelioma case documents what many brake mechanics, Navy veterans and others may face today – past potential direct and secondary exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma. The court ruled: For the foregoing reasons, genuine issues of material fact exist as to causation, an essential element of plaintiff’s claims, as it relates to both Lockheed and Lone Star. The Court should deny defendants’ motions for summary judgments.
A brief summary of the facts include:
- In the 1960s, the U.S. Navy (“Navy”) contracted with Lockheed to build an amphibious Transport Dock warship, the USS Trenton (“Trenton”).
- In 1971, the Trenton was built according to the Navy’s specifications as required under the contract. Among other things, the contract required that the Trenton contain asbestos-containing materials. Plaintiff alleges that these materials included refractory cement known as Insulag.
- Plaintiff further alleges that these materials were distributed by Lone Star’s predecessor, Pioneer Sand & Gravel (“Pioneer”), a Seattle based company. Id.
- In 1959, before the Navy contracted with Lockheed to build the Trenton, Lone Star had acquired Pioneer.
- Between 1974 and 1976, Mr. John L. McCrossin served in the Navy aboard the Trenton as a personnelman. Plaintiff alleges that Mr. McCrossin was exposed to asbestos during both the Trenton’s normal operations and the Trenton’s first overhaul in New York in 1975.
- Plaintiff alleges that, during the overhaul, the majority of asbestos originally installed on the Trenton remained in place.
- In addition to performing his duties as a personnelman during the overhaul, Mr. McCrossin stated in his deposition that he stood “fire watches” eight to twelve hours per week in the Trenton’s engine rooms. There, after workers would finish their job, Mr. McCrossin stated in his deposition that he would be called upon to clean out debris; he recalled that insulation was torn out from steam lines, that refractory was torn out of boilers, and that dust and debris were everywhere, a condition that, he claimed, exposed him to asbestos.
- Mr. McCrossin claimed that, as a result, he developed malignant mesothelioma, a form of cancer that can develop when one inhales asbestos particles, which was diagnosed on February 21, 2014.
- Mr. McCrossin died on August 26, 2014, at the age of 58. As a threshold matter, Lockheed argues that maritime law governs this case.
To find out more on the case, see Case No. 3:14-cv-05382 – February 11, 2015.
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