General Electric Company

Workers exposed to asbestos

The company came to life following the merger between Thomas-Houston Electric Company and Edison General Electric in 1892. Along with other companies, General Electric formed in the 1920s the Radio Corporation of America. By 1980, GE came to be one of the world’s biggest companies being a manufacturer of nuclear reactors, jet engines, and other electronic products. Asbestos was used for an extended period of time in General Electric’s manufacturing process. Also, their machinery often needed to be insulated with asbestos-containing products, putting the lives of engineers, machinists, and maintenance workers in danger.

Claim Evaluation

General Electric Company employees exposed to asbestos

During the last century, General Electric Company made use of asbestos in large amounts, as the mineral has numerous convenient properties, such as excellent resistance to fire, electricity and a wide range of chemicals. Furthermore, it was also very cheap at the time. It is worthy of note that veterans may also have been exposed to asbestos by using the products of this company while they were serving in the military. Manufacturing a wide range of products, General Electric Company became one of the largest businesses in the world by 1980. The products it made would include nuclear reactors, consumer electronics, jet engines, plastic, furnaces, and turbines. Because such equipment required solid insulation, being prone to overheat, asbestos proved to be the ideal material once again, as it was very accessible and inexpensive. The occupations at the highest risk of developing a serious disease as a result of exposure to the asbestos products of this company are:

The majority of people who were employed at General Electric Company were exposed to asbestos between 1966 and 1986. So far, over 400,000 claims have been filed against the company by people whose health was severely and often irreversibly affected by occupational asbestos exposure. Some of the groups of workers who underwent asbestos exposure on the job are steelworkers, shipyard workers, government employees, and power plant workers. The asbestos turbines manufactured by General Electric Company were installed in approximately 22,000 sites across the U.S.

Asbestos related cancer eligible for filing a claim

If you developed one of the following cancers as a result of occupational exposure, you are eligible for compensation. If you are too ill, a family member can help you with the legal process. In the unfortunate event that you pass away before recovering compensation, your surviving family members will receive compensation on your behalf.

Lung Cancer Mesothelioma Throat Cancer Esophageal Cancer Bronchial Cancer Gastrointestinal Cancer Colorectal Cancer

If, however, you struggle with non-cancerous pleural diseases such as asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis, pleural plaques, pleural effusion, diffuse pleural thickening, COPD (emphysema & chronic bronchitis), pleurisy, lung nodules, lung spots, asthma, pneumonitis, tuberculosis, rounded atelectasis or lung scarring, please seek a second or even a third opinion as the rate of misdiagnosis is very high among the victims of asbestos exposure.

Victims of secondary asbestos exposure are entitled to financial compensation too


During the last century, asbestos companies – including General Electric Company – were lacking industrial hygiene, not being concerned with the safety of their workers in the slightest. Accordingly, employees were not provided with adequate equipment such as coveralls and respirators to wear on the job and they did not have to change their clothes at the end of the day either. The latter is the reason why asbestos fibers would so often make their way out of industrial settings, endangering the health of the general population. Because they are microscopic and have a rough texture, asbestos fibers can easily spread through the environment, and completely removing the hazard is impossible. Tragically, the families of General Electric Company employees were at considerable risk of breathing in carcinogenic fibers in their own homes, which could later result in terrible diseases. Nowadays, over 8% of people suffering from asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma developed their illness after regularly undergoing secondary exposure.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, namely with a former General Electric Company worker as a family member and struggling with a disease which might be the consequence of secondary asbestos exposure, we strongly advise you to contact a lawyer as soon as possible. However, the attorney you choose to work with should be specialized in toxic exposure cases and should also have relevant experience in handling such legal matters, as only such a professional will be able to provide the assistance and representation you need. Our lawyers have been dealing with asbestos cases for nearly 30 years and have recovered over $1.4 billion on behalf of asbestos victims hitherto. The main area of practice of Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. has been asbestos exposure ever since the beginning, as we were aware of how complex and difficult to pursue these cases are. For more information, please contact us and we will gladly answer any questions you might have.

Legal assistance in wrongful death asbestos exposure cases for family members

The surviving family members of a worker who developed a disease as a result of occupational asbestos exposure but has not taken legal action during their lifetime are also eligible for compensation. With over 25 years of experience in pursuing compensation for the victims of asbestos exposure and their family members, our attorneys will help you recover the money you deserve on behalf of your loved one. While it is very complex, the legal process requires minimal involvement on your part, as the majority of the aspects, such as the claim and the documents which must accompany it, will be efficiently handled by our legal team. If you have a family member who lost their lives to a disease that was caused by workplace asbestos exposure, do not hesitate to contact our law firm for quality legal assistance. It is important to know that, because we work on a contingency fee basis, you will not have to pay anything unless we recover compensation for you.