O’Connor Terminal Co. Inc.

O'Connor Terminal Co. Inc. employees exposed to asbestos

The job of construction workers involved a lot of dangerous asbestos products during the last century, as asbestos was ideal as insulation, and it was also cheap for companies to use. Asbestos was usually found in building materials such as paint, spackling, roof shingles, masonry compounds, and drywall. By disturbing these construction products, employees would inevitably inhale and ingest toxic dust from the air. Frequent exposure to asbestos, particularly in large amounts, which occurred in the case of construction workers, puts the employee at high risk of developing a harrowing, life-threatening disease such as mesothelioma or lung cancer.

Between the 1920s and the 1980s, the workers of O'Connor Terminal Co. Inc. would be exposed to asbestos in the following ways:

• Masonry workers would mix raw asbestos fibers with the compounds for bricks, stones, or blocks. Subsequently, when cutting or demolishing these products, asbestos dust would cloud the air. These employees would also create asbestos dust by scraping up dry asbestos mortar and concrete.
• During the last century, manufacturers would add asbestos to the joint compound used for drywall in a concentration between 3% and 15%. Furthermore, drywall tape would often contain asbestos itself. When workers cut drywall panels down to size or fastened the products to the framework of the building, they would release asbestos fibers into the air.
• There are several paints and textured coatings, such as popcorn ceilings that contain a lot of asbestos. Numerous painters would spray spackling containing asbestos on surfaces before painting them. A survey from 2018 ranked painters in the top five occupational groups with the highest exposure to hazardous chemicals and toxic additives.
• Roofers would often spray asbestos asphalt cutback or asphalt emulsions on roofs or tore up old roof flashings when they were installing new ones. Undoubtedly, the product that poses the greatest health danger to these workers is asbestos shingles.

There are numerous construction workers on a site, each specializing in a trade. When they would work together in the same area, which was usually the case of most construction workers, they would create plenty of asbestos dust that would linger in the air. They were exposed to asbestos from their own activities, as well as from the activities of their co-workers. The following are the employees O'Connor Terminal exposed to asbestos before the 1980s, whether directly or indirectly:

• bricklayers
• heavy equipment operators
• carpenters
• remodelers
• insulators
• laborers
• pipefitters
• roofers
• tile setters

Secondary asbestos exposure, a serious concern for the family members of O'Connor Terminal Co. Inc. workers

Today, most people know that asbestos is very dangerous when it is disturbed, as it can release toxic fibers that anyone in close proximity will inhale and ingest. Asbestos is a known human carcinogen. However, while these facts about the mineral had been known by companies since the early 1920s, workers still had to handle asbestos on the job without protective equipment, as the companies were striving to keep the illusion that asbestos was safe. When the truth came to light, dozens of asbestos companies filed for bankruptcy and set up trust funds, as they could not afford to give compensation to former ill employees.

If you shared a home with a worker of O'Connor Terminal and now have a disease that seems related to asbestos exposure, you should give our law firm a call, as you may obtain compensation for your distress. Because workers were not required to change their clothes at the end of the day either, they would bring asbestos dust in their homes on a regular basis, exposing their family members. Usually, their wives would inhale asbestos fibers when washing their work clothes, while their children would come in contact with asbestos when greeting their fathers.

Legal assistance in wrongful death asbestos exposure cases for family members

If you lost a family member to a disease caused by occupational asbestos exposure and they had not sought compensation while alive, you can choose to file a wrongful death claim on their behalf. To file this type of claim, you must be a sibling, parent, child, or spouse of the deceased person. All you need to do if you wish to file a wrongful death claim is to give our legal team a call, explain your situation thoroughly, and send our legal experts the employment and medical records of your family member along with their death certificate.

Our skilled lawyers will carefully review your situation, and they will eventually let you know whether you qualify for filing a wrongful death claim. If you do, they will quickly begin preparing it for submission while you can take care of more urgent matters. Your participation in the legal process will be minimal, as we will take care of the most complex aspects for you. We know that people who lost a family member to a terrible disease such as cancer have a difficult time, which is why we will attend to the most important matters on your behalf. In the end, following submission, you will receive the money you are entitled to.