Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc. & Asbestos

Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc. (Raytech) employees exposed to asbestos

During the last century, Raybestos 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. The automotive components manufacturer Raybestos, formerly known as Raytech and, subsequently, as Raymark, is without a doubt one of the most notorious companies which have consciously exposed their workers to asbestos for over five decades. Not only were company executives ignoring scientific evidence pertaining to the dangers of asbestos, but they were also actively striving to conceal the health consequences of exposure for their own financial benefit.

The occupations at the highest risk of developing a serious disease as a result of the asbestos exposure either through working at this company or with their products are:

Tragically, numerous workers came to be diagnosed with harrowing diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma after handling asbestos on the job for years in a row. Since the latency period of the diseases that asbestos exposure can cause is between 10 and 50 years, new cases are still emerging every year throughout 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.

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.

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.

The attempts of Raybestos to cover up the dangers of asbestos exposure

Since the beginning, the company executives of Raybestos were aware of the terrible health effects asbestos exposure could have on their employees. Nevertheless, this did not stop the company from continuing to use asbestos in their automotive products, as it was a very convenient and cheap material.

Between 1920 and 1930, the company produced over 11 million feet of asbestos every year.
In 1935, the President of Raybestos, Sumner Simpson, wrote a letter to the general counsel of another asbestos manufacturing company in which the issue of asbestos was brought up by discussing whether the industry should discourage the media from reporting about the risks of asbestos exposure. “Our interests are best served by having asbestosis receive the minimum of publicity”, he wrote in the letter.
Subsequently, in 1939, the editor of the Asbestos magazine wrote a memo to Sumner Simpson, stating the following: “We understand that all this information on asbestos is to be kept confidential and that nothing should be published about asbestosis in Asbestos at present”. This memo was later used as another piece of evidence supporting the fact that the company knew about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

Finally, there are blueprints, diagrams, invoices, asbestos product packaging, depositions from leading experts, depositions of other asbestos victims throughout Pennsylvania, and medical and scientific literature from asbestos product manufacturers which stand as proof that the company was aware of the harmful effects of asbestos exposure on human health.

The Raybestos asbestos trust fund

No longer affording to pay compensation to former employees injured by asbestos exposure, the company was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1998 and subsequently create the Raytech Corporation Asbestos Personal Injury Settlement Trust in 2001. The asbestos trust fund is one of the 60 active asbestos trust funds in the United States and provides compensation to former workers who came to develop diseases such as lung cancer and mesothelioma as a consequence of occupational asbestos exposure. Currently, there are $52 million available to former Raybestos or Raymark employees injured by asbestos exposure. In February 2018, the payment percentage of the asbestos trust fund was increased from 0.84% to 0.92%. Today, people who developed a disease as a result of asbestos exposure which occurred while working for Raybestos are eligible for compensation from their asbestos trust fund.

Thereby, if you had one of the following occupations while working at Raybestos during the last century and developed a disease as a result of occupational asbestos exposure, please contact our law firm immediately for a free of charge case review. After a thorough initial discussion with our attorneys, you will have to send our legal team your employment and medical records, documents that will be used as evidence to support your asbestos claim, which will be filed with the Raybestos asbestos trust fund.

The environmental contamination Raybestos is responsible for in Connecticut and Pennsylvania

Connecticut

As a result of the activity of Raybestos in Stratford, Connecticut, severe environmental contamination occurred. Thereby, people who lived in close proximity to the facility were exposed to toxic substances, including asbestos, by inhalation, skin contact, soil waste ingestion, as well as ingestion of contaminated local seafood. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, residents under the age of 25 have a high risk of developing mesothelioma and other malignant diseases as a consequence of environmental asbestos exposure. Furthermore, in 2018, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment along the Housatonic River which crosses Connecticut, as the company threw contaminated waste such as asbestos, lead, and copper in the water. Even though the operations of Raybestos in Connecticut ended in 1989, the restoration project, which is partly funded by the trust fund of the company, is still ongoing.

Pennsylvania

However, Raybestos also operated in Hatboro and Manheim, two cities located in Pennsylvania, where the company also caused tremendous environmental contamination. As a result, in 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency included the Hatboro site in the Superfund National Priorities List. In 2018, the same agency conducted numerous tests in Pennsylvania by monitoring the air in the areas situated near the former Raybestos facility. The site is still monitored at the moment. Raybestos manufactured products in Manheim, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1998, which led to tremendous pollution of the air, water, and soil. In 2005, the site was added to the Brownfield Action Team program of the state, whose purpose was to clean up the contaminated areas. While the site is no longer dangerous to residents who live in close proximity, the groundwater is still being monitored.

Asbestos products workers at Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc. would manufacture or encounter

The products manufactured by Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc. (Raytech), which mostly consisted of auto parts, were used by numerous industries during the last century. Therefore, former industrial workers are now at high risk of developing a disease as a result of exposure to the asbestos products made by Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc. (Raytech). The following are the products manufactured by Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc. (Raytech) before 1980.

Asbestos products picture gallery for Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc.

Asbestos Brakes

Asbestos Drum Brakes

Braided Valve Stem Packing

Raybestos/Raymark Industries, Inc.