Four women sue for asbestos-related death of father, husband
Donald G. Jones died of lung cancer on January 21, 2008. His wife and three daughters have filed a lawsuit against 23 companies, alleging that his lung cancer was caused by asbestos exposure in the workplace. They filed suit for the companies’ failure to provide Jones with information about the proper protective clothing to wear near asbestos-containing products, their failure to warn him about the dangers of asbestos, and their failure to provide adequate warnings concerning the dangers of asbestos-containing products.
Among the 23 companies named as defendants are B.F. Goodrich, Chevron USA, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Michelin North America, Texaco and others. Many of the biggest, wealthiest companies in the world share responsibility for the asbestos tragedy that has fallen on American workers.
According to the family’s petition, Jones incurred medical costs, suffered from great physical pain and mental anguish, and suffered both physical impairment and disfigurement before his death. His wife and daughters have suffered loss of his support, maintenance, care, advice, services, counsel, consortium, companionship and society due to his illness and death. The defendants can also be heald responsible for the wages Jones would have earned and added to his estate if he had not died prematurely because of their wrongdoing. The women have also suffered mental anguish and incurred both funeral and burial expenses.
A lawsuit cannot make right what has happened to a family when a loved one dies of a preventable disease like mesothelioma. But it cannot help the family heal by allowing them to speak out about what happened to them and hopefully hold the wrongdoers responsible. It may be able provide some financial security for the family after going through so much. They are seeking unspecified general, punitive, special and exemplary damages as well as costs, interests and for other relief as deemed appropriate by the court.
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