Akron Firestone: Asbestos Exposure

Ohio Asbestos Attorney

Investigating cancer claims following Akron Firestone asbestos exposure

Thousands of former and current employees of the Bridgestone-Akron Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, and other Ohio rubber plants are at risk of developing mesothelioma and other forms of lung cancer as a result of continual asbestos exposure.

Asbestos was a popular building insulator for many years because of its flexible strength, and resistance to heat and corrosion. It is now known to cause malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and other serious pulmonary disorders. Asbestos filled Akron’s Firestone factory facilities.

As a result, former Firestone workers employed in the rubber manufacturing industry at any point may have an increased risk of developing mesothelioma and other forms of lung cancer.  Unfortunately, even knowing workers faced a dire health hazard, many asbestos manufacturers failed to warn employees of the known risks.

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Ohio asbestos lawyer capable of representing former Firestone workers nationwide in mesothelioma and lung cancer asbestos claims.

Akron Firestone Products Contained Asbestos

The Akron Firestone Tire & Rubber Company is best known for producing automobile tires, but it also manufactured a number of other products, including rubberized gaskets, containing asbestos. Asbestos gaskets were used to seal pipes, pumps, and equipment. Some rubber manufacturing plants used raw asbestos in mixtures to produce rubber sheets that were used for gaskets, seals and electrical insulation.

Regardless of their employment position in the last 40 years, most Firestone workers faced an occupational asbestos exposure. Production sites were built with asbestos bricks, drywall, and heating and water pipes. Firestone workers are therefore at serious risk of the numerous illnesses linked to asbestos exposure.

Akron Firestone Workers May Risk Lung Cancer

As early as the 1940s, medical professionals expressed concerns over the hazards of asbestos dust and asbestosis. For decades, these warnings were ignored by the asbestos industry, and today it is estimated that more than 20 million Americans are at risk of developing mesothelioma in their lifetime, primarily due to asbestos exposure at the workplace.

Even after the first case of mesothelioma was linked to asbestos exposure in 1964, many asbestos manufacturers failed to warn Firestone workers. Those workers still operated without warning of the serious health risks.

Asbestos fibers easily circulate through the air and thereby possibly inhaled and lodged in the tissue surrounding the lungs. This can lead to the development of deadly cancers, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

Symptoms of Asbestos-Related Illness

Asbestos-related diseases are known to have a long latency period, meaning that former Firestone workers may not be diagnosed with a condition until many years after initial exposure. When they do present, symptoms of lung diseases like asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma may include:

• Chest pain
• Persistent cough
• Fatigue
• Trouble swallowing
• Swelling of the abdomen
• Fever
• Trouble Breathing

Firestone Workers Asbestos Lawsuits

In 2013, a California jury awarded almost $39 million to five victims of mesothelioma. Several defendants were named, including Bridgestone-Firestone Tire & Rubber. The victims developed asbestos-related illnesses, including mesothelioma, after working with asbestos-containing auto parts at the workplace.

The jury found the defendants grossly negligent in the case, and compensated the victims and families for punitive damages and economic losses. The court found the companies had “failed to carry an adequate warning detailing the asbestos content or health risk.”

An Asbestos Trust totaling $80 million was established in 2004 after insurance giant Travelers reached a settlement with attorneys representing thousands of United States rubber workers with asbestos claims.

The fund is meant to cover about 14,000 claims from Ohio, many of them Akron rubber workers who died or developed serious illnesses from asbestos exposure. Some attorneys say many more claims and lawsuits are to follow.