Call Us Toll Free: 1-855-241-LUNG (5864)
Truck Driver Exposure to Asbestos-Containing Plastic Molding Compound
Prior to the mid-1980's, a large percentage of plastic molding compounds contained asbestos. Asbestos is known to cause mesothelioma, lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases. Between approximately 1950 and 1980, millions of pounds of asbestos-containing plastic molding compounds were delivered on a weekly basis to mold shops across America. The attorneys at Lipsitz & Ponterio have represented several truck drivers who hauled this material to various plants located throughout the United States. Exposure to asbestos took place when truck drivers delivered and unloaded asbestos-containing plastic molding compound.
Asbestos-containing plastic molding compound was typically packaged in fifty-five-gallon cardboard barrels or fifty-pound paper bags, and it was shipped on wooden pallets. The plastic molding compound was dusty and granular in composition. Both local drivers (metro pick-ups and deliveries) and road drivers (pick-ups and delivery on a national level) delivered asbestos-containing molding compounds to mold shops. Local drivers, for example, picked-up and delivered an average load of asbestos-containing plastic molding compound containing 800 bags or barrels and weighing approximately 44,000 pounds. Truck drivers were responsible for stacking these bags and barrels of molding compound in their trucks. During every pick-up, it was common for some of the bags to tear and barrels to pop open, emitting dangerous asbestos dust and fibers into the breathing area of the truck driver.
A tow motor or hand-truck assisted truck drivers when they unloaded the pallets of asbestos-containing plastic molding compound. When a tow motor or hand-truck was not available, the bags and barrels were moved by hand. During transport, the barrels and bags broke open or ripped causing plastic molding compound to spill into the tractor trailer bed. Once the shipment was unloaded, a truck driver swept out his truck, creating an asbestos dust cloud the truck driver inhaled.
At Lipsitz & Ponterio, our attorneys bring third-party lawsuits for mesothelioma and lung cancer against the companies that wrongfully failed to warn against the hazards of asbestos exposure. Please contact us if you need legal representation of have any questions about your legal rights.
CONTACT US
Your state's law may limit your time to file a legal claim. For a free and confidential case evaluation, please complete this form.