ASBESTOS LITIGATION

Most industrial plants (power, chemical, petroleum, and other) built prior to 1990 had asbestos installed in some product form (insulation, gaskets, packing, etc.). The decision to install these asbestos products was usually based on process engineering considerations such as temperature, sealing requirements, process control, and other issues. Often asbestos had to be used because there was no acceptable alternative at the time. The use of asbestos, at least in the form of gaskets and packing, is still permitted in national standards required by both state and federal regulatory agencies.

Many times the organization that required the use of the asbestos was the owner of the industrial plant where the products were installed. This is because the owner was responsible for the process design. However, because of “workers’ compensation laws,” the employers of the workers usually cannot be sued. The lawyers for the workers have therefore used a “shotgun” approach and try to sue every organization that worked on constructing or modifying the industrial plant. That often means that engineering firms, manufacturers and suppliers of hardware, and installers of pressure vessels, piping, pumps, and valves are sued even though they had nothing to do with the decision to install the asbestos products.

Reedy Engineering has experience defending clients in these litigations.