The Plaintiff was a member of Local 198 in Baton Rouge who worked in and out of the oil refineries, chemical plants and other types of industrial facilities throughout Louisiana. He was exposed to asbestos performing his job duties as a Pipefitter including, providing maintenance on existing piping systems that wind their way for miles and miles throughout these plants.
Pipefitters perform welding on the piping systems and a lot of these pipe sections are bolted together at phalanges. In between these connections, asbestos gasket material was used. Most of these pipes are covered in asbestos-containing pipecovering and asbestos-containing insulating cements. To perform the maintenance, this insulation products would need to be knocked off with hammers or pulled down by hand. This created so much dust that workers describe it as if it is snowing.
Pipefitters worked hand in hand with all the other tradesmen as well. Insulators would replace the asbestos-containing pipecovering and cement products right behind them and over their heads while working. This is what the Plaintiff was doing for decades.
This case was handled by the Louisiana team of lawyers and staff at our sponsor, Baron & Budd, P.C. Chris Colley & David Cannella were the two Baron & Budd partners in charge of working up the case. The lawsuit was filed in Orleans Parish and pushed very quickly through the legal system. All of the defendants were on their heals from the outset and really did not have good defenses to the claims. It helps when you have the the facts and truth on your side. All of the defendants ultimately resolved the claims against them and we sought further compensation from the Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts.
