Madison County, Illinois – A Washington man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma has filed a lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, Illinois, claiming wrongful cause.

James Regal claims, employed in the U.S. Army as a machinist between 1962 and 2003, worked in Illinois and other locations. He also worked as a maintenance man in Illinois, Massachusetts, and Washington.

In the lawsuit, filed May 7, James Regal claims that during the course of his employment he inhaled or otherwise ingested asbestos fibers that were airborne as a result of the products he worked with and around. In addition he claims that asbestos exposure occurred during home and automotive repairs.

Regal has named a total of 68 defendants, including Bondex International, CBS, Ford Motor Company, General Electric, General Motors, Honeywell International, Ingersoll-Rand, International Paper, John Crane, Philips Electronics and Riley Stoker.

The suit claims that James Regal’s asbestos exposure “was completely foreseeable and could or should have been anticipated by the defendants.” In addition, the suit claims that the defendants either knew or should have known about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

Regal, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma on February 8, 2008, claims that the defendants in the suit used asbestos in their products despite the fact that adequate asbestos substitutes were available for use.

In addition, he claims that the defendants failed to provide necessary warnings on the dangers of asbestos and also failed to provide information on how to work safely with and around asbestos. Finally, he claims that the defendants failed to provide their employees with information on how to prevent transporting asbestos fibers home, and failed to require employees take hygiene measures to prevent them doing so.

As a result, the suit alleges, James Regal was exposed to asbestos fibers that caused him to develop mesothelioma, a disease caused only by exposure to asbestos. He is seeking damages to cover the costs of medical expenses and income he has lost as a result of being unable to work.

In addition, Regal’s suit claims that Regal was unable to obtain full disclosure of relevant documents from defendants, and believes that the documents were destroyed. As a result, he claims that his lawsuit was prejudiced and his ability to prove his claims was impaired.

Regal seeks compensation of at least $300,000 for negligence and other allegations, as well as punitive damages.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 am and is filed under Asbestos Litigation, Illinois. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.