Madison County, Illinois – The estate of an Illinois woman who died from mesothelioma earlier this year has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County, Illinois. The lawsuit claims the woman’s death was due to wrongful causes.

The deceased, Geraldine James, worked from 1973 to 1997 as a secretary and school monitor in several Illinois locations. She was diagnosed with mesothelioma on November 7, 2007.

According to the lawsuit, Geraldine James was exposed to asbestos at work, and also while carrying out home and automotive repairs. The lawsuit alleges that products she was working with and around were releasing airborne asbestos fibers, which James inhaled or otherwise ingested.

The lawsuit names a total of 45 defendants, including RPM International, RPM Inc., John Crane, Owens-Illinois, Pneumo Abex, Bondex International, Garlock, Georgia-Pacific, and Young Insulation Group.

Among the allegations made in the lawsuit are that the defendants named either knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers in their products were highly hazardous to health, and that exposure could cause the development of serious diseases.

In addition, the lawsuit claims that the defendants added asbestos to their products even though acceptable substitute materials were available. The suit also claims that the defendants failed to provide instructions on how to work with and around asbestos and asbestos-containing products safely. Finally, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to provide their employees with information about hygiene practices that could prevent or reduce the likelihood of transporting asbestos fibers home from the workplace.

These types of negligence, claim the lawsuit, exposed Geraldine James to asbestos and caused her to develop mesothelioma, an asbestos-related disease that develops only as a consequence of exposure to asbestos. Pleural mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops in the lining of the lungs. It is a highly aggressive cancer that is all but incurable.

According to claims made by the estate, Geraldine James suffered considerable mental and physical pain and anguish, and also lost a considerable amount of money in unearned wages, due to being unable to work.

The lawsuit filed by the estate seeks compensatory damages of at least $300,000.  In addition, the suit seeks punitive damages, claiming that “an award of punitive damages is appropriate and necessary in order to punish the defendants for willful, wanton, intentional and reckless misconduct and to deter them and others from engaging in like misconduct in the future.”

This entry was posted on Monday, April 14th, 2008 at 5:03 pm 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.