Madison County, Illinois - The estate of Bernard Lichtenstien has filed an asbestos-related lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court, alleging that Lichtenstien’s death was caused by asbestos exposure.

The lawsuit, which contains two counts, was filed on June 30 and lists two companies as defendants. They are Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Injury Trust (successor to Felt Products Manufacturing), and Federal-Mogul Asbestos Personal Injury Trust (successor to the former Vellumoid Division of Federal-Mogul).

According to the complain, the Madison County venue is appropriate even though neither defendant does business in Illinois, because gasket-maker John Crane does business in that state.

The Lichtenstien estate claims that the deceased was exposed to asbestos during the course of his employment, and also during home and automotive repairs. Lichtenstien was employed as a laborer in several different locations between 1957 and 1978.

Lichtenstien’s estate claims the deceased was diagnosed with mesothelioma on June 1, 1998. He died November 10, 1999, and at the time of his death was residing in California.

According to the petition filed by Lichtenstien’s estate, the defendants either knew or should have known about the harmful consequences of asbestos exposure, and that exposure could cause serious diseases such as mesothelioma.

In addition, the suit alleges that the defendants used asbestos in their products despite the availability of acceptable substitutes. The suit also claims that the defendants failed to provide safety instructions or equipment for working with or around asbestos, and that the defendants failed to advise employees that asbestos fibers could potentially be transported home on work clothes.

Lichtenstien was exposed to asbestos as a result of the alleged negligence, the suit claims, and developed a form of asbestos cancer called mesothelioma as a direct result of the exposure.

After developing mesothelioma he suffered from great mental and physical pain, and was prevented from working. His estate is seeking damages of $100,000 or more to compensate for mental and physical pain, loss of income, and funeral expenses.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 17th, 2008 at 10:50 am and is filed under Asbestos Exposure, 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.