Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co.

Youngstown Sheet and Tube employees exposed to asbestos

The Sheet Metal Workers International Association and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning National Association created the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust in 1985. The goal of this organization was to assess the health impact of asbestos exposure in sheet metal workers. Their first study found that 32% of the workers examined between 1986 and 1990 had lung abnormalities that were consistent with occupational lung diseases, medically known as pneumoconiosis. Consequently, the risk of asbestos exposure in the sheet metal industry was very high for nearly all workers.

Because the manufacturing of steel would involve extreme temperatures, a good insulator was necessary, and asbestos was the best for this purpose, as it was cheap and widely available. One way steelworkers inhaled and ingested asbestos fibers was when they would cut or saw asbestos products to fit perfectly where they should. This process would inevitably release a lot of asbestos dust in the air employees would breathe in, leading to exposure. Moreover, sheet metal workers often had to carry out their job on construction sites, where other employees were generating asbestos dust by performing various activities, which increased their risk of asbestos exposure considerably.

The following are the workers Youngstown Sheet and Tube exposed to asbestos during the last century, directly or indirectly:

• boiler workers
• metalsmiths
• steelworkers
• pipefitters

In addition to being exposed from the asbestos products they had to handle and the facilities where they would work, steelworkers also came in contact with asbestos from the very protective equipment they had to wear to shield themselves from extreme temperatures, such as aprons, gloves, and masks. These were made with asbestos fibers that easily became friable with wear and tear, and, thereby, the protective equipment would release significant amounts of asbestos in the air employees would breathe. Other textile products manufactured with asbestos were involved in the job of steelworkers, such as blankets and cloth.

Secondary asbestos exposure, a serious concern for the family members of Youngstown Sheet and Tube workers

During the last century, the endeavors of asbestos companies to keep the dangers of asbestos exposure hidden were appalling, as they went as far as bribing medical researchers to convince them to change the results of their studies, which found that asbestos was indeed carcinogenic. One consequence of this conspiracy was secondary asbestos exposure, as people who handled asbestos on the job were not required to change their clothes at the end of their shift. Therefore, they would bring asbestos dust on their clothes in their houses on a regular basis. Their wives would often be exposed to asbestos when washing their garments, while their children would inhale and ingest toxic fibers when greeting their fathers.

If you suffer from a disease that seems related to asbestos exposure and had a family member who worked for Youngstown Sheet and Tube, we advise you to give our law firm a call, as you may be entitled to compensation from the company, even though it is defunct now. To see if you are eligible to file a claim, you just have to call our legal team, explain your situation, and send us the employment records of your family member and your medical records. Our attorneys will review your case, and if they deem you eligible, they will begin preparing your claim for submission. Eventually, you will have the money you are entitled to for your suffering.

Legal assistance in wrongful death asbestos exposure cases for family members

A wrongful death claim is a claim that can be filed by the close family members of a victim of personal injury. The diseases asbestos exposure causes fall under this category. If you lost a family member to a disease stemming from occupational asbestos exposure, you can opt to file a wrongful death claim if you are one of their parents, siblings, children, or spouses. All you have to do if you decided to take legal action is call our law firm, explain your situation in detail, and send our legal team the employment and medical records of your departed loved one and their death certificate.

Our resourceful attorneys will carefully assess your circumstances to determine whether you qualify for filing a wrongful death claim. If they find that you are eligible, they will quickly begin working on it while you can focus on more urgent matters, as your participation in the legal process will be minimal. We will do the difficult work on your behalf, and you will only have to pay us if we get financial compensation for you, as we work on a contingency fee basis. Deciding to work with our law firm is a wise idea, as we have over 25 years of experience in toxic exposure cases.