Asbestos was widely used in a variety of industrial applications up until the 1980s. Workers were exposed to the toxin for decades before the EPA and other work safety agencies finally began regulating its use. The damage, however, was already done in many cases, and thousands of former California workers at Triple A Machine Shop and at shipyards have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer and other related lung diseases.
The San Francisco Naval Shipyard and the Treasure Island Naval Station-Hunters Point Annex in southeastern San Francisco was leased to Triple A Machine shop and used for ship repair until 1986. In 1989, however, the EPA declared Hunters Point a Federal Superfund Site due to heavy toxic contamination, and in 1994, it was closed down.
Many employees of the shipyard contractor, Triple A Machine Shop Inc., spent time in ship engine rooms handling, removing and replacing asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets and packing. That work was extremely hazardous and many former workers have since been diagnosed with related cancers.
Many former employees have filed toxic exposure and occupational cancer personal injury lawsuits against Triple A and other companies that exposed workers to harmful substances without their knowledge. Asbestos hazards may have been known by certain corporate management but no safety standards were put in place to protect staff.
Asbestos exposure lawsuits can recover economic damages for past and future medical expenses, past and future loss of household services, future economic loss, as well as non-economic damages for past and future pain and suffering and emotional distress.
