Fort Worth, Texas, is home to 800,000 people and is a thriving industrial center with thousands of jobs in oil, gas and mining, manufacturing, transportation, utilities, and construction. (Statisticalatlas.com). Because of its extensive industrial and manufacturing base, many people in Fort Worth may have worked in companies that exposed them to asbestos.
Some of the companies in this Texas city that are known to have exposed workers to asbestos are:
- Lockheed Martin
- Marathon Oil Company
- Bank of Commerce
- Sears
- Swift Company
- Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company
- Dallas/Fort Worth Airport
- Texas Steel Company
- Gulf Oil Corporation
- US Public Health
- Fort Worth Power and Light Company
High-Industries for Asbestos Exposure in Fort Worth and Texas
The CDC reports there were 2,191 mesothelioma deaths from 1999-2015 in Texas, which as a mesothelioma death rate of five per million. There are eight known asbestos sites in the state, including two mines. The counties with the highest mesothelioma mortality in the state from 2000-2009 are Orange and Jefferson counties, with 25 and 22 deaths per one million residents per year, respectively. (CDC.gov).
Oil Refineries
Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, and other Texas cities are home to many oil refineries, including Phillips Pride Refining and Gulf Oil Corporation. Asbestos exposure is a problem at oil refineries because asbestos is highly resistant to heat, fire, and chemical reactions. Tens of thousands of workers from the early 20th century until the 1980s may have been exposed to asbestos at these oil refineries.
Shipbuilding
Texas borders the Gulf of Mexico, so the state has been popular for shipyards over the last century. Some of the biggest shipyards in Texas include American Bridge Shipyard, Todd Houston Shipbuilding Corporation, and Port Adams Shipyard. These yards employed thousands of workers but may have exposed them to dangerous asbestos-containing materials.
Manufacturing
There are many manufacturing companies in Fort Worth and Texas that may have exposed workers to asbestos, such as Pathfinder Manufacturing and Chevron Phillips Plastics. Equipment used in the manufacturing of all kinds often contained products with asbestos. For example, asbestos-containing gaskets were used in many companies to protect against heat. Sometimes the buildings themselves were built with asbestos insulation that put employees at risk of exposure for years.
Military
US military veterans comprise 30% of all asbestos cancer diagnoses because so much asbestos was used in the military for more than 50 years. Buildings on bases, aircraft, and ships were just some of the areas where vets could have been exposed to asbestos. Fort Bliss in El Paso, Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, and the Naval Station Ingleside in Corpus Christi were known sites of asbestos contamination.
Asbestos Demolition Experiment in Fort Worth Considered Health Risk
In 2011, an EPA-approved experimental asbestos demolition project was completed in Fort Worth. But the EPA later admitted that some construction workers at the Fort Worth site may not have been properly protected from asbestos exposure. (asbestos.com)
Workers demolished a building in the Oak Hollow apartment complex in Fort Worth. Some workers were several yards away from the asbestos-containing buildings and sprayed the walls, ceilings, and floors with a special mixture of soap and water.
Construction workers and government employees were onsite and did not have protective equipment. Asbestos fibers were released in the air during this project. It is possible some workers and government employees could suffer health consequences years down the road from this EPA-approved demolition project.
Texas has been a popular state for asbestos cancer claims, but the number of lawsuits has decreased in the last 10 years. (asbestos.com). From 1988 through 2000, Texas was among the top five in the US with the most asbestos lawsuit filings in state and federal courts. In fact, in the mid-1990s, three Texas counties – Harris, Galveston, and Jefferson – accounted for 42% of new asbestos lawsuit filings.
Fort Worth and Texas Asbestos Lawsuits
In 2005, the state passed SB 15. (Capitol.Texas.gov). This law created medical criteria for people who make asbestos cancer claims. People who claimed asbestos exposure had to prove that they actually had an asbestos-related disease before they could file suit. The law was effective because it removed many asbestos exposure victims who were not ill from the Texas legal system. While controversial, the law let people with asbestos cancer to get their claims handled faster. Getting mesothelioma compensation in the hands of those who are the sickest was hailed as the right move.
Even with the new law, Texans have filed and won many lawsuits against companies that needlessly exposed them to asbestos:
- July 2012: A painter in Dallas, Texas won more than $10 million from several companies that exposed him to asbestos over 30 years. The man worked every day with materials that contain asbestos, including drywall compound and paint.
- 2014: The loved ones of a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company employee won an $18 million verdict against the corporation in state court. The deceased worked as a tire builder in Tyler, Texas for three decades and was exposed to asbestos daily while working on tire machines.
- August 2001: A jury in El Paso, Texas, awarded more than $50 million to a victim of asbestos cancer and his family. The suit was against Kelly-Moore Paint Company. At the time, it was one of the largest asbestos verdicts in the country.
Fort Worth and Texas Asbestos Attorney Information
If you were diagnosed with mesothelioma Fort Worth or in another Texas city, you may have the right to mesothelioma compensation. Consider contacting one of the attorneys below:
Coby L. Wooten, Attorney At Law, P.C.
1301 Ballinger Street #100
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
(877) 960-0661
www.cobywootenlaw.com
Coby L. Wooten Attorney at Law has years of experience getting personal injury victims the compensation they deserve. He can help you track down the companies that exposed you to asbestos and hold them accountable for your illness.
Anderson & Cummings
4200 West Vickery Blvd.
Fort Worth, Texas, 76107
(877) 920-9009
www.anderson-cummings.com
The Law Offices of Anderson & Cummings have helped hundreds of clients deal with the health problems of being exposed to asbestos by negligent employers. These experienced attorneys are ready to go up against big corporations and get you the mesothelioma compensation to which you are entitled.
Ted. B. Lyon & Associates
18601 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway #525
Mesquite, Texas 75150
(866) 503-4864
www.tedlyon.com
This well-regarded Dallas law firm has several experienced attorneys that have been successful with asbestos exposure claims. They have won large trial verdicts and know how to find the companies that exposed you or your loved ones to asbestos. They never hand these cases off to inexperienced attorneys; every part of your case will be worked on by an experienced mesothelioma attorney.
Get Fort Worth Mesothelioma Legal Help
With over $30 billion available for victims through the Asbestos Trust Funds, you could be entitled to financial compensations without ever filing a lawsuit. Mesothelioma & Lung Cancer victims qualify immediately. Complete the form or call us toll-free (800) 352-0871.