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With 34 known asbestos deposits and mines, the possibility of developing mesothelioma in Washington is higher than it is in other states. Additionally, at least 33 different locations in Washington received a total of 981 shipments from Libby, Montana of 63,611 tons of asbestos-contaminated vermiculite. Seattle and Spokane were the primary locations that received these contaminated shipments. Workers who processed these shipments were exposed to asbestos and could have developed mesothelioma or another asbestos-related condition due to this exposure.
A major industry in Washington has been in shipping due to its Northwest Pacific Coast. Many cities in Washington have major shipyards, many of which used asbestos in various components in ships. Shipyard workers including those in the Navy have some of the highest incidence of mesothelioma rates. Navy base installations in the Washington state include NS Everett, NB Kitsap, Puget Sound NSY, NAS Whidbey Island, NAVMAG Indian Island, and NUWC Keyport.
Asbestos was once a coveted material due to its heat-resistant and chemical-resistant properties. Manufacturing processes in aluminum plants, power plants, paper mills and other industries used this dangerous material at one time. Anyone who worked in these industries could have been exposed to asbestos that was used to line wires, pipes, boilers, generators and equipment.
Washington Mesothelioma Diagnoses
Washington is ranked 9th in the nation for the number of mesothelioma and asbestosis incidents. Between 1999 and 2015, a minimum of 1,190 Washington residents were diagnosed with mesothelioma. Washington has a much higher than average mesothelioma incident rate of 12.2 per million annually. Kitsap, Mason, Ferry, Pend Oreille and Stevens Counties had the highest mesothelioma incident rates in the state. Between 1999 and 2013, more than 1,029 Washington residents were diagnosed with asbestosis and over 5,032 were diagnosed with non-mesothelioma lung cancer. Most residents were diagnosed in with asbestos lung cancer and mesothelioma in: Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton, Spokane, Vancouver, Everett, and Kent Washington.
Washington Asbestos Laws
Washington’s laws pertaining to the statute of limitations and the court exposure standard may directly affect asbestos litigation.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the amount of time a person has to file a certain type of claim. Each state establishes different statutes of limitations. In Washington, the statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death cases is three years. This means that a plaintiff has three years from the date of diagnosis of mesothelioma or another asbestos-related condition to bring a lawsuit against the party responsible for exposure. If the condition resulted in the victim’s death, the family has three years from the date of death to file the lawsuit.
Court Exposure Standard
Many asbestos cases are brought in state courts where the state’s court exposure standard must be met. Each state establishes a different standard that plaintiffs must meet in personal injury cases. In mesothelioma cases, the most common court exposure standard is the Lohrmann test. In this test, the plaintiff must show that exposure to the defendant’s product was a substantial factor in the plaintiff developing mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease. Washington’s highest court has adopted this standard. In Washington, the court must consider a number of factors to determine if there is sufficient evidence to establish causation. These factors include how close the plaintiff worked to the asbestos product when exposure occurred, the size of the job site where asbestos fibers were released, how much time the plaintiff was exposed to the product, what types of asbestos products the plaintiff was exposed to, how the plaintiff handled and used the products in question, evidence regarding other substances that could have contributed to the plaintiff’s mesothelioma, and expert testimony regarding the effects of inhaling asbestos fibers on the plaintiff and in general.
Washington State Asbestos Regulatory Agencies
The state agency primarily responsible for the regulation of asbestos is the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Washington law contains the following relevant definitions regarding asbestos:
- Asbestos abatement project – An asbestos project involving three square feet or three linear feet, or more, of asbestos-containing material.
- Asbestos project – The construction, demolition, repair, maintenance, remodeling, or renovation of any public or private building or mechanical piping equipment or systems involving the demolition, removal, encapsulation, salvage, or disposal of material, or outdoor activity, releasing or likely to release asbestos fibers into the air.
Before renovating or demolishing a building constructed before 1981, building owners must have them inspected by a licensed asbestos inspector who must prepare a written report regarding any asbestos-containing materials. Any employee on the job site must be made aware of the presence of asbestos. A certified asbestos contractor must handle the materials that are removed or disturbed. The Department of Labor and Industries must be notified at least 10 days before any asbestos removal project is commenced.
Washington Asbestos Site Exposure List
Many industries used asbestos. The timber industry has been a significant aspect of the state’s economy, responsible for producing paper and paper products. Asbestos was often included in paper mills due to asbestos being used in drying felts, adhesives and as an insulator for the equipment. Many other industries relied on asbestos, including petrochemical companies and oil refineries that used the material on protective equipment and fire doors. Washington is also home to many aluminum plants that used the dangerous substance for its fire-resistant properties.
Some of the naturally-occurring sites, military operations, manufacturers and other possible sites of asbestos exposure in Washington include the following:
- Okanogan Mountains – Spokane and Okanogan County
- Chrysotile Asbestos Deposits – Wenatchee and Ellensburg
- Asbestomine Company – Okanogan County
- Amphibole Deposit – Lyman
- Fairchild Air Force Base – Spokane
- Washington Elementary School – Berkeley
- Kaiser Shipyard – Vancouver
- Talbott Shipyard – Bellingham
- Voyage Repair Station – Port Angeles
- Bremerton Puget Sound Naval Shipyard – Bremerton
- Lockheed Shipbuilding & Construction
- Duwamish Shipyard, Inc. – Seattle
- Tacoma Dry Dock Shipyard – Tacoma
- FFTF Nuclear Power Plant – Hanford
- Centralia Washington Public Power Plant – Centralia
- Hanford Nuclear Site – Hanford
- Chevron Chemical Plant – Spokane
- Alcoa Aluminum Plant – Vancouver, Wenatchee
- Reynolds Metals Aluminum Plant – Longview
- Kaiser Aluminum – Spokane Valley
- Columbia Aluminum – Goldendale
- Harvey Aluminum – Goldendale
- Intalco Aluminum – Ferndale
- ARCO Oil Refinery – Seattle
- Crown Zellerbach Paper Mill – Carnas
- Scott Paper Company – Everett
- Anderson Middleton Lumber Company – Hoquiam
- Weyerhauser Timber Company – Olympia
Washington Asbestos Trusts
Asbestos companies faced daunting liability after the link between their products and mesothelioma was publicly recognized. As a result, many workers and consumers sued asbestos companies, often hundreds or thousands at a time. Many of these companies filed bankruptcy and some of them then established special asbestos trusts that were responsible for handling claims for damages. Claimants may be able to make a claim against an asbestos trust without going through the entire process of litigating the claim.
In Washington, there is one active asbestos trust based on a company headquartered in Renton, Washington. El Bartells Co., Inc. produced insulation and refractory products. The company filed bankruptcy in 2000 after facing claims from workers and consumers. The company established the Bartells Asbestos Settlement Trust in 2001 and reorganized in 2004. The trust has estimated funds of $20 milllion that are intended to handle claims of the company before its reorganization. A Washington mesothelioma lawyer can explain if you may have a claim against this trust or one of the other asbestos trusts in the country.
Washington Mesothelioma and Asbestos Lawsuits
Washington has seen its fair share of mesothelioma and asbestos lawsuits. Some of the most significant verdicts and settlements ranging from $1 million to $81.5 million found in public media include:
- $81.5 million – In 2017, a Washington jury awarded $81.5 million to the estate of a man who died at age 67 from mesothelioma caused by asbestos exposure. The man worked as a heavy equipment operator. The jury found the defendants, NAPA Auto Parts and Genuine Parts Corp. were negligent and strictly liable for their defective asbestos-containing products. The defendants appealed, but the verdict was upheld.
- $10.2 million – A Seattle jury awarded $10.2 million to a man who worked at a paper mill and his wife. The lawsuit was filed against two manufacturers of asbestos-containing dryer fabrics that failed to warn workers of the dangers of asbestos.
- $4.5 million – A Washington jury awarded $4.5 million in 2013 to the estate of a man who had been exposed to asbestos. The lawsuit was against Caterpillar, which included asbestos in products on equipment that the man handled during his career. The jury found the products were defective and that the manufacturer failed to provide proper warnings on its products. The company appealed, but the verdict was affirmed.
- $3.5 million – The estate of a woman who developed mesothelioma after take-home exposure was awarded $3.5 million in 2015. The woman had laundered her husband’s clothes for years. He worked at a refinery where he was exposed to asbestos.
- $2.5 million – A man developed mesothelioma at age 58 after being exposed to asbestos in the 1960s and 1970s at an aluminum smelting plant in Washington. The case settled before trial for more than $2.5 million.
- $2.5 million – A Washington law firm secured a $2.5 million settlement for an insulator, subject to a confidentiality agreement.
- $2.3 million – A man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma at age 75 received a settlement for over $2.3 million. He worked as a career pipe welder for more than 20 years at refineries and pulp mills near Anacortes, Washington and while welding at Washington shipyards.
- $2 million – A Washington law firm secured more than $2 million in a settlement for a man who was exposed to asbestos after working at a Washington shipyard for a few months.
- $1.5 million – A Seattle jury awarded $1.5 million to a former millwright who was exposed to insulation containing asbestos at his job. The verdict was against a leading pipe and boiler insulation contractor. The man had developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and colon cancer due to the exposure.
- $1.5 million – A King County verdict of $1.5 million was handed to a shipworker who had been exposed to asbestos in Seattle shipyards and developed mesothelioma as a result.
- $1.4 million – A man who was exposed to asbestos products while remodeling homes and performing brake work in California and Washington in the 1970s was diagnosed with mesothelioma at age 64. His attorney was able to settle the case before trial for over $1.4 million.
- $1.3 million – A Kitsap County jury awarded $1.3 million to the family of a pipe fitter who died from mesothelioma. The case was appealed, and the Washington Supreme Court affirmed the verdict while also striking down a legislative cap on damages.
- $1.3 million – A settlement of $1.3 million was granted to a sheet metal worker who developed mesothelioma as a result of asbestos exposure.
- $1 million – A King County verdict of more than $1 million was awarded to a retired naval supply officer and his wife after the man was exposed to asbestos-containing insulation materials through his work.
- $975,000 – A King County jury awarded nearly $1 million in 2018 to the estate of a man who worked in a brick facing manufacturing plant in a wrongful death case based on the man developing mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure.
Washington Mesothelioma Law Firms
Some of the law firms that may become co-counsel and provide assistance to Washington residents with mesothelioma include the following:
A Seattle-based law firm was founded by an attorney who has fought asbestos cases for decades, resulting in numerous significant asbestos verdicts. The firm has represented victims throughout the country and has succeeded in appeals. The firm pioneered some of the first lawsuits involving asbestos. The firm has received national and state recognition for their superior client advocacy and significant results.
A Seattle law firm which has fought for the rights of mesothelioma victims for more many years. They help Washington residents who have been negatively impacted by asbestos exposure. They have represented numerous asbestos workers and their families. This vast experience has resulted in millions of dollars of recovery through verdicts and settlements. Their experienced attorneys and staff guide clients through all stages of the litigation process. The firm has also had success with appeals.
A law firm with offices in Seattle and Portland that firm focuses exclusively on mesothelioma and asbestos cases. It has secured a vast amount in recovery for clients, and its attorneys are very experienced with mesothelioma cases and the stages of the litigation process. The firm keeps a list of resources for mesothelioma victims regarding legal and medical information.
