Former paper mill workers file mesothelioma lawsuits
Two former paper mill workers from Maine have filed lawsuits against the asbestos manufacturers and suppliers whose products, they say, caused them to contract mesothelioma.
James Crowley, who worked at the Oxford Paper Mill plant in Rumford in the 1960s, and Emile Richard, who worked at International Paper from 1952 to 1987, name about two dozen businesses in their suits, including plumbing suppliers and insurance companies. Neither man named the paper mills where they worked in their suits, which were filed separately.
The wives of both men were also named as plaintiffs. Many wives of workers who were exposed to asbestos on the job have received mesothelioma diagnoses after coming into contact with their husbands’ asbestos-contaminated clothing while doing laundry.
Both men allege that they inhaled fibers from the asbestos products used at the plants where they worked, which led to their mesothelioma diagnoses. Mesothelioma is a deadly cancer of the lungs, heart or abdomen that is caused by exposure to asbestos. Both men have asked that mesothelioma lawyers from Pennsylvania be allowed to serve as co-counsel in their cases, due to their experience in handling mesothelioma lawsuits.