Plaintiffs Henry and Teresa Haley have filed an asbestos lawsuit against Henry Haley’s former employers over alleged asbestos exposure and related health complications caused by the carcinogenic material.

Henry Haley worked for the Foster Wheeler LLC as well as General Electric. In this capacity, he handled asbestos products, a potentially dangerous material. The asbestos lawsuit alleges that this led him to develop serious medical complications, including but not limited to asbestosis, other lung damage, and cancer.

Asbestos is a naturally-occurring mineral. It is both fireproof and an excellent insulator, making it ideal for a large number of uses. It also lead to its widespread industrial use from the Industrial Revolution up through the 1970s. Unfortunately, the tiny, glasslike fibers of asbestos have been strongly linked to a variety of serious illnesses, including cancers and lung diseases.

As early as the 19th century, doctors and scientists began to realize that there was a strong link between asbestos and various diseases, particularly lung diseases. This led to asbestos lawsuits and an increase in regulation related to asbestos.

To further complicate matters, many of the ailments linked to asbestos exposure often take decades to manifest, complicating asbestos lawsuits. Many districts have laws acknowledging this issue.

The Haleys’ asbestos lawsuit argues that exposure to the material caused Mr. Haley to develop serious health problems, including asbestosis and cancer. Asbestosis is a disease where asbestos fibers cause chronic inflammation and scarring in the lungs. This creates symptoms similar to emphysema, with difficulty breathing and coughing up blood. The asbestos lawsuit does not state the specific type of cancer the man suffered, and several different forms of cancer have been linked to the mineral, including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and cancer of the linings in the abdomen and chest.

Some asbestos lawsuits have taken the form of class action lawsuits. Class action lawsuits are a type of group lawsuits, designed to allow groups of people, who have allegedly suffered similar harm, to seek legal action against the same defendant. Class action lawsuits are designed to streamline the legal process by creating a single lawsuit in lieu of dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of individual lawsuits.

In some ways, asbestos lawsuits lend themselves to an asbestos class action lawsuit. If a group of people are exposed to asbestos by the same company, they may be able to file a single class action lawsuit. On the other hand, the long latency of many asbestos-related ailments, and various injuries complicates a class action lawsuit. At present, the Haleys’ lawsuit is an individual lawsuit.

The asbestos lawsuit is Henry Haley, et al. v. Foster Wheeler LLC, et al., Case No. 3:14-cv-01611-JD, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.