Asbestos exposure is known to cause mesothelioma and other asbestos-related fatal diseases for individuals who are exposed to the harms of asbestos. Since these exposures have most often occurred in the workplace, it can be easy to forget that these workers have, tragically, taken asbestos home from the jobsite and exposed their loved ones to asbestos as well.
The question, however, is what legal rights are available to loved ones who are exposed to asbestos because of a take-home exposure. Put another way, what duties do manufacturers and other parties have to prevent take-home exposures. The answer to this essential question rests upon how an individual state treats secondary asbestos exposure from a legal perspective.
For example, Arizona residents who are victims of secondary asbestos exposure and are diagnosed with mesothelioma have no legal claim whatsoever. California differs in this regard, which is why it is important to know and understand your legal rights if you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma because of a secondary exposure to asbestos.
Second-hand Asbestos Exposure In California
Indirect or second-hand exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma in precisely the same way a primary exposure causes the disease. Namely, exposure to asbestos fibers can lead to the loved one swallowing or inhaling the microscopic fibers and beginning the often decades-long process of turning formerly healthy cells cancerous within the body.
Second-hand asbestos exposure has been known to occur in the following ways:
- Washing clothes that are contaminated by asbestos
- A loved one simply came home wearing clothes that were contaminated with asbestos, with those fibers releasing into the home
- A family member was in direct contact with a worker who came home with asbestos contamination on their clothing
In effect, clothing contaminated by asbestos is typically the cause of second-hand asbestos exposure.
If you were exposed to asbestos in a secondary manner and were diagnosed with mesothelioma, know that the Supreme Court of California has held that companies may be held legally liable for take-home, secondary asbestos exposures that occur in a worker’s residence.
Further, the Court noted that companies must exercise due diligence to prevent such an exposure if the company is capable of reasonably predicting that a secondary exposure may, in fact, occur.
Since this landmark verdict was delivered less than two years ago, it has been clear that the rights of California family members who are diagnosed with mesothelioma can be protected if the secondary exposure was foreseeable and should have been prevented.
Talk to the Ledger Law Firm If You Were Exposed to Take-Home Asbestos
If take-home asbestos caused your mesothelioma or the asbestos-related disease of a loved one, talk to a California mesothelioma lawyer at The Ledger Law Firm. Our personal injury and mesothelioma law firm has earned a reputation for helping California mesothelioma victims recover millions in deserved compensation.
Contact us online for a free case evaluation to discuss your take-home asbestos lawsuit with a Ledger Law mesothelioma lawyer in California.
