A former mold-maker at Owens-Illinois Glass in Alton filed an asbestos suit against 13 defendant corporations claiming his exposure to asbestos caused his lung cancer.
James Anderson claims he worked at Owens from 1954 to 1993. He was diagnosed on June 9.
The defendants include A.W. Chesterton, John Crane, Goodyear, Owens-Illinois and Strange and Coleman Inc.
Anderson claims the defendants failed to exercise ordinary care and caution for his safety by including asbestos in their products even though it was completely foreseeable that people working with and around asbestos would inhale, ingest or otherwise absorb great amounts of asbestos.
He claims the defendants included asbestos in their products when they knew asbestos fibers would have a highly deleterious effect on the health of people absorbing them, included asbestos in their products when adequate substitutes were available, failed to provide any warnings to people working with or around asbestos and failed to conduct tests on asbestos-containing products in order to determine the hazards to workers.
Anderson claims the defendants intentionally or with a reckless disregard for his safety included asbestos in their products, when the defendants knew or should have known that the asbestos fibers would have a toxic, poisonous and highly deleterious effect upon his health, included asbestos in their products when adequate substitutions were available and failed to conduct tests on the asbestos-containing products, manufactured, sold or delivered by the defendants to determine the hazards to which workers might be exposed.
He also claims they failed to provide adequate warning to people working with and around the products of the dangers of inhaling, ingesting or otherwise absorbed fibers in them and failed to provide adequate instruction concerning the safe methods of working with and around asbestos products.
Anderson's wife, Doris, also is seeking damages claiming her husband's illness has interfered with her marital relationship and all the elements of married life she was accustomed to receiving.
"Defendants thus grievously injured and damaged this plaintiff in those particulars of support, devotion, care, society and consortium which she formerly prior to the injury of James received and now, because of the injury has lost," the complaint states.
Represented by Barry Julian of Alton, the Andersons are seeking at least $250,000 in compensatory damages, plus punitive and exemplary damages in excess of $100,000.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Daniel Stack.
06 L 1100