A 74-year-old Ohio woman diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma has traced her history of exposure to asbestos to her decades of working with typewriters and other equipment manufactured and sold by International Business Machines (IBM). She recently filed suit against the company in New York’s Supreme Court of Westchester County.
Mesothelioma Victim Cites Decades of Asbestos Exposure
According to her filing, 74-year-old Loretta R. Simpson of Toledo, Ohio, was exposed to asbestos in IBM Selectric typewriters and computers that she worked with from 1968 to 2002, when she worked as a typist for Travelers Insurance from 1969 to 1970 and when she worked as a stenographer and accounting clerk for the city of Toledo from 1970 to 2002.
The mesothelioma victim’s claim does not specify how asbestos was used in the office equipment that she worked with, but experts suggest that it may have been used in the cushion underneath the typebar rest. Others have indicated that some models of IBM Selectric typewriters had a resistor — a part that provides key tension — that was made with asbestos, while still others point to electrical and/or thermal insulators that were generally included in electric typewriters, and the mastic used to adhere felt to the machine.
Compensatory and Punitive Damages Being Sought in Mesothelioma Claim
The mesothelioma lawsuit is generating significant interest, as it introduces a previously unknown source of asbestos exposure. The claim does not specify exactly where or how much asbestos was used in the products, or how the victim’s exposure to asbestos in IBM equipment can be differentiated from other occupational or personal exposures the victim may have had. Ms. Simpson is seeking both compensatory and punitive damages, asserting that IBM should have known that its products were dangerous, but failed to warn of the dangers, use safer materials, or remove products with asbestos from the market.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease and you need information on your options, we can help. Contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
