Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Company was founded in 1919 as a machine shop and blacksmith operation, but later grew into a well-respected shipbuilding company. The Mobile, Alabama-based shipyard operated until 2009, and for many of those years, its employees faced substantial asbestos exposure from the materials used during vessel construction and conversion, as well as from asbestos
The USS McKean II (DD-784) served the United States Navy with distinction for more than three decades, from the closing days of World War II through the Cold War, the Korean War, and Vietnam. Like almost all vessels constructed between the 1930s and 1980s, the McKean contained extensive amounts of asbestos. The material contaminated everything from
The USS Gurke (DD-783), a Gearing-class destroyer, served the United States Navy for several decades. The ship and her crew participated in multiple conflicts from the post-World War II occupation of Japan through the Vietnam War. The Gurke was constructed when asbestos was a key component of shipbuilding: Her structure contained substantial amounts of the carcinogenic material, leading
The USS Rowan (DD-782) was a Gearing-class destroyer that served in the United States Navy for nearly three decades. From the time she was commissioned in 1945 through her decommissioning in 1973, the Rowan participated in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Like most Navy ships built at the time, the
Revisions to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster clean-up policies are raising concerns about future diagnoses of mesothelioma among health care professionals and asbestos awareness advocates. The agency has announced that it will not be conducting additional soil tests to confirm that the earth under former home sites is free of toxins.
The USS Keppler (DD/DDE-765) was a Gearing-class destroyer that participated in critical international conflicts, including the Korean War and Vietnam War, as well as fulfilling vital peacetime roles. Built in the days before asbestos was known to be carcinogenic, the Keppler incorporated substantial quantities of the toxic material, leading to devastating health consequences for her former crew
Before the 1980s, asbestos was widely used throughout the brewing and distilling industries, putting the health and lives of thousands of workers at risk. The carcinogenic mineral was a key component of beverage filtration systems, equipment insulation, and the brick-and-mortar brewery and distillery structures themselves. Many of the workers who spent time working in these buildings, as
The USS Lloyd Thomas (DD/DDE-764) was built during the era when asbestos was an integral part of naval vessels, from their supplies to their systems and structures. Today, we know that asbestos is carcinogenic, and thousands of crew members on ships like the USS Lloyd Thomas have been diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, asbestosis, and other serious respiratory disorders. Many
When a person dies due to asbestos exposure, their family members are left with both grief and financial burdens. A wrongful death mesothelioma lawsuit can provide funds to pay for medical bills, lost income, and funeral expenses as well as for the victim’s pain and suffering and the survivor’s losses. Understanding Wrongful Death Lawsuits A wrongful death lawsuit
The USS William C. Lawe (DD-763) was a Gearing-class destroyer that served the United States Navy for over three decades, participating in the Korean War, during the Vietnam War, and later becoming a Naval Reserve training ship. Like many of the vessels built in the years between the 1930s and 1980s, the USS William C. Lawe contained