The Keys to Proving Your Asbestos Exposure

For victims of mesothelioma and their families, securing justice means taking legal action against the companies responsible for exposing them to asbestos. Whether through a jury verdict or an out-of-court settlement, financial security and emotional closure often depend on proving asbestos exposure. Understanding what is required to show when, where, and how the exposure occurred can mean the difference between a case that’s dismissed and one that results in substantial compensation.

Understanding Mesothelioma and Its Cause

Mesothelioma is a rare but aggressive form of cancer that affects the mesothelium—the thin protective lining that surrounds vital organs including the lungs, heart, and abdominal cavity. Unlike many other forms of cancer, mesothelioma has a singular cause — asbestos exposure — and all too frequently that exposure is the result of negligence on the part of a manufacturer, supplier, distributor, or employer. Mesothelioma’s direct link to asbestos exposure creates a clear line of liability when properly established.

Another thing that distinguishes mesothelioma from other diseases is the fact that it doesn’t begin to show symptoms until decades after initial exposure. The fatal form of cancer’s latency period ranges from 20 to 50 years or more. This extended timeframe between the time of exposure and the time of diagnosis creates one of the most significant challenges in pursuing justice for a mesothelioma victim — with so many years between exposure and disease presentation, memories can fade and evidence can be lost or destroyed. This makes reconstructing the type of detailed history of asbestos contact that juries need to establish liability difficult, especially in the face of the aggressive defenses mounted by asbestos companies’ attorneys.

The History of Asbestos Use: Setting the Stage for Liability

Understanding the history of asbestos is important to understanding the basis for exposure claims. The mineral has been prized for its heat resistance, durability, and insulating properties for centuries, but its use became ubiquitous in industries of all kinds from the advent of the Industrial Revolution through much of the 20th century, particularly in the years between the 1930s and 1980.

Industries that relied most heavily on the use of asbestos use included:

• Shipbuilding and naval operations
• Construction and building materials
• Power plants and utilities
• Automotive manufacturing (especially brake components)
• Chemical plants
• Steel mills
• Mining operations
• Textile plants

What makes asbestos litigation both complex and successful is that internal industry documents have revealed that manufacturers and employers knew about asbestos hazards by the 1930s but continued using the material without adequate warnings or safety measures until forced to by regulatory actions taken in the 1970s and 1980s.[1] This corporate knowledge forms the basis for many liability claims. Still, connecting a specific victim to specific products or workplace environments is a critical challenge, and why it is so important that mesothelioma victims seek legal representation from attorneys with extensive experience specific to asbestos litigation.

Presenting the timeline of asbestos dangers – from early suspicions to asbestos companies’ knowledge to public awareness – is a critical element of asbestos litigation that an experienced mesothelioma lawyer will devote significant time to. This timeline includes:

The 1900s to 1920s: Early Suspicions[2] 

The first medical record of concerns about asbestos dangers emerged in the early 1900s.[2”] 

• 1906: The first documented death of an asbestos worker from pulmonary fibrosis was reported in London.
• 1918: U.S. and Canadian insurance companies began refusing coverage to asbestos workers due to health risks.
• 1924: The first use of the term “asbestosis” to describe asbestos-related diseases appeared in medical literature after Dr. W.E. Cooke published a case study of Nellie Kershaw, a textile worker who died from lung disease caused by asbestos exposure.
• 1927: The term “pulmonary asbestosis” entered medical journals, with reports indicating prolonged exposure that led to lung scarring.

Though the knowledge of asbestos dangers during this period was spreading, it was still largely limited to medical researchers, though some insurance actuaries began reacting to mortality patterns among asbestos workers.

The 1930s to 1940s: Asbestos Company Knowledge Grows[2]

By the 1930s, the evidence of asbestos dangers had become widely available to the executives and owners of companies that used asbestos:

• 1930: The “Merewether Report” was published in Britain, definitively linking asbestos exposure to lung disease and recommending safety standards for the industry.
• 1932: A letter from the president of Johns-Manville (a major asbestos manufacturer) mentioned that “the shortest way would be to say that ‘Asbestos’ dust is extremely harmful.”
• 1933: Metropolitan Life Insurance conducted a study of asbestos textile plants and found asbestosis in 29% of workers. These results were shared with major manufacturers.
• 1943: The first official link between asbestos and cancer was established by German researchers.

Years later, internal documents uncovered in the course of asbestos litigation revealed that throughout this time, major asbestos companies were actively researching the health impacts on their workers while simultaneously developing policies to suppress what they’d found.

1940s to 1960s: Suppression of Information by Asbestos Companies[2]

This period represents the most egregious concealment of known hazards that were later discovered through asbestos litigation.

• 1942: A confidential report prepared for Johns-Manville showed that 42% of the workers in the company’s factories developed asbestosis after working there for approximately 3 years. These findings were never revealed to employees.
• 1948: Internal documents from various companies showed memories discussing a corporate strategy of not informing workers about abnormal chest X-rays showing early signs of asbestos disease.
• 1958: In internal memos, the chief medical officer at Turner & Newall (a British asbestos company) acknowledged the lung cancer risks associated with asbestos exposure but concluded, “better to keep quiet about this report.”
• Early 1960s: Dr. Irving Selikoff began research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and found high disease rates among asbestos insulation workers. There were several attempts by the asbestos industry to block his access.

At the same time that information about asbestos dangers was being suppressed the use of the material was expanding dramatically, especially in construction, shipbuilding, and consumer products. Manufacturers chose not to issue any warnings about its hazards, despite privately acknowledging them.

1960s to1970s: The Public Learns of Asbestos’ Dangers[2] 

Several important events finally made the public aware of the dangers of asbestos.

• 1964: Dr. Selikoff presented findings at the “Biological Effects of Asbestos” conference. He showed that insulation workers were seven times more likely to die from lung cancer than the general population.
• 1972: The first major exposé about asbestos was published in Britain when the newspaper The Sunday Times ran an article titled, “The Dust at Acre Mill,” which revealed widespread disease among asbestos workers.
• 1973: The landmark court case Borel v. Fibreboard became the first successful legal claim that held asbestos manufacturers accountable for failing to warn about the mineral’s known dangers.
• 1973: The EPA issued its first asbestos restrictions under the Clean Air Act. This marked the beginning of the United States’ regulatory response.
• 1975: “Asbestos: The Lethal Dust,” a CBS documentary, brought widespread public attention to the issue.

1970s to 1990s: Regulations and Asbestos Lawsuits[2]

As public knowledge of the dangers of asbestos grew, both government agencies and the courts began dealing with preventing asbestos exposure and punishing those companies that had been responsible for so much harm.

• 1976: The Toxic Substances Control Act gave the EPA authority over asbestos.
• 1977: Court cases revealed the “Sumner Simpson Papers.” These were industry documents dating back to the 1930s and 40s that showed deliberate concealment of the health risks of asbestos.
• 1982: A landmark documentary, “Alice: A Fight for Life,” aired in the United Kingdom, focusing on a 47-year-old woman who was dying from mesothelioma after brief industrial exposure.
• 1989: The EPA tried to ban asbestos under the “Asbestos Ban and Phase-Out Rule.” Following industry pressure, this was partially overturned in 1991.
• 1994: The first bankruptcy traceable to asbestos liability was filed by Celotex.

These devastating facts tell the tragic story of how asbestos manufacturers chose profits over people and are frequently presented as the foundational evidence presented to mesothelioma juries.

Mesothelioma’s Latency Means Finding Evidence from Decades Ago

Mesothelioma’s decades-long latency period represents a unique challenge, as by the time a diagnosis occurs:

• Workplaces where asbestos was present have frequently been closed or renovated
• Companies that manufactured or placed asbestos into the stream of commerce may have merged, dissolved, or restructured
• Employment records might be incomplete or have been destroyed
• Witnesses who can testify about asbestos in a workplace or a manufacturing process may have died or their memories have faded.
• Victims’ memories of equipment and parts manufacturer’s names may have faded.
• Product packaging and identifying features may have changed

The significant gap in time makes diligent investigation and documentation essential. Successful mesothelioma claims generally depend on building highly detailed exposure profiles that can stand up to scrutiny despite all of these challenges.

Types of Asbestos Exposure

Though the majority of people diagnosed with mesothelioma can trace their asbestos exposure to their workplace, there are several ways that exposure can occur.

Occupational Exposure

Direct workplace exposure accounts for approximately 70-80% of mesothelioma cases. High-risk occupations included:

• Insulators and asbestos workers
• Plumbers and pipefitters
• Electricians
• Boilermakers
• Shipyard workers
• Construction workers
• Mechanics
• Factory workers in asbestos-product manufacturing

For these workers, proving exposure involves documenting specific job sites, duties performed, products handled, and identifying the manufacturers of those products. Employment records, union membership documentation, coworker testimony, and industry-specific knowledge become invaluable.

Secondary Exposure

Also known as “take-home” exposure, secondary exposure occurs when asbestos fibers are carried home on a worker’s clothing, hair, or tools. Family members, particularly women who laundered asbestos-covered work clothes, often trace their exposure to this secondary path.

Proving secondary exposure requires establishing:

• The primary worker’s exposure to specific asbestos products
• Regular contact with the worker or their contaminated items
• The absence of other significant exposure sources

These cases often rely on detailed testimony about household routines and the worker’s employment history. Because many asbestos-contaminated workplaces were primary employers in a geographic area, it’s common for women diagnosed with mesothelioma to point to asbestos carried into their homes by multiple family members. 

Environmental Exposure

Residents of communities located near asbestos mines, manufacturing facilities, or processing plants experienced increased exposure risk through environmental contamination. Libby, Montana is probably the best-known example of this type of exposure, and so too is Ambler, Pennsylvania, which was home to the largest asbestos manufacturing facility in the United States for decades.[3] Residents and former residents of both locations and many others continue to develop mesothelioma at rates significantly above the national average due to asbestos fibers from the plant being released into the community’s air, soil, and water.

Establishing environmental exposure typically requires:

• Residential history demonstrating proximity to known contamination sources
• Environmental testing and historical data on asbestos levels
• Epidemiological evidence showing elevated disease rates in the area
• Expert testimony linking community exposure to individual disease

Building Your Asbestos Exposure Case

Comprehensive Work History and Product Identification

When you first meet with an asbestos attorney, you will be asked a lot of questions about where you worked and lived throughout your life. Successful mesothelioma claims require detailed records of every potential exposure site and product, so you will be asked to provide:

• A complete employment history with dates, locations, and job duties
• Specific product names, descriptions, and manufacturers
• Frequency and duration of exposure to each product
• Safety measures (or lack thereof) that were provided
• Information about who controlled the work environment

Attorneys who represent asbestos victims understand that your memories of these details may have faded over the years. They often use specialized databases containing product information, company histories, and known asbestos-containing materials to help piece together your incidence of exposure.

The Discovery Process: Finding Evidence

The legal discovery process provides powerful tools for uncovering evidence that may otherwise remain hidden:

• Interrogatories force defendants to answer questions about their products, safety practices, and knowledge of asbestos hazards
• Depositions allow for the questioning of company representatives, coworkers, and other witnesses under oath
• Document requests can uncover internal memos, test results, and other records showing what companies knew about asbestos dangers.
• Site inspections may reveal remaining asbestos materials in buildings where exposure occurred.

The discovery process often yields documents showing that defendants knew about asbestos dangers but failed to warn workers, and this evidence can support both causation and claims for punitive damages. 

The Role of Expert Witnesses

Expert witness testimony provides the scientific foundation that connects specific exposures to disease development. Key experts called to testify in mesothelioma lawsuits include:

• Industrial hygienists who can explain asbestos exposure levels in particular work environments or circumstances
• Occupational physicians who speak to how specific exposures contribute to disease development
• Pathologists who analyze tissue samples to confirm whether and what kind of asbestos fiber types are present
• Epidemiologists who explain population-level disease patterns
• Material scientists who identify product composition

These experts translate complex scientific concepts into easy-to-understand information for judges and juries. They explain how even brief or seemingly minor exposures can contribute to disease decades later.

Tracking Changes in Corporate Structures

Many asbestos manufacturers have undergone bankruptcy, reorganization, or acquisition. Tracing corporate succession and identifying viable defendants or trust funds requires specialized legal knowledge and investigative talent. Successful claims often involve:

• Identifying successor companies that assumed liabilities
• Locating appropriate asbestos bankruptcy trusts
• Understanding the varying claims criteria for different defendants
• Navigating complex filing deadlines and procedures

This aspect of asbestos litigation requires attorneys with specialized knowledge of the field’s evolving landscape.

Proving Historical Exposure

Eyewitnesses to asbestos exposure become harder to find as more years between exposure and diagnosis pass. To address this challenge, attorneys have developed innovative approaches to establishing exposure:

• Creating detailed timelines aligning a victim’s work history with known asbestos-containing products in specific locations
• Using company invoices and purchasing records to prove asbestos-containing products were present at work sites
• Finding building specifications and architectural plans that identify asbestos-containing materials in structures
• Using social media to find former coworkers who can provide testimony
• Finding historical photographs that show branded asbestos products being used

These methods help bridge the gaps in firsthand evidence created by mesothelioma’s long latency period.

Getting Justice for Mesothelioma Victims

For many mesothelioma victims, closure and justice come with hearing a jury agree that an asbestos company was guilty of negligence and owes them and their families financial compensation. This type of victory relies on successfully proving specific asbestos exposure. Medical evidence confirms a mesothelioma diagnosis, but exposure history is what draws a line to legal responsibility.

No matter how long ago your exposure was or how uncertain you may be about who is at fault, an experienced mesothelioma attorney can use basic biographical information to help you identify those at fault. The most important element of a successful mesothelioma lawsuit is quick action, as every state has its own statute of limitations which act as deadlines by which time your claim must be submitted. An asbestos lawyer will be able to provide this information and explain the process so that you can make an informed decision about how to move forward.