Oregon: Mesothelioma Lawyers Help OR Asbestos Victims

Salem, Oregon – Mesothelioma Lawyers From the National Asbestos Litigation Firm of Levy Konigsberg LLP (“LK”) Are Continuing To Help Oregon Mesothelioma Patients and Families Obtain Legal Compensation From Companies Who Manufactured, Sold or Used Asbestos-containing Products.

Every year, thousands of men and women across the country are diagnosed with mesothelioma, including many in Oregon. Even more are diagnosed with lung cancer and asbestosis. According to statistics compiled by the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation, Oregon ranks ninth in the nation in mortality rates for mesothelioma. All of these asbestos-related diseases could have been prevented if workers had been properly protected from exposure to asbestos.

Due to the presence of a large shipyard and numerous power plants and other industrial employers throughout Oregon, shipyard employees, powerhouse employees, insulators, plumbers, laborers, electricians, pipefitters, chemical operators, machinist, boilermakers, engineers and many other trades were routinely exposed to asbestos on a daily basis at their places of employment. Mesothelioma lawyers at LK have extensive experience in investigating these occupational exposures:

Kaiser Swan Island Shipyard

Constructed as an “Emergency Shipyard” during World War II, Portland’s Kaiser Swan Island Shipyard was tasked with rapid construction of U.S. Navy Liberty and Victory ships for use during wartime. Thousands of Oregon citizens were employed to support the country’s war efforts. As the war ended, activities at the Swan Island Shipyard shifted from shipbuilding to dry dock and general ship repair and overhaul operations. The creation of a large dry dock and repair industry at the Swan Island Shipyard resulted in increased shipyard activities, including distribution, warehousing and manufacturing. Many industries have established a presence at the Swan Island Shipyard due to the heavy port operations on Swan Island. Between the 1940s and 1980s, shipyard workers and other industrial employees working at or near Swan Island were exposed to asbestos.

Kaiser Shipyard, Vancouver, WA

Located in Vancouver, Washington, just north of Portland, Oregon, the Kaiser Shipyard employed individuals from Oregon and Washington. At the peak of World War II, employees of the Vancouver Shipyard produced one new U.S. Navy ship each week. As wartime construction decreased, Kaiser attempted to develop new uses for the shipyard, including the construction of industrial manufacturing facilities. Between the 1940s and 1980s, construction and industrial operations occurred at the former Kaiser Shipyard. Many tradespeople, including general contractors, laborers, electricians, pipefitters, insulators, millwrights, bricklayers, welders, and other trades, constructed and worked in various industries which attempted to revitalize the once-booming location. Today, the Columbia Business Center calls the former-Kaiser Shipyard home.

Tongue Point Navy Ship Yard

Constructed in 1946, the Tongue Point Navy Shipyard of Astoria, Oregon was operated with the goal of maintaining, repairing and docking various U.S. Navy vessels for purposes of rapid reactivation. Operated through 1963, hundreds of U.S. Navy vessels were overhauled, maintained and repaired at this shipyard. Hundreds of Oregon military personnel and civilian employees removed, installed and repaired equipment located in the boiler rooms, engine rooms, and machine rooms of these vessels. Unfortunately, much of that equipment was either insulated with asbestos or contained various asbestos components, which these workers regularly installed or replaced.

Oregon Maritime Industry

Due to Oregon’s convenient border with the Pacific Ocean, activities and industry have occurred on Oregon’s waters for over a century. Shipping, warehousing, manufacturing and other industry was rapidly established. The rapid expansion of these maritime industries offered thousands of jobs to Oregon residents. Between the 1940s and 1980s, industrial operations regularly involved work with and around various asbestos-containing products. Attorneys at LK are experienced in investigating the unique asbestos exposures suffered by Oregon residents at these maritime-related locations. When considering filing an asbestos lawsuit, it is critically important that your lawyer understand the industry you were employed in. Our mesothelioma lawyers have the knowledge necessary to fully investigate the products used at your maritime-related place of employment.

Oregon Chemical Industry

For several decades, many producers of industrial and consumer chemicals called Oregon home. Companies including Borden, Chevron, Chipman, Georgia Pacific, Portland Gas & Coke, Rhone-Poulenc, and Stauffer Chemical operated chemical manufacturing plants throughout Oregon. Although preventable, employees and independent contractors at these chemical plant locations were regularly exposed to high levels of asbestos dust.

Asbestos exposure at Oregon chemical plants were unique and widespread. The production of chemicals required high-heat equipment, including cauldrons, industrial ladles and other melting equipment. Due to the heat produced by this equipment, much of it was completely insulated with raw asbestos, regularly exposing chemical plant employees to asbestos. Many chemical companies provided their employees with products manufactured of asbestos, including gloves, mittens, blankets, and vests. Employees would regularly utilize these products for their entire shift. Other equipment which allowed the chemical plants to operate, including turbines, boilers, furnaces, ovens, pumps, valves, and steam traps were regularly installed, maintained and repaired. Numerous tradespeople were regularly employed at these Oregon chemical plants to ensure that this machinery operated efficiently. Although these chemical manufacturers knew that asbestos to exposure created serious health hazards, they did not warn their employees. LK’s mesothelioma lawyers have successfully investigated exposures suffered by individuals at chemical plants.

Oregon Paper & Pulp Industry

Between the 1940s and 1980s, the paper and pulp industry was one of the largest employers of Oregon residents. Companies including Boise Cascade, Crown, International Paper, Menasha, Publishers, Spalding, and Weyerhaeuser operated large production mills throughout Oregon. Employees, independent contractors and other visitors of these paper and pulp mills were regularly exposed to high levels of asbestos dust.

The production of paper and pulp products required the operation of large mills which employed hundreds of individuals per shift. Various pieces of machinery and equipment required to operate these mills were regularly installed and repaired. Many of the individuals who operated or repaired this equipment were exposed to high levels of asbestos dust. In 2002, an article was published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, investigating lung and pleural diseases of 62,937 males who worked for at least one year in the paper and pulp industry between the years 1945 and 1966. The study found that at least thirty-six percent of paper and pulp employees were exposed to asbestos while employed at a paper and pulp mill. Many of the paper and pulp employees who developed a lung or pleural disease performed maintenance work at the paper and pulp mill.

An experienced LK mesothelioma lawyer will investigate all possible exposures you or your loved one suffered at an Oregon paper and pulp worksite. Individuals present at these worksites commonly worked with and around boilers, furnaces, turbines, ovens, motors and generators. Other products commonly used at paper and pulp mills include gaskets, packing, pipecovering, raw asbestos and masonry products, much of which contained asbestos.

Oregon Logging Industry

Due to an abundance of forestlands throughout the state, Oregon was one of the leading markets for timber activities between the 1940s and 1980s. Logging activities in Oregon required several distinct operations, including cutting activities, transportation, processing, shipping and delivery. Mills and warehouses were constructed which received the raw timber for purposes of processing. Many trades were directly and indirectly required for the successful operation of these logging activities. Mill workers, truck drivers, rail yard crews, warehouse workers, mechanics, and various skilled tradespeople worked in some capacity to support Oregon’s logging and timber industry. During your free consultation, an LK lawyer will gather all of the necessary information required to properly investigate your asbestos exposure suffered at these worksites.

Other Industry in Oregon

Due to the presence of numerous industrial employers throughout Oregon, insulators, plumbers, electricians, pipefitters, chemical operators, machinists, powerhouse workers, boilermakers, engineers and many other trades were routinely exposed to asbestos. Each year, approximately three thousand men and women across the country, including many in Oregon, are diagnosed with mesothelioma, an aggressive asbestos cancer, due to their work with or around asbestos-containing products. Many tradespeople employed at factories, warehouses, manufacturing facilities and other industrial buildings commonly worked with and around asbestos-containing materials. During your free consultation, an LK mesothelioma lawyer will review your employment history and discuss the investigation of asbestos exposure at your worksites.

Individual Case Review

In Oregon, and across the country, many people also developed mesothelioma from non-occupational asbestos exposures, such as automotive work, home renovations and other hobbies, or from “second-hand asbestos exposure,” which occurred when work clothes contaminated with asbestos were worn home. Experienced mesothelioma lawyers at LK will assist your family in determining all possible sources of your exposure to asbestos dust.

Oregon worksites where asbestos exposure was common include:

Figure 1. Map of the most common asbestos exposure worksites in the State of Oregon.

• 3M (Medford & White City, OR)
• American Can Company (Halsey, OR)
• Armstrong Supplies (Halsey, OR)
• Astoria Electric Company (Astoria, OR)
• Astoria Marine Shipyard (Astoria, OR)
• Bell Telephone (Pendleton, OR)
• Bend Water Light & Power Company (Bend, OR)
• Boise Cascade Corporation (La Grande, OR)
• Borden Chemical Company (La Grande, OR)
• Brooks Scanlow Inc. (Bend, OR)
• Cascade Steel Rolling Mills (McMinnville, OR)
• CertainTeed (White City, OR)
• Chevron (Multiple Locations, OR)
• Combustion Engineering (Toledo, OR)
• Consolidated Freightways (Medford, OR)
• Coos Bay Carboard Plant (Coos Bay, OR)
• Crown Williamette Paper Company (Lebanon, OR)
• Crown Zellerback Corp. (Wauna, OR)
• Daw Forest Products (Bend, OR)
• Domestic Laundry (Pendleton, OR)
• Evans Products Company (Coos Bay, OR)
• Fiberglass Engineering & Supply Company (Pendleton, OR)
• Georgia Pacific (Multiple Locations, OR)
• Hammond Nickel Smelting Company (Riddle, OR)
• Harris Pine Mills (Pendleton, OR)
• Harvey Aluminum (The Dalles, OR)
• Hercules (Portland, OR)
• Hudspeth & Rine, Inc. (Prineville, OR)
• International Cedar Corp. (Marshfield, OR)
• International Paper Company (Gardiner, OR)
• James River Paper Construction (Halsey, OR)
• Martin-Marietta Aluminum (The Dalles, OR)
• Medford Corp. (Medford, OR)
• Menasha Paper Company (Coos Bay, OR)
• Miller Lumber (Prineville, OR) Mountain States Power Company (Statewide, OR)

• Neptune Microfloc, Inc. (Corvallis, OR)
• Ochoco Lumber Company (Prineville, OR)
• Oregon Sugar Company (La Grande, OR)
• Oregon Washington Railroad & Navigation Company (The Dalles, OR)
• Pacific Power & Light Company (Astoria, OR)
• Pendleton Wooden Mills (Pendleton, OR)
• Pope and Talbot (Halsey, OR)
• Portland Gas & Coke (Portland, OR)
• Publishers Paper Company (Newberg, OR)
• R.L. Elfstrom, Inc. (Corvallis, OR)
• Robert Duff Water Treatment Plant (Medford, OR)
• Roseburg Lumber Company (Roseburg, OR)
• Rust Engineering Company (Newberg, OR)
• Sabroso Company (Medford, OR)
• Simpson Paper Company (West Linn, OR)
• Smurfit Corporation (Multiple Locations, OR)
• South Portland Shipyard and Marine Railways Corp. (South Portland, OR)
• Sp Newsprint Company (Newberg, OR)
• Spalding Pulp & Paper Company (Newberg, OR)
• Spruce Production (Toledo, OR)
• Stimson Lumber Company (Forest Grove, OR)
• Suburban Pools Incorporated (Forest Grove, OR)
• Sunrise Utility Company (Bend, OR)
• Swan Island Shipyard (Swan Island, OR)
• Telephone Equipment Building (Forest Grove, OR)
• Tongue Point Naval Shipyard (Astoria, OR)
• U.S. Plywood (Coos Bay, OR)
• Valley Plywood Company (Junction City, OR)
• Wauna Paper Mill (Wauna, OR)
• West Linn Paper (West Linn, OR)
• Weyerhauser Paper Mill (Coos Bay, OR)
• Williamette Company (Bend, OR)
• Yamhill Electric Company (Newberg, OR)

If you or your loved one are an Oregon resident or were exposed to asbestos in Oregon, and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, please call (800) 315-3806 or submit an online inquiry on this website to receive a FREE consultation with mesothelioma lawyers at Levy Konigsberg LLP.

ATTENTION: Mesothelioma has no known cure and often causes severe pain, suffering, and other types of damage, such as loss of consortium, and loss of income. Additionally, due to the exceedingly high cost of mesothelioma treatments, many families exhaust savings and accumulate financial debt in order to pay for the medical expenses of their family member.

Under the law of most states, pain and suffering from mesothelioma may be compensated through the award of money damages, usually obtained with the help of experienced mesothelioma attorneys. In some states other types of damages may also be recovered.

Asbestos litigation affords mesothelioma victims the opportunity to receive financial compensation and hold accountable the companies that caused their asbestos exposure.

IMPORTANT: If you or your family member has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you should get in touch with a mesothelioma lawyer as early as possible to determine if you have a mesothelioma case and to:

• Preserve your rights to bring a legal action against the responsible parties within the limited time frame allowed by law, known as statute of limitations;
• Obtain maximum compensation in your case by being able to:
  • Preserve evidence and establish facts of the asbestos exposure while the claimant is still alive and able to provide information;
  • File and resolve a lawsuit against the responsible parties before they file for bankruptcy or, if they already have, to obtain compensation before their bankruptcy trust funds run out of money;
• Expedite your case, as courts tend to give higher priority to mesothelioma lawsuits where the claimant is still alive.

Find out whether you have a case by speaking to one of our experienced mesothelioma lawyers via our 24/7 toll-free hotline at (800) 315-3806 or by submitting an email inquiry (see form above). Our attorneys will be quick to respond to you and happy to answer all of your questions.

NOTE: While our offices are located in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Georgia, many of our mesothelioma lawyers are licensed to practice law in a number of U.S. states and have the capability and extensive experience of representing mesothelioma clients throughout the United States. You are encouraged to contact us with any questions.