Mesothelioma Lawyer Blog
Attorney Michael Mandelbrot, founder of the Asbestos Legal Center of San Francisco, a law firm that represents patients suffering from mesothelioma in the San Joaquin County and Stockton area, today cited statistics indicating that from 2005 to 2009, individuals living in San Joaquin County suffered a 49% higher incidence age adjusted rate of mesothelioma compared to all residents living in the state of California. “What we see today in Stockton and San Joaquin County is a public health tragedy. While there is no known cure for malignant pleural mesothelioma, we can still fight in the Courts for compensation for those who have been injured, and their families, in an attempt to ensure that this tragedy will not repeat itself in the future.”
There are many locations in San Joaquin County were residents who have developed mesothelioma, lung cancer or other asbestos related diseases, may have been exposed to the fibrous mineral, asbestos.
The Johns-Manville manufacturing plant, located on Stockton’s outskirts, exposed thousands of workers to raw asbestos fiber stored at the plant, and incorporated into asbestos containing products and asbestos cement pipe manufactured at the plant. The facility started operating in the 1950’s and produced asbestos containing products well into the 1980’s. Bags of raw asbestos fiber were transported into the facility on railroad cars. Numerous lawsuits have been filed on behalf of those suffering from mesothelioma who were exposed to asbestos at the Johns-Manville manufacturing plant in Stockton, California.
Many workers were also exposed to asbestos at the Port of Stockton, and at various boat construction outfits located in the Stockton and San Joaquin County area. Stockton is home to one of only two inland ports in the state of California. It was in the Stockton shipyards that boat builders constructed U.S. Navy minesweepers and other vessels during multiple war efforts. Neighboring San Francisco Bay also created a demand for Stockton shipbuilders to construct vessels for use in it’s vast bay.
The mesothelioma age adjusted incidence rate also may by high in Stockton and San Joaquin County due to the fact that many individuals who were exposed to asbestos at jobsites located in other parts of California, were attracted to the Stockton area for retirement as a result of affordable property values. Plumbers, steamfitters, carpenters, laborers, boilermakers, air conditioning mechanics, and many other skilled workers are at risk for developing mesothelioma due to exposure to asbestos they suffered on construction sites. Additionally, veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces are also at risk for developing mesothelioma. Alarmingly, over the 2005 to 2009 time period, the San Joaquin County age adjusted mesothelioma incidence rate was 72% higher than Los Angeles County.
There have been many lawsuits filed by mesothelioma patients who were exposed to asbestos in Stockton, California. Mesothelioma patients who were exposed to asbestos at the Johns-Manville manufacturing plant in Stockton also have obtained compensation from the Johns-Manville bankruptcy trust.
Unfortunately there are many more locations, than mentioned in this article, in Stockton, California, where workers…
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