Law & Society

Manufacturers of asbestos products knew they were toxic, but hid that knowledge from their workers and from those who bought their products. People were breathing in and swallowing the fibers, they were tracking the fibers home on their clothing and exposing their family, and they were returning back to work the next day - putting themselves at a deadly risk - without any idea of what was going to happen to them.
Asbestos product manufacturers took advantage of the fact that asbestos diseases, and in particular, mesothelioma, have a long latency period, typically not developing for decades after exposure. This long latency period made it easier for them to cover up the effects of asbestos exposure and to continue to make a profit.

It’s tragic that mesothelioma hits anyone at any time of their life. But at SEG Law, we’ve been especially saddened by the number of mesothelioma victims we’ve represented that were hit during the early years of their retirement. For their entire adult lives, they worked long days, week after week, year after year, looking forward to the day they can retire and just take it easy, travel, or spend time with their grandchildren. And then, with terrible irony, mesothelioma strikes in early retirement and wreaks havoc with their plans and lives.

Lloyd Higgins’s story follows this path. Devastatingly, right after he retired, the day before he and his wife were due to pick up the RV they had bought to travel the country in for their retirement years, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He spent the last six months of his life fighting the horrific disease, and fighting the asbestos manufacturers responsible for his exposure. Before he passed away, he was able to give a strong deposition. Eleven months after his death, Lloyd Higgins’s wife received a settlement for an undisclosed amount. She received what was due to her but unfortunately she lost Lloyd because of greedy asbestos product manufacturers