Anyone who worked in the Maritime Industry prior to the Mid-1980s may have been exposed to hazardous asbestos.

Asbestos has long been a mainstay of the maritime industry. For decades, shipbuilders, parts manufacturers, and even the United States Navy relied on asbestos products to keep their vessels safe from fire. 

Even though the Environmental Protection Agency banned the import, sale, and use of most asbestos materials in the late 1980s, many watercraft remain contaminated. Experts believe that, in spite of international treaties regulating the use of asbestos aboard ships, many sailors and longshoremen remain at-risk for asbestos exposure. 

Historically, maritime workers injured by asbestos faced an uphill battle to receive compensation. However, the passage and revision of federal laws has made it substantially easier for veterans and private industry workers to receive compensation for the costs associated with serious asbestos-related conditions, including mesothelioma and other cancers. 

Asbestos in the Maritime Industry

Asbestos is a term used to refer to a group of six naturally occurring minerals. 

While we know today that asbestos poses an incredible hazard to human health, people have sought out this so—called “miracle mineral” for thousands of years. 

Since asbestos is naturally strong, resilient, and heat-resistant, it has wide-ranging industrial uses. When asbestos is broken down into small, fibrous strands, it can be reworked into different materials and compounds. During the 20th century, asbestos could be found everywhere from automotive parts to wall paint and roof shingles. Asbestos was accorded similar importance in the maritime industry, having been used aboard commercial watercraft and naval ships since at least the early 20th century.

Hazardous Asbestos Was Used to Build Sailing Vessels of all Kinds

Between the 1930s and late 1980s, almost every United States Navy vessel was constructed with asbestos-containing materials. Large ships, including aircraft carriers and destroyers, were often built with literal tons of asbestos. 

Ironically, shipbuilders often intentionally ordered and fabricated asbestos products, believing that the mineral’s natural properties could prevent potentially catastrophic fires. 

The Medical Dangers of Asbestos 

Asbestos is most dangerous when it is friable. Friable asbestos is asbestos that can easily crumble. Simply working with or around asbestos products could compromise their quality, turning an otherwise stable material into a significant health hazard. 

If someone inhales asbestos fibers, the fibers could enter their lungs and infiltrate their respiratory system. Over time, these fibers could accumulate, creating serious and potentially lethal medical complications. 

Asbestos exposure has been tied to injuries, disorders, and diseases including but not limited to:

Pleural Plaques, the thickening of tissue around the lungs. While this condition is not life-threatening, it can accelerate or prompt more serious respiratory diseases and problems.
Asbestosis, a chronic lung condition caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibers. It is characterized by symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, and weight loss. Asbestosis gets worse over time and cannot be cured.
Mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer that causes severe respiratory problems.
Cancer, including cancer of the lungs, ovaries, and esophagus.

The Lifetime Costs of Asbestos Disease Treatment 

Asbestos-related diseases like mesothelioma have a long latency period, meaning that they may not present any adverse health symptoms for decades. Navy veterans, shipbuilders, and longshoremen who worked with asbestos in the 1960s or 1970s might not realize their life is in jeopardy until it is already on the line. 

Treatment of Asbestos Illnesses Can Be Very Expensive

Mesothelioma, for instance, is a particularly aggressive cancer that is most often caused by occupational asbestos exposure. However, most people with mesothelioma are never diagnosed until the cancer has already compromised their lungs or other organs. 

Since the average age someone is diagnosed with mesothelioma is about 72, physicians are limited in their options for treatment. 

Nevertheless, the costs of an asbestos disease, like mesothelioma, can quickly accumulate. Routine treatments—including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery—could average between $11,000 and $12,000 per month. 

If a mesothelioma patient requires hospitalization, they could face expenses up to $25,000 per incident.  

The steep costs of treatment can drive even financially stable individuals—people who have good health insurance, or who have saved long and hard for retirement—to the brink of bankruptcy and ruin. 

Fortunately, you do not have to let the asbestos industry’s negligence strip you of your rights. 

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Federal Statutes Could Afford Maritime Workers and Their Loved Ones Significant Compensation

If you, or a loved one, have been injured by asbestos or an asbestos-related disease, you could be entitled to significant compensation through: 

Your individual options for compensation for your asbestos-related illness could be dependent on the circumstances of your employment:

There are two primary Federal laws protecting maritime workers who are injured, and both can apply to injuries from asbestos exposure:

  • The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, popularly known as the Jones Act, is a federal statute extending the Employer’s Liability Act to seamen. The Act allows seamen who have been injured at sea during the course of their employment to file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer or employers. 
  • The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act is a federal law that provides for the payment of compensation, medical care, and other rehabilitative services to employees who sustained serious, employment-related injuries on the United States’ navigable waters or in adjoining areas used by the maritime industry. 

The Jones Act and Asbestos Injuries 

The Jones Act intends to protect seamen who sustain injuries aboard American maritime vessels. 

The Jones Act covers:

  • Sailors
  • Divers
  • Deckhands
  • Mechanics
  • Drillers
  • Fishermen
  • Pilots
  • Any other person employed aboard a watercraft
The Jones Act requires that seamen be provided with:

  • Reasonable rations of food water and water;
  • Appropriate shelter;
  • Medical care; and
  • Safe working conditions.
The Jones Act allows Maritime workers to seek compensation in court.

If an employer negligently exposes a seaman to asbestos, and the seaman later develops an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma, the worker could file a lawsuit in state or federal court.
The Jones Act provides legal relief for damages such as:

  • Past, present, and anticipated medical expenses;
  • Lost income;
  • Diminished earning potential;
  • Physical pain and suffering;
  • Emotional pain and suffering; and
  • Wrongful death.
The Jones Act does not cap the damages an injured seaman could recover in court. 

Unlike Worker’s Compensation claims, Jones Act claims allow a worker to seek full compensation for their injuries, including medical bills, lost work, lost wages, and even emotional pain and suffering.
The Jones Act has certain exceptions:

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (aka the Jones Act) has several important exceptions. An individual is only entitled to file a personal injury claim under the Jones Act if they spent at least 30 percent of their working time aboard a vessel in navigable waters. Shipbuilders, longshoremen, and watercraft manufacturers are not typically entitled to claim relief under this statute. 

While the Jones Act might exclude certain employees, other maritime workers could pursue relief under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and Asbestos Injuries 

Who is covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act?

The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act is designed to provide enhanced disability benefits to maritime industry employees who suffered serious injuries on the job. 

However, this statute has a strict interpretation of who may be considered a “maritime” worker. 

You could receive benefits if you worked as:

  • A longshoreman;
  • A harbor worker;
  • A civilian contractor at a U.S. military base;
  • A shipyard mechanic; or
  • Any other person who is or was actively engaged in “maritime” work within reasonable distance to a navigable body of water.
The act specifically excludes the following persons from coverage:

  • Shipbuilders employed to build large recreational watercraft;
  • People employed by a marina who do not routinely perform construction, replacement, or expansion work;
  • Mechanics or repairmen for recreational vessels;
  • Fish farmers; and
  • The captain and crew members of any watercraft, who are instead entitled to benefits under the Jones Act.
Workers eligible under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act may receive:

  • Temporary total disability benefits;
  • Temporary partial disability benefits;
  • Permanent total disability benefits; and
  • Permanent partial disability benefits.
Claims under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act can often receive larger compensation: 

Since claims submitted under this statute usually yield greater benefits than disability claims submitted to state-level agencies, an experienced asbestos litigation attorney could help you determine how to best maximize your compensation. 

Depending on your state of residence, you may be able to receive benefits from a Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation claim as well as an ordinary workers’ compensation claim.
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If you may have been exposed to asbestos, speak with your healthcare provider about tests and screening to help detect the presence of asbestos fibers and asbestos-related damage.
AsbestosClaims.Law
AsbestosClaims.law is your comprehensive resource for all things asbestos. We hope this information is helpful.
If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, check out our website and YouTube page for videos, infographics and answers to your questions about asbestos, including health and safety, asbestos testing, removing asbestos from your home and building, and legal information about compensation for asbestos injuries.
And if you believe that you were exposed to asbestos, or have been diagnosed with an asbestos illness, you could be entitled to significant compensation—money you could use to cover the costs of asbestos removal services, pay for medical treatment, and preemptively protect your physical well-being. 
All without filing a lawsuit.
If you’d like help with filing a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190. We’ll listen to your story and explain your options. And we never charge for anything unless you receive money in your pocket.