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LOUISIANA RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Chiquita, Coca-Cola and others named in asbestos suit

Air asbestos sticker

NEW ORLEANS— A man recently diagnosed with terminal, incurable lung cancer attributes his contraction of the illness to his nearly 30 years of work at various companies where he was exposed to asbestos.

Charles J. Carrone Sr. filed suit against Asbestos Corporation Limited, Eagle Inc., Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation, McCarty Corporation, Maryland Casualty Company as insurer of Marquette Insulations Inc., Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Owens Illinois Inc., Reilly-Benton Company, Taylor-Seidenbach Inc., General Electric, Boland Machine & Manufacturing Company Inc., Chiquita Brands International Inc., United Fruit Company, Coca-Cola Company, Evan Cooperage, Evans Industries Inc. and Evans Harvey Corporation in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court on July 16.

Carrone claims that he was exposed to injurious levels of asbestos from his occupational exposure while working as an electrician from approximately 1950 to 1979. The plaintiff alleges he used, handled or was in the vicinity of others using or handling asbestos on United Fruit Company vessels at the New Orleans riverfront and that he was also exposed while working at Evans Cooperage, at Coca-Cola in the construction of a canning room and while pipefitters and insulators installed pipes insulated with asbestos. Carrone’s duties also required that he start the boilers and perform maintenance, which he did for over 20 years in ares he asserts lacked proper ambient air filtration.

Negligence and strict liability action is sought against each of the defendants, who the plaintiff claims should not have designed, tested, evaluated, manufactured, handled, transported, installed, supplied and/or sold asbestos-containing products.  Moreover, they should have disclosed critical medical and safety information, removed the hazards, supervised for proper safety procedure, mitigated the inhalation and transfer of the asbestos to the plaintiff’s home, and warned him about the known health hazards. Instead, the defendants ostensibly “ignored or actively concealed such information, or condoned such concealment, in order to sell asbestos or asbestos-containing products and to avoid litigation by those who were injured from asbestos inhalation.”

An undisclosed amount is sought for all medical costs or related expenses, lost earnings, mental suffering, anguish, pain, suffering, physical pain and suffering, loss of quality of life and disability.

The plaintiff is represented by David R. Cannella of New Orleans-based Landry Swarr & Cannella LLC.

The case has been assigned to Division M Judge Paulette R. Irons.

Case no. 13-6517.

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