Former worker at New Orleans port files suit after contracting mesothelioma

NEW ORLEANS – A former employee working at the New Orleans and Baton Rouge ports has filed suit against numerous companies for their alleged negligence in exposing the employee to asbestos which resulted in the contraction of mesothelioma.

Cleveland Joseph Jeansonne filed suit against Buck Kreihs Company Inc.; CBS Corp.; Dixie Machine, Welding & Metal Works Inc.; Eagle Inc.; General Electric Company; Kelly Moore Paint Company; Kaiser Gypsum Company Inc.; O-I Inc.; Sank Inc.; Taylor-Seidenbach Inc.; The McCarty Corp.; Union Carbide Corp.; Hopeman Brothers; National Oilwell Varco; Avondale Industries Inc.; Cooper T. Smith Stevedoring Company Inc.; Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa LTD.; P & O Ports Gulfport Inc.; Rogers Terminal and Shipping Corp.; SSA Gulf Inc.; South African Marine Corp. LTD; Hartford Accident and Indemnity Co.; Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London and One Beacon Insurance Co. in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court on June 18.

The plaintiff claims to have been exposed to asbestos while working as a deck hand, fireman and boiler tender for multiple companies along the port of New Orleans and Baton Rouge from 1956 through 1979.  The plaintiff also claims he was exposed to asbestos while working for one of the defendants from 1953 to 1957 at various locations in New Orleans. The plaintiff claims this exposure to the asbestos and asbestos-containing products was the direct cause of his contraction of a form of mesothelioma. The plaintiff alleges he had no knowledge of the inherent dangers of working with the asbestos-products, and that the defendants negligently placed him in danger by not providing a work area with proper safety precautions. The plaintiff asserts that the defendants negligence led to his continued exposure and eventual contraction of mesothelioma.

The defendants are accused of failing to properly ventilate the area the plaintiff was required to work in, failing to warn or provide proper safety appliance for plaintiff’s use, failing to institute safety procedures for the adequate protection of the plaintiff, failing to warn the plaintiff of the dangers posed by the polluted atmosphere the plaintiff was required to work in, failing to abide by state and federal regulations regarding exposure to asbestos, the manufacture and use of products that are unreasonably dangerous, failing to truthfully report the results of product testing, over-warranting the safety of products, failing to educate the plaintiff of the hazards of asbestos and failing to implement the use of asbestos-free materials.

The plaintiff is seeking an unknown amount in damages for physical pain and suffering, medical expenses, funeral expenses, lost earnings, lost earning capacity, loss of consortium, loss of quality of life and legal costs.

Jeansonne is represented by Mickey P. Landry from the firm of Landry & Swarr LLC in New Orleans.

The case has been assigned to Division L Judge Kern A. Reese, Chief Judge.

Case no. 2014-06010.