Owens-Corning
The Owens-Corning Fiberglass Corporation was formed in 1938. The company was successful and by the 1980s was earning profits worth $4 billion. The company produced asbestos insulation products, which were installed in both industrial and residential building construction. For example, Owens-Corning produced a popular product called “Kaylo” brand piping and block insulation. Also, the company made One Cote Cement and Owens-Corning Fiberglas Insulating Cement, which were sold as loose powders and contained toxic asbestos.
The popularity of Owens-Corning products meant Owens-Corning’s asbestos became ubiquitous in shipyards, construction sites, factories and homes around the nation. Many Americans were placed in serious danger, such as boiler workers, construction workers, insulators, pipe fitters, plumbers and shipyard workers.
Profit Over People
As early as the 1920s, physicians recognized that exposure to asbestos caused severe sickness when asbestosis was identified by British medical journals. At the same time, insurance companies in the United States and Canada stopped selling life insurance to asbestos workers. Moreover, safer substitutes for most asbestos uses were known as early as the 1930s.
Nevertheless, Owens-Corning chose to protect its substantial profit margins rather than discontinue use of the mineral. Additionally, the asbestos fibers remain in a person’s lungs for years and symptoms may not develop for decades. Owens-Corning’s victims might live for decades without knowing of the deadly injury they sustained.
Due to the multitude of people Owens-Corning harmed, the company was forced to enter bankruptcy protection in 2000. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2006 and formed a trust to assist the victims of asbestos exposure.
Get The Help You Deserve
If you or a loved one has been injured by Owens-Corning, it is important that you contact The Gori Law Firm, immediately for more information on your rights.