Working at a power company has its risks. That’s obvious. When one considers a job at a power plant, the first thing that comes to mind as far as safety is concerned is the chance for accidents that might involve fires, burns, or even electrocution.
In the history of the Ohio Edison Company, there’s a good chance that all those things have happened at one time or another. After all, the company has been in business since 1930, having been formed upon the consolidation of five Ohio-based public utility companies. Through the decades, Ohio Edison employed literally thousands of individuals, all through the years of the Depression, into and through World War II, and in the years that followed.
By the 1950s, it was the tenth-largest utility company in the country, serving about a half-million customers during this time when the U.S. was growing in leaps and bounds.
Employees no doubt made it their duty to perform their jobs as safely as possible. After all, no one wants to get hurt on the job. So they were careful when handling potentially dangerous machinery, wires, or other items.
Ohio Mesothelioma On The Rise
But while they were personally diligent about their health and safety, the company may have been less so. The company was allowing their employees to be exposed to asbestos materials and even when it began to become apparent that asbestos was dangerous, the use of the toxic mineral continued.
There were a number of types of tradesmen who worked for this and other power companies that may have been regularly exposed to materials and products that contained asbestos, which can cause lung-related (or other) cancers when inhaled. These include:
• Electrical engineers
• Electricians
• Boiler technicians
• Field service engineers
• Maintenance technicians
• Welders
• Machinists
• Chemical technicians
• And many others
Asbestos-containing materials were largely used for insulating purposes. Individuals who worked in the power plants often worked with these materials in small, poorly ventilated places where inhalation of fibers occurred naturally. Until the dangers of exposure were finally made evident to the general public, power plant workers didn’t worry about the fine white dust they inhaled or the fibers that appeared on their clothing.
Some even went home covered in this same dust, unknowingly exposing family members to the same dangers they faced on a daily basis. As a result, power plant workers are high on the list of tradesmen likely to be diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer. Many have already filed suit for their injuries, and courts of law have often found that their employers – as well as the manufacturers of those asbestos products – were responsible for their exposure and, ultimately, for their disease and their untimely death.
If you were employed by Ohio Edison at one of their many plants and are thinking of filing suit, it’s wise to seek the services of an attorney who has firsthand knowledge of the corporation and who has already represented individuals who were harmed by their employment there. That means some of the legwork is already complete and, though each case is different, this local knowledge will help in moving your case along more quickly. That means help for you and your family could be just around the corner!
[call_to_action color=”blue” button_text=”Ask Lee” button_url=”/contact/”]
Questions? Lee has answers. (855) 397-6640
[/call_to_action]