Top mesothelioma lawyers in Parkersburg, WV

Steel mills and foundries

The upper Ohio Valley, stretching along the river from Wheeling to the Parkersburg area, was steel and metalworking country for much of the last century. Many families here have a relative who worked near furnaces, casting floors, or heavy equipment, and they may remember hearing about the heat and the dust.

Furnace linings, protective clothing and equipment insulation all used asbestos because of the heat.

Mining and milling

West Virginia is coal country, and mining and milling jobs shaped communities all around Wood County for generations. Work in and around mines and processing mills often meant heavy equipment and dust. Families sometimes recall work clothes coming home each night covered in it.

Some ore bodies carried asbestos naturally, and processing equipment was asbestos-insulated.

Glass, cement and ceramics plants

The Ohio River valley around Parkersburg has long been known for glassmaking and related plants, drawing on the area's sand, gas, and river access. If a relative of yours worked near furnaces, kilns, or packing lines in these plants, this was part of daily work.

Kilns and furnaces were lined and insulated with asbestos, and some products contained it directly.

Construction and the building trades

Parkersburg's homes, schools, mills, and downtown buildings went up and were renovated through the decades when many building materials contained asbestos. Anyone who spent a career in the trades here, tearing out old pipe wrap or finishing walls, may have handled these materials without knowing it.

Joint compound, pipe wrap, floor tile, roofing and fireproofing spray all contained asbestos, and cutting them released it.

Power stations

Coal-fired power stations dot the Ohio River valley, which is fitting in a state that mines so much of the coal. A relative who worked boilers, turbines, or steam lines at a plant near Parkersburg, especially during outages, may have spent long hours around heavily insulated equipment.

Boilers, turbines and miles of steam piping were wrapped in asbestos, and outage work disturbed all of it at once.

A wrongful death claim

After a death, the estate and family bring the claim, usually through the personal representative named in the will or appointed by the court, under its own rules.

Asbestos trust fund claims

Companies bankrupted by asbestos liabilities set up trusts to pay claims; the Government Accountability Office counted 60 in 2011. Each sets its own criteria and is filed separately.

VA benefits for veterans

Veterans with a condition caused by asbestos contact during service may qualify for VA compensation. The VA asks for medical records, service records and a doctor's linking statement.

Family members exposed at home

Some people were exposed to dust carried home on a worker's clothes, hair or car. Take-home claims exist, but whether one can be brought depends on the state.