Washington Asbestos Settlement

Reuben and Danny were father and son. All Danny’s life, the two were hunting buddies – setting off on weekends together in Washington’s beautiful forests. After Danny finished school, the two men became workmates when Danny went to work with his father. And when Reuben retired, he and Danny remained very close.

What neither anticipated was that soon after Reuben’s retirement, both father and son would die of asbestos-related cancer within a year of each other. Reuben was 66; Danny was just 49.

It was no mystery how the men came into contact with asbestos. Reuben had worked with asbestos insulation at many large industrial sites in the Northwest, including Boeing facilities in Seattle, Renton and Everett; the Simpson Kraft paper mill in Tacoma; and Shell and Texaco refineries in Anacortes.

Danny had followed his father into the trade, joining the same union in the 1970s. Asbestos precautions were routine by that point, and Danny always wore a respirator when working with the deadly material. But it was already too late – for years, he’d been exposed to the asbestos brought home on Reuben’s work clothes.

Bergman Draper Oslund Udo represented both men in lawsuits filed against 32 defendants. Through our innovative and aggressive approach in the cases, we obtained what is believed to be the largest settlement ever in an asbestos case in Washington. We are proud that we were able to help Marjorie Arnold – Reuben’s wife and Danny’s mom – achieve the financial security they wanted for her.