Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

Union Carbide Corporation has been found responsible for the mesothelioma death of Glenn Strickland, a drywall installer who spent years building and rebuilding homes and businesses using asbestos containing materials.  The family of the late Strickland was awarded a $2.1 million dollar verdict in a wrongful death suit brought against Union Carbide in a Los Angeles courtroom in March of 2011.  The suit was filed on behalf of Mr. Strickland’s surviving family members. 

Union Carbide was founded in 1917 and supplied asbestos to companies that manufactured a wide array of construction materials for decades.  By 1985 the company was one  of the leading producers of Calidira asbestos (a form of chrysotile asbestos) which was used in floor and ceiling tiles, adhesives of various kinds, sealants, paint, wall board joint and taping compounds, many of which Strickland used regularly in his job.

Critics have alleged that Union Carbide has a history of misrepresenting their products and may have used deceptive labeling and advertising to make their products appear safer than available alternatives. 

Union Carbide finally stopped using asbestos in joint compound in 1978 but not after fighting against the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s efforts to get such products banned.  However, after decades of exposure the damage was done.  Thousands of construction workers and independent contractors had been exposed to asbestos and asbestos fibers—fibers which can cause various forms of mesothelioma, a type of cancer that is treatable but not curable.

Glenn Strickland died in June of 2007 after struggling for years with peritoneal mesothelioma caused by ingesting asbestos fibers.  These fibers travel down the esophagus and come to rest within the digestive tract.  They then work their way into the soft tissues there and continually go deeper.  Symptoms of mesothelioma may not arise until decades after the exposure event so many laborers, contract professionals, and dock and factory workers who were exposed at their jobsites in the 1960s and 1970s are just now being diagnosed. 

Strickland is survived by his wife Linda and their two grown children Robert and Holly, on whose behalf the mesothelioma lawsuit was filed.  A jury found Union Carbide to be 46% at fault for Strickland’s death due to the hazardous materials used in their products. 

In addition to exposing the users of their commercial products to dangerous levels fo asbestos, Union Carbide also exposed workers at their own plants by using asbestos-laden insulation on pipes until the mid 1960's.  Thousands of lawsuits have been filed against the company claiming that they and their products were the root cause of the exposure to asbestos that led to  their mesothelioma, cancers, and other illnesses.