A Tangipahoa man filed a lawsuit against Texaco claiming the company supplied the harmful chemicalbenzene to his employer back in the 1970’s. Filed in federal court in New Orleans last month, the plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges he now suffers from multiple myeloma caused by exposure to the benzene.
As reported at louisianarecord.com, the man worked at Ormet Corp. in Louisiana for three years in the 1970’s. He worked in a vat filled with benzene during that time, and he alleges exposure to the chemical damaged his bone marrow and blood forming organs. Texaco supplied the benzene to Ormet Corp in 55-gallon drums.
Multiple myeloma is cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. The condition causes the plasma cells to grow out of control in the bone marrow, forming tumors in the areas of solid bone. As the cancer cells grow in the body, patients experience bone or back pain. If multiple myeloma attacks the spine, patients will experience numbness or weakness in the arms or legs.
Symptoms of the cancer vary from person to person. The symptoms will be more noticeable as the cancer progresses in the body. Eventually, patients experience kidney failure, leg weakness, bone damage and a high calcium level in the blood.
Should the man’s employer be partially responsible as well for the benzene exposure?
Harrell & Nowak, L.L.C. – New Orleans injury lawyers