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At an old Westinghouse Research and Technology Center in a location several states away from South Carolina, workers were given the task to remove insulation containing asbestos from a particular area where it was surrounding pipes. One man, who had been employed as a painter for five years by the company overseeing the project, says he walked into the room and noticed that what the workers were doing did not appear to be in line with regulations regarding asbestos removal. Various events unfolded from there and have led to a highly acrimonious asbestos litigation situation.

The employers were a father and son team. The painter claims he went to his bosses to discuss the fact that he saw workers ripping and shredding insulation from around the pipes in the project room. He says he was told to stop talking and to keep anything he witnessed to himself.

The man was later sent to another location to work in an entirely different state. Some time after that, he says he received a phone call from his boss, asking him to come back to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is where he was originally assigned and where the asbestos situation took place. The man felt it odd that he was being asked to return. When he inquired further, he says his boss offered him luxurious bribes to come back and take the blame because they were being cited for unlawful asbestos removal.

The man says his bosses offered him $100,000 as well as houses and other high-cost gifts, but he refused to take the fall for his employers. The asbestos litigation remains ongoing at this time, and the man has testified in court against the company owners. The health risks of asbestos exposure are well-known, and anyone in South Carolina who believes exposure has negatively affected his or her health may request a meeting with an experienced attorney to explore what options may be available to pursue justice, particularly if employer negligence appears to be a factor in a particular situation.

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Painter testifies in asbestos removal case that he was paid to take blame“, Don Hopey, Sept. 26, 2017