In Portland, Oregon there is a $40 million lawsuit being filed by employees of an apartment complex. They are alleging that the managers of the complex endangered their lives by exposing them to asbestos. Construction crews had warned the employees about the presence of asbestos, but the building’s management chose to ignore the facts and made the employees work with the dangerous substance. Two former employees of Tandem Property Management say they were fired because they knew about the asbestos in the building and knew that the management tried to cover this up.
When workers were remodeling five vacant units they discovered asbestos and stopped to determine their best course of action. When the president of the apartments saw this he reprimanded the workers, told them there was no asbestos, and then told them to get back to work. Three workers allege that after this ordeal they were fired because the building’s management thought they would call OSHA about the asbestos that was found.
This past June, a new crew was working on the apartment complex and the management told them to take debris through the halls of the complex and down the elevator. When the new crew had the debris tested for asbestos, the tests came back positive. The workers in the crew notified management that there was asbestos in the materials but the building management did not do anything. It forced the employees to remove the asbestos with no protective gear or proper training.
Clearly the management of this apartment complex does not care about the health and safety of its employees and residents. Multiple lives were endangered so they could quickly get renovations done and start making money. Doing something the cheap and easy way should not be done, especially when the health and safety of people can be affected when doing it.
If you were exposed to asbestos on the job and now have mesothelioma or lung cancer, you may be entitled to file a claim. Companies like Tandem Property Management knew that asbestos is a harmful carcinogen, but continued to let their employees work with it while unprotected. Call 412-471-3980 or use our contact form to speak to an attorney and learn your options.
Source:
Aimee Green, “$40 million lawsuit alleges asbestos cover-up at SW Portland apartments” The Oregonian (September 17, 2018). [Link]
