What Is Secondary Asbestos Exposure? How Connecticut Family Members Can File a Mesothelioma Claim
Did a family member work at Electric Boat, Pratt & Whitney, or Sikorsky? Secondary asbestos exposure is a recognized legal theory in Connecticut. Learn your rights.
Most people know that workers who handled asbestos on the job can develop mesothelioma decades later. What many people do not know is that the family members of those workers — spouses, children, and others who never set foot on a job site — can develop mesothelioma too.
This is called secondary asbestos exposure, also known as take-home exposure or household exposure. It is a recognized and compensable legal theory in Connecticut, and family members who develop mesothelioma through this pathway have the same right to pursue compensation as the workers themselves.
How Secondary Exposure Happens
Workers at Connecticut's major industrial facilities — including Electric Boat in Groton, Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Sikorsky in Stratford, and GE in Bridgeport — handled asbestos-containing materials throughout their working lives. Pipe insulation, gaskets, heat shields, adhesives, and refractory materials all contained asbestos, and the dust they generated was invisible to the naked eye.
That dust did not stay at the workplace. It settled on workers' clothing, hair, and skin, and it traveled home with them at the end of every shift. When a spouse shook out work clothes before washing them, when a child hugged a parent still in work clothes, when asbestos fibers settled on furniture and carpets — secondary exposure was occurring.
Spouses who regularly laundered a worker's asbestos-contaminated clothing have been found to have mesothelioma at rates significantly higher than the general population. This risk was documented as early as the 1960s — but the companies whose products caused the exposure did not warn workers or their families.
Connecticut's Major Secondary Exposure Sites
Electric Boat in Groton built submarines containing approximately 60,000 pounds of asbestos thermal insulation each. Workers in pipe fitting, insulation, and boilermaking brought home significant asbestos dust daily. Family members of Electric Boat workers — particularly spouses who laundered work clothes — have been diagnosed with mesothelioma decades after exposure. See our Electric Boat asbestos exposure page for more.
Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford used asbestos throughout its plant in pipe insulation, boiler insulation, furnace linings, and engine components. At least 17 asbestos bankruptcy trusts list Pratt & Whitney as a known exposure site. See our Pratt & Whitney asbestos exposure page for more.
Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford used asbestos-containing brake linings, gaskets, heat shields, and adhesives. Workers in the blade shop and assembly areas brought these fibers home. See our Sikorsky asbestos exposure page for more.
The Legal Theory — How a Secondary Exposure Claim Works
A secondary asbestos exposure claim follows the same basic framework as a direct exposure claim, but requires establishing the chain of exposure from the worksite to the home. The key elements are:
- The worker's exposure — where, when, and how the family member's relative was exposed to asbestos at work, including the specific products involved
- The take-home pathway — how asbestos fibers traveled from the worksite to the home through work clothing, tools, or the worker's person
- The family member's exposure — that the claimant was regularly exposed to asbestos fibers brought home from the worksite
- Causation — connecting the secondary exposure to the development of mesothelioma, supported by expert medical and scientific testimony
The defendants in a secondary exposure claim are typically the manufacturers of the asbestos-containing products used at the worksite — not the employer directly. These manufacturers knew that take-home exposure was dangerous as early as the 1960s and failed to warn anyone.
Asbestos Trust Fund Claims for Family Members
Over $30 billion is currently held in more than 60 asbestos bankruptcy trusts. Family members who developed mesothelioma through secondary exposure are eligible to file trust fund claims in their own name, based on the worker's documented exposure to trust products. Trust claims do not require proof that the family member was present at the worksite — only that the worker was exposed to products covered by the relevant trusts. See our full guide to asbestos trust funds for more information.
Connecticut Statute of Limitations
Connecticut's statute of limitations for mesothelioma is three years from the date of diagnosis — not from the date of exposure. This means that a spouse who developed mesothelioma from laundering a worker's clothing in the 1970s but was only diagnosed this year has three years from the date of diagnosis to file a claim.
For wrongful death claims where the family member has died from mesothelioma, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of death. Do not wait — contact an attorney immediately after diagnosis.
Contact Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC
Jazlowiecki & Jazlowiecki LLC has been handling Connecticut mesothelioma and asbestos litigation for over 22 years, including cases involving secondary exposure. Visit our secondary asbestos exposure page for a full explanation of the legal theory and your rights, or contact us today for a free, confidential case evaluation.
Call: (860) 589-8000 — available 24/7
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