Was Avondale Shipyards (Avondale Industries / Northrop Grumman / HII) — asbestos documented in litigation?

Avondale Shipyards (Avondale Industries / Northrop Grumman / HII) — is documented in public asbestos litigation records as a manufacturer whose products contained asbestos during the mid-twentieth century. Workers in industrial facilities, power plants, refineries, shipyards, and commercial construction who handled or worked near these products may have experienced occupational exposure.

Which trades had the most exposure?

Pipe coverers and insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, millwrights, and maintenance workers are among the trades most frequently documented in asbestos exposure claims. Workers who cut, fitted, or removed asbestos-containing products — and those working in close proximity during that work — typically had the highest fiber concentrations.

How long do workers have to file an asbestos claim?

Statutes of limitations for asbestos personal injury claims vary by state, typically ranging from one to five years from the date of an asbestos-related diagnosis. The clock generally starts at diagnosis, not exposure — mesothelioma can have a latency period of 20 to 50 years. An asbestos attorney can identify the deadlines that apply to your specific situation.

Can family members file secondary exposure claims?

Spouses, children, and household members who developed asbestos-related disease through contact with contaminated work clothing brought home by an exposed worker may be eligible for secondary (household) exposure claims. Wrongful-death claims can also be filed by surviving family members of workers who died from asbestos-related disease.

Marine

Avondale Naval and Commercial Ship Construction at Avondale Louisiana

Q: Can workers file claims related to Avondale Shipyards (Avondale Industries / Northrop Grumman / HII) — asbestos exposure?

Yes. Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis after exposure to Avondale Shipyards (Avondale Industries / Northrop Grumman / HII) — products may pursue claims through civil litigation. An experienced asbestos attorney can assess available defendants, applicable trust funds from co-defendants, and the states where claims can be filed most effectively.

⚖ Litigation Record1938-2014 (Avondale era); asbestos era through 1980sAsbestos marine insulation, asbestos pipe covering, asbestos boiler refractory, asbestos electrical insulation, asbestos gaskets

Overview Product Facts Trades

Litigation Record: Information below reflects allegations in publicly filed asbestos litigation — plaintiff allegations, not findings of fact.

Premises Description

Avondale Shipyards, Inc. (founded 1938; reorganized as Avondale Industries 1985; acquired by Litton Industries 1999, transferred to Northrop Grumman 2001 and HII 2011; closed as a major shipbuilding operation 2014; site repurposed under new ownership) operated through the 20th century the Avondale Louisiana shipyard on the Mississippi River west of New Orleans — historically the principal U.S. Gulf Coast Navy auxiliary ship and commercial ship builder.

Avondale built through the asbestos era U.S. Navy destroyer escorts, frigates, oilers, fleet replenishment ships, dock landing ships, and Coast Guard cutters, plus commercial tankers, containerships, and barges. The yard was through the 1960s-1980s one of the largest concentrated marine-trade workforces on the U.S. Gulf Coast — employing tens of thousands of shipyard machinists, marine machinists, ship insulators, pipefitters, boilermakers, electricians, welders, riggers, and trade workers across new construction and ship-repair operations.

Avondale is among the most heavily-litigated U.S. shipyard premises defendants in asbestos personal-injury litigation. The yard sat in the heart of the Louisiana-Gulf Coast asbestos-litigation corridor, with extensive published case-law on Avondale premises liability for shipboard asbestos exposure. Plaintiffs in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation alleged that Avondale — as premises owner — exposed its shipyard workforce to extensive asbestos through Marinite, Mundet asbestos-cork, Johns-Manville pipe covering, Owens-Corning Kaylo, Pittsburgh Corning Unibestos, and other principal manufacturers’ asbestos products throughout shipbuilding operations in confined shipboard spaces with limited ventilation.

Avondale Shipyards / Avondale Industries / Northrop Grumman Avondale / HII Avondale has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

Shipyard machinists, marine machinists, and shipfitters at Avondale
Ship insulators (HFIAW Local 53 New Orleans members) dispatched to Avondale shipboard insulation work
Pipefitters (UA Local 60 New Orleans members) running asbestos-clad shipboard piping
Boilermakers (IBB Local 37 New Orleans members) building ship boilers
Electricians (IBEW Local 130 New Orleans members) running asbestos-insulated shipboard electrical
Welders, riggers, and laborers working alongside shipboard asbestos at Avondale
Navy ratings aboard ships built or overhauled at Avondale

If You Worked at Avondale Shipyards

If you worked at Avondale Shipyards (under any ownership: independent, Avondale Industries, Litton, Northrop Grumman, or HII) during the asbestos era — as an Avondale employee or as a Navy rating aboard a ship at the yard — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

Product Facts

Trade NameAvondale Naval and Commercial Ship Construction at Avondale Louisiana

Years Produced1938-2014 (Avondale era); asbestos era through 1980s

Asbestos ContentAsbestos marine insulation, asbestos pipe covering, asbestos boiler refractory, asbestos electrical insulation, asbestos gaskets

CategoryMarine Industrial-Furnaces Gaskets

Trust FundNo active trust

Exposed Trades & Occupations

Shipyard machinistsMarine machinistsInsulatorsPipefittersBoilermakersElectricians

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Were You Exposed to an Asbestos-Containing Product?

If you have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease and were exposed to asbestos-containing products, you and your family may be entitled to significant compensation through asbestos trust funds and civil litigation. An attorney experienced in product liability and asbestos claims can evaluate your case — at no cost to you.

Free case evaluation — no obligation to hire
No attorney fee unless we make a financial recovery
Statutes of limitations may limit the time you have to act
Trust fund claims, civil lawsuits, and VA benefits pursued simultaneously

Call: (314) 207-2823 Free consultation — available now

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Asbestos Product Liability & Mesothelioma Claims

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