Product Description
Draeger (Drägerwerk AG) has been a leading manufacturer of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) supplied to municipal fire service, industrial fire brigades, naval damage-control teams, and aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) crews. Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that pre-Nomex/Kevlar generation Draeger SCBA units allegedly incorporated an asbestos-fabric mounting/sealing pad at the facepiece interface and asbestos-fabric heat-protection liners along the harness straps and backframe pad.
Allegedly, these asbestos components were selected for radiant-heat and steam-flash protection at the points where the SCBA contacted the wearer’s face, shoulders, and back during interior fire attack, before aramid (Nomex/Kevlar) fabrics displaced asbestos in later generations.
Workers Exposed
- Municipal structural firefighters — allegedly exposed to fiber release from facepiece mounting pad and harness liners during donning, doffing, and mask-fit adjustment
- Industrial fire brigades — refinery, chemical plant, and steel mill brigade members allegedly issued Draeger SCBA for hot-work standby and emergency response
- Naval shipboard damage-control firefighting parties — allegedly exposed where Draeger or comparable SCBA units were used in fire-room and engine-room damage-control operations
- Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) crash-rescue crews — allegedly issued Draeger SCBA for airfield emergency response
- Fire equipment maintenance personnel — allegedly exposed during SCBA inspection, harness re-webbing, mask cleaning, cylinder change-out, and end-of-life disposal
- Fire training academy instructors — allegedly exposed through repeated live-burn evolutions in older asbestos-lined SCBA units
If You Wore Draeger SCBA
Firefighter asbestos exposure claims are actively litigated in U.S. courts, and the 20-50 year latency period between exposure and mesothelioma or asbestos-related lung cancer diagnosis is typical of this occupational class. If you or a family member wore Draeger (Drägerwerk AG) self-contained breathing apparatus during a fire-service, industrial, or naval career and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis, you may have a claim.
Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956