Was Federal-Mogul — Bower Bearings asbestos documented in litigation?

Federal-Mogul — Bower Bearings 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 workers file claims related to Federal-Mogul — Bower Bearings asbestos exposure?

Yes. Workers diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, or asbestosis after exposure to Federal-Mogul — Bower Bearings 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.

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.

Gaskets

Bower bearings asbestos-fiber rope packing, seal-sleeve packing, and bearing-cup gasket rings (industrial roller-bearing service)

⚖ Litigation Record1929-1985Allegedly formulated with chrysotile asbestos rope and braided asbestos yarn saturated with graphite and lubricants; workers inhaled respirable fibers when cutting packing to length, seating packing into stuffing boxes surrounding tapered roller bearings, and removing hardened packing during bearing service.

Overview Product Facts Trades

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

Product Description

Federal-Mogul Corporation, which acquired the Bower Roller Bearing Company of Detroit in 1955 and consolidated it into its Detroit-based bearing group, allegedly supplied asbestos-fiber packing accessories dimensioned to Bower tapered roller-bearing assemblies used in industrial, railcar, steel-mill, and paper-mill service. According to publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation, this packing product family included cut-length asbestos rope, braided asbestos yarn coils, pre-formed asbestos packing rings, and stuffing-box packing sets that surrounded Bower bearing cups and cones to retain grease and lubricant and to exclude water, mill scale, and process contamination.

Plaintiffs allegedly identified Bower asbestos-fiber packing on railcar journal boxes, hot-strip and cold-strip mill roll-neck bearings, paper-machine felt-roll bearings, blast-furnace larry car and skip-hoist bearings, kiln-support trunnion bearings, and heavy-duty conveyor pulley bearings. Publicly filed litigation records allegedly reference Bower asbestos-fiber packing distributed through Federal-Mogul industrial-bearing warehouses, mill-supply houses, and railway parts networks.

Workers Exposed

According to publicly filed U.S. asbestos litigation, workers allegedly exposed to Federal-Mogul Bower asbestos-fiber packing included millwrights in steel mills, paper mills, and cement plants; industrial mechanics in heavy manufacturing; and railcar shop mechanics servicing journal-box packing. Plaintiffs allegedly described bearing service that required cutting rope packing to length with knives, forming packing coils by hand around the shaft, tamping packing into stuffing-box glands with drift pins, and chiseling hardened, oil-soaked packing out of housings during bearing overhauls. These operations allegedly released chrysotile fibers into the mechanic’s breathing zone.

Bystander workers — apprentices, crane operators, laborers cleaning bearing-service areas, and welders working nearby — allegedly inhaled fibers dispersed by the work. Roll-shop crews in integrated steel mills across the Midwest allegedly worked with Bower asbestos-fiber packing on a continuous cycle tied to mill campaign schedules.

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If You Worked at Federal-Mogul

If you or a family member worked at Federal-Mogul and were exposed to asbestos-containing materials at this facility — and were diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease — you may be entitled to significant compensation. Time-sensitive filing deadlines apply.

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Product Facts

Trade NameBower bearings asbestos-fiber rope packing, seal-sleeve packing, and bearing-cup gasket rings (industrial roller-bearing service)

Years Produced1929-1985

Asbestos ContentAllegedly formulated with chrysotile asbestos rope and braided asbestos yarn saturated with graphite and lubricants; workers inhaled respirable fibers when cutting packing to length, seating packing into stuffing boxes surrounding tapered roller bearings, and removing hardened packing during bearing service.

CategoryGaskets

Trust FundNo active trust

Exposed Trades & Occupations

MillwrightsIndustrial mechanicsRailcar mechanicsSteel-mill maintenance mechanicsPaper-mill maintenance mechanics

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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.

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