Product and Premises Description

Hudson Motor Car Company (founded 1909 in Detroit Michigan by Roy D. Chapin, Howard E. Coffin, and department-store magnate Joseph L. Hudson) was through the first half of the 20th century one of the principal independent U.S. automobile manufacturers. Hudson’s product lines included the flagship Hudson, the mid-market Essex (1918-1932), and the light-car Terraplane (1932-1938). Hudson pioneered the “step-down” unibody design and dominated NASCAR stock-car racing in the early 1950s. In 1954 Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC); U.S. Hudson production at Detroit ended with the merger and remaining Hudson-badged cars were produced on Nash bodies at Kenosha WI through 1957.

Product-vector pathways Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation:

  • Asbestos brake linings on Hudson, Essex, and Terraplane passenger-car brake shoes supplied by Bendix, Raybestos, Abex, and other OEM friction manufacturers
  • Asbestos clutch facings on Hudson manual transmissions
  • Asbestos exhaust manifold gaskets and heat shields on Hudson engines
  • Asbestos undercoating and body deadener on Hudson vehicles

Premises-vector pathways at the Hudson Detroit MI manufacturing complex — principally the Hudson Main Plant on Jefferson Avenue (later occupied by Chrysler as the Jefferson Assembly / Jefferson North complex) and the Hudson Body Plant:

  • Asbestos pipe covering on plant steam, process, and heating piping
  • Asbestos refractory in foundry cupolas, heat-treat furnaces, and paint-bake ovens
  • Asbestos block insulation on plant boilers
  • Asbestos gaskets and packing at process equipment
  • Asbestos electrical insulation on plant motor and switchgear systems

Hudson Motor Car Company (and its successors in liability, including AMC and Chrysler) has been named as a Manufacturer Defendant and Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.

Workers Exposed

  • UAW Local members at Hudson Detroit MI Main Plant, Body Plant, and Kenosha WI assembly
  • Auto mechanics servicing Hudson, Essex, and Terraplane brake linings, clutches, and engine gaskets
  • Brake mechanics working Hudson vehicle brake systems
  • Foundry workers at Hudson-associated foundry operations
  • Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on Hudson construction and turnaround crews
  • Construction-trade workforces on Hudson capital projects

If You Worked With Hudson Vehicles or at a Hudson Plant

If you worked with Hudson, Essex, or Terraplane brake linings, clutches, or engine gaskets during the asbestos era — or worked at the Hudson Detroit MI manufacturing complex — as an employee or as a dispatched contractor trade worker — 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