Union locals: UA Local 441 (Wichita/Topeka — statewide except NE 6 counties) · Local 533 (Massachusetts — 6 NE counties)
How Pipefitters & Steamfitters Were Exposed to Asbestos
During normal duties, Pipefitters & Steamfitters were routinely exposed to asbestos-containing materials in Massachusetts industrial, commercial, and public construction work from the 1930s through the 1980s. Documented exposure pathways drawn from public litigation records and industrial hygiene literature include:
- Cutting into insulated steam and process lines to add fittings
- Removing and replacing asbestos pipe gaskets at flanged joints
- Repacking valve stems with asbestos rope packing
- Working below insulators stripping pipe covering overhead
- Hot work (welding, brazing) on asbestos-insulated lines
- Maintaining steam traps, strainers, and heat exchangers with asbestos gaskets
Why This Matters for Massachusetts Workers
If you worked as a pipefitters & steamfitters in Massachusetts during the asbestos era and have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or pleural disease, you may have a legal claim — even if your employer is no longer in business. Many asbestos product manufacturers have established bankruptcy trust funds that continue to pay qualified claimants based on documented exposure history.
Massachusetts Filing Deadlines — Two Separate Clocks
Massachusetts sets separate deadlines for a personal-injury claim and for a wrongful-death claim, and they run on independent tracks — preserving one does not extend the other. Massachusetts wrongful-death claims are governed by G.L. c. 229 § 2, which runs three years from the date of death or from the date the personal representative discovered the death was caused by the defendant’s conduct. Deadlines turn on facts specific to your case; confirm yours with an attorney rather than relying on a general figure.
Talk to an Experienced Massachusetts Asbestos Attorney
A free, confidential consultation with O’Brien Law Firm can evaluate your specific exposure history and filing-deadline situation. No fee unless they pursue a legal claim.
☎ (314) 237-3332
← Back to all Massachusetts trades