Children of former carpenter lodge complaint over father's lung cancer

Two Lake County residents have sued dozens of companies over claims their asbestos-containing products caused the duo's father to develop lung cancer and die.

Randy J. Williams and Debra J. Mick, co-personal representatives of the Estate of Joe C. Williams, sued A.W. Chesterton Co., Union Carbide Corp., Georgia-Pacific LLC and dozens of other companies on Jan. 7 in the Cook County Circuit Court.

Williams’ children claim their father was exposed to asbestos between 1952 and 1996, during his employment as a carpenter and millwright, which regularly included installation, repair and maintenance of railway locomotive boiler parts.

The exposure to these and other asbestos-containing products caused the plaintiffs' father to develop lung cancer, according to the suit, which states he was diagnosed in June and died in September.

Williams and Mick allege the defendants knew or should have known about their products’ hazards, but failed to provide warnings, instructions and safeguards.

They are seeking damages and are represented by attorney Daniel T. Ryan of Cooney and Conway in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2015L000114.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and represents only one side of the story.