Exposure to formaldehyde has been linked to increased risk of cancer of the nose, throat, and sinuses, nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal cancer, lung cancer, and leukemia. Weyerhaeuser exposed workers to excessive levels of formaldehyde over many months, causing them a multitude of injuries, including vision problems, respiratory ailments, and increased risk for various types of cancer. TMLG, along with Schneider Wallace Cottrell Konecky Wotkyns, LLP, has filed suit on behalf of a group of workers from Louisiana against Weyerhaeuser for exposing them to dangerous levels of formaldehyde.
Weyerhaeuser manufactured TJI Joists coated with “Flak Jacket.” Flak Jacket is a formaldehyde-based resin that is sprayed on the TJI Joists to help enhance fire resistance. The plaintiffs in this case are the workers who mixed the chemicals for the Flak Jacket coating and applied the coating to the joists. In December 2016, Weyerhaeuser changed the formula for Flak Jacket to include dangerous levels of formaldehyde. Weyerhaeuser failed to warn its workers that they would be exposed to such dangerous levels, and the workers were unaware that they had to take any precautions.
In July 2017, Weyerhaeuser admitted that the TJI Joists were coated with dangerous levels of formaldehyde and that the formaldehyde was off-gassing in people’s homes, requiring them to vacate their homes until the problem could be remediated. Although Weyerhaeuser has committed to remediating the problems in the homes in which TJI Joists were installed, it has not made a similar commitment to these workers.
To redress Weyerhaeuser’s negligence, TMLG and its co-counsel brought suit to obtain recompense for the injuries suffered by these workers and to ensure that they are able to obtain the medical care and monitoring that will now be required.