John Crane: Asbestos Products and Lawsuits

Although the company claims it did not know about the dangers of asbestos until 1970, the evidence suggests John Crane knew much sooner. The U.S. government and asbestos industry leaders were aware of the risks at least as early as 1964 when Dr. Selikoff, a preeminent asbestos researcher, conducted a national conference on the subject, according to the Circuit Court of Cook County.

As early as 1918, just one year after John Crane commenced business, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publicly reported that exposure to asbestos products resulted in disease. In England, where John Crane also maintained headquarters, this was discovered even earlier, in 1898.

By 1936, the Illinois state legislature began providing compensation to workers exposed to asbestos and acknowledged that it was a harmful product. In the unlikely scenario that John Crane did not know of the dangers of asbestos prior to this, it reasonably should have become aware at this time.

Claims that the company only learned about the dangers of asbestos in 1970 are consistent with an intentional cover-up based on the findings of the Chatham County Court in Georgia. The court found in this case that John Crane destroyed sales records from 1970 to 1977, an action the court ruled was in bad faith.

During this period, the court found that John Crane manufactured at least 200 asbestos-containing products, 35 to 40 of which contained one of the more hazardous forms of asbestos, crocidolite.

Even if the company had learned about the dangers of asbestos as late as 1970, it would still be responsible for knowingly producing a harmful product for more than a decade, as the company continued producing asbestos products until 1985.