Frost Law Firm, PC, secured a record settlement of $7,450,000 on behalf of a former student of the California Maritime Academy, presently a campus of the California State University, for his mesothelioma diagnosis.
As a young man, the Frost Law Firm client enrolled in what was then known as the California Maritime Academy, based in Vallejo, California. There, the client trained under California Maritime Academy instructors, learning to maintain ocean-going vessels in sea-worthy condition, to become a merchant marine engineer.
The instruction included practical on-board instruction on a ship called the Golden Bear II, loaned to California Maritime Academy from the United States Department of Transportation Maritime Division (“MARAD”). The instruction included a voyage through the Panama Canal, during which the students engaged in maintenance of asbestos-containing equipment on board the ship which contributed to his asbestos cancer diagnosis.
How Could Others Have Been Exposed to Asbestos?
MARAD also provides federal assistance and training vessels to six State Maritime Academies (SMA) through a Memorandum of Agreement:
- California State University Maritime Academy
- Maine Maritime Academy
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy
- Great Lakes Maritime Academy
- The State University of New York Maritime College
- Texas A&M Maritime Academy
These four-year undergraduate programs operate as colleges within state universities and do not require a congressional endorsement, but still include all the instruction, theory, and at-sea training required to become a commissioned officer and Merchant Marine (a U.S. Coast Guard license). Any students serving onboard these training vessels may have been exposed to asbestos and should contact the Frost Law Firm to determine if they have a case.
