Ingalls Shipbuilding — Pascagoula, Mississippi

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that workers at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Jackson County, Mississippi, sustained occupational asbestos exposure during the construction and repair of U.S. Navy warships and commercial vessels.

Facility Background

Ingalls Shipbuilding, now a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, operates the largest privately owned shipyard in the United States in Pascagoula. The facility has built hundreds of ships for the U.S. Navy, including destroyers, amphibious assault ships, cruisers, and the Navy’s LPD-class amphibious transport docks. During World War II, Ingalls built cargo vessels and landing craft; in the postwar era it became a primary naval surface combatant builder.

Plaintiffs alleged that Ingalls Shipbuilding employed tens of thousands of workers at its peak and that shipbuilding operations — particularly insulation, piping, and mechanical work in the confined spaces of ships under construction — created conditions for significant occupational asbestos exposure from the 1940s through the 1980s.

Alleged Asbestos Pathways

Plaintiffs alleged in litigation that asbestos exposure occurred through multiple pathways:

  • Ship machinery space insulation: Plaintiffs alleged that insulators and asbestos workers applied asbestos block insulation, pipe covering, and blankets in engine rooms, boiler rooms, and machinery spaces aboard vessels under construction, generating heavy fiber concentrations in confined spaces.
  • Steam system work: Plaintiffs alleged that the steam propulsion and auxiliary systems aboard naval vessels required extensive asbestos insulation on boilers, turbines, steam headers, and piping throughout ship hulls.
  • Pipe fitting and gaskets throughout ships: Plaintiffs alleged that pipefitters installing and connecting the hundreds of piping systems within ship hulls encountered asbestos gaskets, packing, and pipe covering throughout construction and outfitting.
  • Bystander trades: Plaintiffs alleged that shipfitters, welders, electricians, painters, and other tradespeople working in enclosed ship spaces adjacent to insulation work received bystander asbestos exposure from airborne fiber generated by concurrent insulation operations.
  • Fireproofing and structural work: Plaintiffs alleged that asbestos-containing fireproofing was sprayed on structural steel within ships and that workers in adjacent areas were exposed to airborne asbestos fiber during and after application.

Mississippi has a three-year statute of limitations under Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49, running from the date of mesothelioma diagnosis under the discovery rule. Wrongful death claims also carry a three-year limit under Miss. Code Ann. § 11-7-13. The Circuit Court of Jackson County in Pascagoula handles most shipyard asbestos claims.

Workers who were employed at Ingalls Shipbuilding and who have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related disease may have legal remedies available. Contact O’Brien Law Firm at (314) 237-3332 to discuss your work history and legal options at no cost.