A California jury recently awarded $11.5 million to a woman who developed a rare lung cancer from washing her husband's asbestos-riddled work clothing. In October 2001, Genevieve Gunderson, 75, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, an incurable cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. From 1948 to 1963, Gunderson's ex-husband worked as a pipe fitter at numerous industrial sites throughout Southern California. Plaintiff attorneys argued that during that period, pipe fitters regularly worked near asbestos-laden insulation, which Gunderson would have been exposed to from handling her husband's work clothes. Asbestos-related diseases can remain latent for up to 40 years.

Gunderson, who has two months to live, filed suit against 40 defendants, all of which settled except for Unocal Corp. Unocal argued that the industry had no way of knowing people could get cancer from secondary exposure to asbestos on clothes during the 1950s. Plaintiff attorneys, however, presented documents citing state and federal hygiene regulations that required employers to provide changing rooms and separate laundry facilities for employees due to "hazardous dust."