King of Prussia is known today for its shopping, office parks, and highways, but Upper Merion Township has an industrial past, and many residents spent their working years at plants, shipyards, and job sites across the region before settling here. Michael C. Schafle, Esq., a Philadelphia trial lawyer who represents people diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases, works with King of Prussia and Upper Merion families. Every case starts the same way: tracing where the exposure actually happened.
Common Sources of Asbestos Exposure in King of Prussia and Upper Merion
Most cases we see from this community fall into a handful of patterns. Some people worked in heavy industry, either here in Upper Merion or elsewhere in the Philadelphia area. Others spent careers in the construction trades. Some were exposed by a family member who brought home asbestos dust on work clothes. And many served in the military, particularly the Navy, where asbestos was a routine part of life aboard ship.
Alan Wood Steel and Industrial Asbestos Exposure Along the Schuylkill River
Long before the mall, Upper Merion had a steel industry. Alan Wood Steel operated on both banks of the Schuylkill, with its Conshohocken mill on one side and furnace and coke operations at Swedeland, within Upper Merion Township, on the other. For generations, it employed workers from across Montgomery County until steel production ended in the late 1970s. Mills of that era commonly relied on asbestos to protect workers and equipment from extreme heat. The company’s history is documented on our Alan Wood Steel page.
Other regional workplaces come up often, too. Ambler, also in Montgomery County, was once a center of asbestos manufacturing. The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, along with area power plants and refineries, employed large numbers of local workers in jobs that involved asbestos insulation.
Navy Veterans and Military Asbestos Exposure
Military service belongs on this list. Navy veterans in particular served aboard ships whose engine rooms and boiler spaces were commonly insulated with asbestos, a pattern seen again and again in asbestos litigation. If you or a loved one served, that history is worth raising early in a case review.
Construction Trade Asbestos Exposure on King of Prussia Job Sites
Much of King of Prussia as it stands today was built during a long period of regional growth in the second half of the twentieth century. That includes the mall, the office corridor, the interchanges, and much of the housing. For much of that period, asbestos was a standard ingredient in fireproofing, insulation, joint compound, flooring, and roofing materials. Carpenters, insulators, drywall finishers, plumbers, electricians, and laborers regularly cut, sand, and mix these products. If your trade put you on those job sites, the exposure did not require a factory gate.
Secondary and Take-Home Asbestos Exposure Puts Families at Risk
A spouse who shook out and washed work clothes, or a child who grew up in a home where a parent came back dusty from a plant or job site, can develop mesothelioma without ever holding the job themselves. Pennsylvania courts have heard cases built on this kind of household exposure for years. We explain the pattern in more detail on our secondary exposure page, and if it sounds like your family’s situation, the claim receives the same careful evaluation as a worker’s claim.
Pennsylvania Mesothelioma Filing Deadlines: Why Timing Matters
Pennsylvania law places a limited window on asbestos claims. For mesothelioma, that window generally starts at diagnosis or discovery of the illness, rather than at the exposure itself, which may have occurred decades earlier. Claims brought after a loved one’s death follow a related but separate set of rules. Because the details depend on the facts of each case, it is worth having an attorney confirm where things stand rather than assuming the door has closed. More background is on our statute of limitations page. The practical advice is simple: do not leave the question of the deadline unanswered.
Philadelphia Asbestos Attorney Serving King of Prussia and Montgomery County
Michael Schafle practices in Philadelphia and has years of experience working within the city’s dedicated asbestos court program. For Montgomery County families, that is a short drive, though where a case is actually filed depends on its specifics. The firm handles the legwork, from gathering records to building the case, so you can focus on your family and your treatment.
How to Start a King of Prussia Mesothelioma Claim
Start by writing down a work history, even a rough one: employers, job sites, trades, military service, and approximate years. That outline is usually enough for us to begin matching it against documented Pennsylvania exposure sites, which you can browse in our exposure site directory alongside the statewide city index.
Then request a free case review, and we will tell you plainly whether a claim is there.