Asbestos

Henry Ward Johns was the founder of Johns-Manville Corporation(J-M) and inventor of asbestos. His company would survive him to be involved in one of the longest lawsuits in history. The victims of the cancer caused by exposure to his invention are the plaintiffs in the numerous cases that would be litigated for decades. This paper will highlight the facts surrounding this case, provide an analysis and the position of the parties, discuss the issues surrounding social responsibility for J-M and then conclude on the degree of social responsibility that the J-M corporation is responsible for. First, lets examine the history of Johns-Manville Corporation (J-M) and the events leading to the lawsuits over the cancer causing asbestos products.
Henry Ward Johns, died in 1898. Later to be found out that he died a victim of the product that he had created. In the same year that Henry Johns died, a British factory inspector noticed a common ailment among the workers: “In the major...