United States Navy shipfitters worked aboard Navy vessels to construct, fit, and repair the structural steel components of ships — bulkheads, frames, decks, brackets, and interior structural elements. Shipfitters worked throughout ship spaces where asbestos insulation was simultaneously being installed by insulators and pipecoverers, and where existing asbestos insulation covered the pipes and equipment adjacent to the structural elements they were fitting and welding. Shipfitters in the Navy served both as enlisted personnel performing structural repair work aboard ships and as civilian trade workers at naval shipyards during construction and overhaul.

Documented Asbestos Exposure for Navy Shipfitters

Personal Testimony — Working as a Shipfitter Aboard a USS Vessel

Navy Service — Shipfitter in the United States Navy

Navy Shipfitter — Multiple Named Plaintiffs

USS Arizona — Asbestos Dust Counts

Welders — Alongside Navy Personnel

How Navy Shipfitters Were Exposed to Asbestos

Navy shipfitters encountered asbestos through the work they performed and the environments in which they worked:

Working alongside insulators: Shipfitters performed structural work in the same enclosed ship spaces where insulators were simultaneously installing asbestos pipe covering and equipment insulation. The asbestos fiber generated by insulation cutting and fitting settled throughout the work space and was inhaled by all workers present.

Cutting through asbestos-containing materials: Shipfitters cutting openings or penetrations through bulkheads and decks that contained asbestos board (Marinite) or were insulated with asbestos materials disturbed the asbestos-containing substrate and released fiber.

Welding near asbestos insulation: Shipfitters who welded structural brackets or frames adjacent to existing asbestos-insulated piping generated heat that could cause nearby asbestos insulation to char and release fiber, while also working in environments where the asbestos dust from nearby insulation work was present.

Shipyard structural repair: Shipfitters performing structural repair during ship overhaul worked in confined spaces where old asbestos insulation was being simultaneously removed by other trades — the highest-concentration asbestos exposure conditions in the shipyard environment.

VA Claims and Legal Options for Shipfitters — Navys

Navy veterans who served as shipfitters aboard USS vessels or at naval shipyards, and civilian shipfitter trade workers employed at Navy shipbuilding and overhaul facilities, who subsequently developed mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease, may qualify for:

  • VA service connection under VA asbestos-claim guidance for Navy veterans with documented shipfitter duties aboard Navy vessels
  • Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) for civilian shipfitters employed at naval shipyards
  • Civil claims against asbestos insulation manufacturers whose products were present in the spaces where Navy shipfitters worked

Key documents:

  • DD-214 or service records — documenting Navy shipfitter service and ship assignments
  • Employment records — naval shipyard or contractor employment records documenting shipfitter trade classification
  • Diagnosis — mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis, or pleural disease

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

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Documented asbestos exposure information derived from publicly filed asbestos litigation records. This does not constitute legal or medical advice.