Montgomery County man with malignant mesothelioma files mass tort asbestos claim in Phila.

A Montgomery County man who says he was diagnosed with a specific form of lung

cancer earlier this year that is connected to asbestos exposure has filed a civil suit against various companies engaged in the manufacture and distribution of products containing the fiber.

Attorney Benjamin Shein, of the Philadelphia-based Shein Law Center, filed a short-form mass tort complaint May 29 at state court in Philadelphia on behalf of Lansdale, Pa. resident Michael A. Hrycko, and Hrycko’s wife, Joyce.

The lawsuit, filed in the master asbestos litigation at Common Pleas Court, says that Michael Hrycko was advised by doctors at Grandview Hospital back in February that he has malignant mesothelioma, a type of cancer usually associated with asbestos exposure that attacks the cells that line the lungs.

The disease, the suit states, is causing the plaintiff to experience “physical symptoms, impairment and disability.”

Hrycko’s work history, which is contained within the short-form complaint shows that he worked as a machinist at various companies between 1960 and 2007.

Those companies are Hatfield, Pa.-based Rudo Associates, Sellersville, Pa.-based Pennfield Precision, and Davro Instrument Corp. and Palco Precision, both of which are based in Lansdale, Montgomery County.

The complaint alleges that it was Hrycko’s exposure to asbestos dust and fibers during his working years that led to his eventual mesothelioma diagnosis.

Hrycko turned 72 years old on May 18, the record shows.

The defendants named in the suit are as follows: CBS Corp., Industrial Holdings Corp., Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Plastics Engineering Co., Saint-Gobain Abrasives Inc., and Union Carbide Corp.

The plaintiffs seek damages as set forth in the master asbestos litigation at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court.

The case ID number is 130503008.