Duro Dyne Corporation

Duro Dyne Corporation is one of the biggest manufacturers of accessories for sheet metal and equipment in the air conditioning, heating, and ventilation industries. Unfortunately, the company relied on asbestos due to the material’s durable nature and placed asbestos in its product until the end of the 1970s.

Many workers and other people were exposed to asbestos due to the company’s use of the material. As a result of these many exposure cases, the company continues to face asbestos litigation in 2022. In 2018, Duro Dyne created a plan for an asbestos trust fund to compensate both pending and future claims involving asbestos exposure.

Established in 1952, Duro Dyne started as a manufacturer of sheet metal access to be used in cooling, heating, and ventilation systems. In its early days, the company created various products including duct connectors, blade skits, and vane rails which are critical in running effective air systems. As the company grew, it opened plants in southern California in the early 1960s and Ohio in the early 1970s.

From the company’s founding to the late 1970s, Duro Dyne relied on asbestos due to the material’s durable nature in its various products. Asbestos was at its peak usage in the 1960s and 1970s. Air systems installed by the company during this time are most likely to contain asbestos.

Duro Dyne operates throughout the world with plants located in both North and South America as well as various other continents including Asia, Australia, and Europe. The privately owned company has various divisions including DuroZone Division, a Machinery Division, and its Dyna-Tite Divisions.

The company stopped producing asbestos by the 1980s, but its asbestos-containing products continued to expose a large number of people to the dangers presented by the material. In 1988, the company was involved in its first asbestos lawsuit.

After its first asbestos exposure lawsuit, Duro Dyne became involved in many more cases. When the company started pursuing bankruptcy in 2018, Duro Dyne faced around 9,000 cases involving asbestos exposure. The company was involved in several notable lawsuits, which include the following:

• A jury in California awarded a man over $325,000 for both past and future medical costs for treating his peritoneal mesothelioma. The man also received over $530,000 for lost earnings, and over $1 million for non-economic damages, and the man’s wife received $300,000.
• In one 2007 case, a man was awarded almost $2 million after he developed peritoneal mesothelioma. The man worked as a sheet metal worker for nearly five decades. The man claimed that he was exposed to asbestos found in HVAC duct connectors as well as duct sealers manufactured by the company. Neither the man’s employer nor the materials contained adequate warnings about the associated dangers. Duro Dyne argued that it did not cause the man’s mesothelioma, but the jury determined that Duro Dyne bore responsibility for his diagnosis.

If you or a loved one was exposed to products manufactured by Duro Dyne that contain asbestos, you should not hesitate to speak with an experienced attorney at the Throneberry Law Group. Schedule a free case evaluation with one of our attorneys today for assistance.