Legally Reviewed by Michael Throneberry, Attorney. President, National Trial Lawyers Asbestos & Mesothelioma Bar (2025 and 2026).
Florida is known for beaches and theme parks. For most of the last century, it also ran paper mills, power plants, shipyards, and military bases from Pensacola to Homestead. Asbestos was used in all of them. The people who worked there, and the families who washed their work clothes, are the ones being diagnosed with mesothelioma today, often decades after the job ended.
Throneberry Law Group is a national mesothelioma and asbestos law firm that serves families throughout Florida. We meet clients by appointment at our Orlando office, and we travel to families across the state. Attorney Michael Throneberry lost his own father-in-law to mesothelioma, and our clients work with him directly.
Florida’s Mills, Shipyards, and Power Plants Used Asbestos
Asbestos held heat, so it went wherever there was steam, fire, or high-pressure pipe. It was packed into boilers, turbines, pipe insulation, gaskets, pumps, and fireproofing. Florida had a great deal of that equipment. Pulp and paper mills ran big boilers across the Panhandle and the northeast coast. Utilities built power plants from Pensacola to Miami. During World War II, Florida had 172 military installations and about forty airfields training military personnel, according to the University of South Florida’s Florida history project. In Tampa, one shipbuilder alone employed about 16,000 workers by 1943, according to a history published by USF’s Sunland Tribune.
Mesothelioma takes a long time to appear. The CDC reports that the median time from a worker’s first job exposure to death from mesothelioma is 32 years, and it can run from 13 to 70 years (CDC, MMWR 2022). That is why a diagnosis today often traces back to a job from the 1960s, 1970s, or earlier.
How We Know Which Florida Sites Matter
When an asbestos company went bankrupt, a court set up a trust to pay the people its products harmed. Many of those asbestos trusts keep lists of worksites they have approved as places where workers were exposed. Our firm keeps a database of those lists. It shows more than 680 Florida worksites on at least one trust’s approved list. The sites on this page are the ones listed by the most trusts. Being on a list does not mean every worker there has a claim, but it can make exposure easier to prove.
Paper Mills in the Panhandle and Northeast Florida
Florida’s pulp and paper mills are among the most widely listed sites in the state. The St. Regis Paper mill in Cantonment, north of Pensacola, later run by Champion and International Paper, appears on the approved-site lists of 14 asbestos trusts. That is more than any other Florida site in our database. The Buckeye Cellulose mill near Perry and the St. Regis mill in Jacksonville each appear on the lists of 13 trusts.
Other mills on the lists include the Container Corporation of America mill and the ITT Rayonier mill in Fernandina Beach, the St. Joe Paper mill in Port St. Joe, the Hudson Pulp and Paper mill in Palatka, the International Paper mill in Panama City, and the National Container mill in Jacksonville.
Who Worked Around Asbestos in the Mills
Mill boilers, recovery boilers, steam lines, and dryer sections were wrapped in asbestos insulation. Pipefitters, millwrights, boilermakers, insulators, electricians, and maintenance crews worked around it every day. Outside contractors came in during shutdowns to tear out and replace worn insulation, which put the most dust in the air. Read more about factory and mill workers.
Shipyards and Navy Bases
Ships were built with asbestos in their engine rooms, boiler rooms, and pipe lagging. Jacksonville Shipyards, including the Merrill-Stevens yard, appears on the approved-site lists of 10 trusts. Gibbs Shipyard and the St. Johns River Shipbuilding yard in Jacksonville also appear, as does Tampa Shipbuilding. Learn more about shipyard exposure sites.
Veterans and Florida’s Military Bases
Naval Air Station Pensacola appears on the lists of 7 trusts. Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center appear on 6. Eglin Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, and MacDill Air Force Base also appear. Veterans who served on Navy ships or worked in military trades may have claims against the companies that made the asbestos products. These claims are not against the military, and they are separate from VA benefits. See our page on veterans claims.
Florida Power Plants
Power plants burned fuel to make steam, and asbestos insulated nearly every hot surface. The FPL Turkey Point plant near Homestead appears on the lists of 9 trusts. The FPL Sanford plant and the FPL Riviera plant each appear on 8. Tampa Electric’s Big Bend station, Florida Power’s Crystal River plant, and the JEA Northside station in Jacksonville each appear on 7.
Other plants on the lists include JEA Southside, FPL Cutler in Miami, Tampa Electric’s Hookers Point and Gannon stations, FPL Port Everglades, FPL Fort Myers, and Gulf Power’s Crist plant near Pensacola. Read more about power plant workers.
Chemical and Phosphate Plants
The Chemstrand nylon plant near Pensacola, later run by Monsanto, appears on the lists of 11 trusts. Escambia Chemical in Pace, American Cyanamid’s Santa Rosa plant near Milton, and Newport Industries in Pensacola also appear. In Polk County, the International Minerals and Chemical phosphate operations around Mulberry and Bartow appear on the lists of 7 trusts, and American Cyanamid’s phosphate operations at Brewster appear on 5. Read more about chemical plant workers.
Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, Orlando, and the Rest of Florida
Our database shows trust-listed sites in nearly every part of the state. Jacksonville has the most, with 108 sites, followed by Tampa with 65, Pensacola with 46, Miami with 45, and Orlando with 27. Many are hospitals, schools, hotels, and office buildings where construction trades installed or tore out asbestos materials. In Miami, Jackson Memorial Hospital and Miami International Airport each appear on the lists of 5 trusts. See our pages on Jacksonville and Orlando mesothelioma claims, and the Jacksonville and Orlando exposure-site guides.
Exposed Somewhere Else, Living in Florida Now
Many people with mesothelioma in Florida did the work that exposed them somewhere else: a steel mill in the Midwest, a shipyard in the Northeast, or a refinery on the Gulf Coast. That work still counts. Where a claim is filed depends on where the exposure happened and where the companies can be sued, not on where you live today. We look at your whole work history, in every state.
Jobs That Put Florida Workers at Risk
Asbestos exposure was common in these Florida jobs:
- Shipyard workers and Navy sailors: welders, pipefitters, machinists, boiler tenders, and anyone who worked below deck.
- Paper mill workers: millwrights, boilermakers, pipefitters, and maintenance crews.
- Power plant workers: operators, mechanics, and contractors who worked on boilers and turbines.
- Chemical and phosphate plant workers: maintenance crews and anyone near steam lines and furnaces.
- Construction trades: insulators, plumbers, electricians, drywall finishers, and roofers. Read more about construction trades.
- HVAC and boiler mechanics: anyone who repaired heating systems and boilers in schools, hospitals, and offices.
Families Were Exposed at Home Too
Workers carried asbestos dust home on their clothes, hair, and in their cars. Spouses who shook out and washed those clothes, and children who hugged a parent at the end of a shift, breathed that dust. Some of them are now diagnosed with mesothelioma themselves, with no job exposure at all. If that is your story, tell us where your family member worked. It may be the start of a claim.
How Asbestos Causes Mesothelioma
Asbestos fibers are tiny and sharp. When they are breathed in or swallowed, they can lodge in the lining of the lungs or abdomen and stay there for years. Over decades, they can cause the cells in that lining to turn cancerous. That cancer is mesothelioma. Asbestos can also cause lung cancer and asbestosis. The illness often appears long after the exposure ended.
Filing a Florida Mesothelioma Lawsuit
A Florida mesothelioma lawsuit is a claim against the companies that made, sold, or used the asbestos products that caused the illness. It is not a claim against the government, and for veterans it is not a claim against the military. Most families pursue a lawsuit and asbestos trust claims at the same time. Read more about how mesothelioma lawsuits work.
Who Can File
The person diagnosed with mesothelioma can file. After a death, Florida law may let the family bring a wrongful death claim. When the patient is too sick to take part, a spouse or adult child can help lead the case.
Where the Case Is Filed
A case is filed where the courts have power over the companies involved. That depends on where the exposure happened and where the companies are based, not only on where you live today. Some cases go to state court and some go to federal court. In Florida, our practice is limited to federal law, so we review your work history in every state and explain which options fit before anything is filed.
What Happens After Filing
We gather work, military, and medical records and match them to the products and companies at each job. The companies answer the lawsuit, and both sides exchange records and take testimony. Many mesothelioma cases end in a settlement, and others go to trial. Because this illness moves fast, we can ask the court to move the case along quickly, and your testimony can be recorded early so your own account is preserved. Florida’s filing deadlines are explained in the next section.
Florida Filing Deadlines for Mesothelioma Claims
Florida law sets two-year deadlines for claims founded on negligence and for wrongful death claims (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)). A claim for injury founded on the design, manufacture, distribution, or sale of a product has four years (§ 95.11(3)). For product liability claims, the clock runs from the date the facts behind the claim were discovered, or should have been discovered (§ 95.031(2)(b)).
Which deadline applies depends on the facts of each case. These time limits are short, and records and witnesses are easier to find early. Read more about mesothelioma statutes of limitations.
Florida’s Product Repose Period
Florida also has a 12-year repose period for product claims. The statute says that period does not apply when a person was exposed to a product within the repose period but the injury did not show up until later (§ 95.031(2)). That matters in mesothelioma cases, where the illness usually appears decades after the exposure.
Florida Law and Mesothelioma Claims
Chapter 774 of the Florida Statutes sets medical proof rules for asbestos claims. For mesothelioma, the statute says a showing of impairment due to asbestos exposure is not required (Fla. Stat. § 774.204). Claims for other illnesses, such as asbestosis, have stricter medical requirements.
Deadlines for Wrongful Death Claims
When mesothelioma takes a family member, Florida’s deadline for a wrongful death claim is two years (§ 95.11(5)). If your family member died before a claim was filed, the family may still be able to act. Read more about wrongful death claims.
What Compensation May Be Available
Compensation after an asbestos diagnosis can come from two places. The first is a lawsuit against the companies that made, sold, or used the asbestos products. The second is claims with asbestos bankruptcy trusts. Many families pursue both. Compensation may cover medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and, after a death, losses to the family. Veterans’ VA benefits are separate and can often be pursued at the same time. Read more about mesothelioma compensation.
Why Florida Families Choose Throneberry Law Group
Throneberry Law Group was founded by a civil and environmental engineer who served with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before practicing law. That is why our first questions are about the ship, the plant, the product, and the year. Attorney Michael Throneberry lost his father-in-law to mesothelioma, and our clients work with him directly.
Our Orlando Office
Our Florida office is at 6401 Time Square Avenue, Suite 1025, in Orlando. Meetings there are by appointment. We also meet families by phone or video, and we travel to clients anywhere in Florida when treatment makes travel hard. In Florida, our practice is limited to federal law.
How We Work With You
We start with your diagnosis and your work history, job by job. We gather the records, find the products, and identify the companies and trusts involved. We handle the paperwork and the deadlines, and we explain each step in plain language. There is no fee unless we recover for you.
Common Questions About Florida Mesothelioma Claims
How long do I have to file a mesothelioma claim in Florida?
It depends on the type of claim. Florida sets a two-year deadline for claims founded on negligence and for wrongful death claims, under section 95.11(5) of the Florida Statutes. A claim for injury founded on the design, manufacture, or sale of a product has four years under section 95.11(3), and for product liability claims the clock runs from when the facts behind the claim were discovered or should have been discovered. Because the deadlines are short and the rules depend on the facts, it is best to talk with a lawyer soon after a diagnosis. The first review is free.
I worked in another state and live in Florida now. Where would my case be filed?
Where a claim is filed depends on where the asbestos exposure happened and where the companies that made or used the products can be sued. It does not depend only on where you live today. Many people in Florida were exposed at jobs in other states, and that work history still counts. We review your whole work history, in every state, before any filing, and explain the options in plain language. Some claims may be filed in the state where you worked, and others where a company is based. Asbestos trust claims are handled outside of court, so where you live does not limit them.
Can my family file a claim if my family member already died?
Often, yes. When mesothelioma takes a family member, Florida law may let the family bring a wrongful death claim. Florida’s deadline for a wrongful death claim is two years under section 95.11(5) of the Florida Statutes. A family may also be able to file claims with asbestos bankruptcy trusts. We help families gather the work history, medical records, and other evidence those claims need, and the first conversation is free. Tell us where your family member worked and when, even if you only know part of the story. Old pay stubs, union cards, and military records can help fill in the gaps.
Do I have to come to Orlando to meet with you?
No. Our Orlando office is open by appointment, and we also meet with families by phone or video. When treatment makes travel hard, we travel to clients anywhere in Florida. Most of the work of a mesothelioma claim, such as gathering records and tracing the work history, can be done without you leaving home. We schedule around your treatment and your family’s needs. A spouse or adult child can join the call or take the lead if that is easier. You do not need to gather anything before the first conversation.
Can Navy veterans file a mesothelioma claim?
Yes, in many cases. Veterans exposed to asbestos on Navy ships, at bases, or in military trades may have claims against the companies that made the asbestos products. These claims are not against the military or the government. They are also separate from VA benefits, and veterans can often pursue both. Several Florida bases, including Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, appear on the approved-site lists of asbestos trusts. Ship records, service records, and a list of the ships and jobs you worked can help show where the exposure happened. We help veterans and their families pull those records together.
What is an asbestos trust fund claim?
Many companies that made asbestos products went bankrupt. As part of those bankruptcies, courts set up trusts to pay the people the products harmed. A trust claim is a request for payment from one of those trusts. Each trust has its own rules, and many keep lists of approved worksites where they accept that exposure happened. Trust claims are made outside of court, and a family can often file them alongside a lawsuit. A person may qualify for claims with several trusts, depending on the products they worked around. We match your work history to the trusts that fit and file the claims for you.
Talk With a Florida Mesothelioma Lawyer Today
If mesothelioma or another asbestos disease has touched your family, contact Throneberry Law Group for a free, no-obligation case review. We serve families throughout Florida and meet by appointment at our Orlando office.