Merlin Olsen dies following a battle with asbestos mesothelioma cancerLos Angeles, California - On the final day of 2009, former Pro Bowl player and TV actor Merlin Olsen filed suit against NBC Studios, NBC Universal, 20th Century Fox, Lennox Industries, Sherwin Williams, Bondex International Inc., Georgia-Pacific, and other companies. Olsen believed that he developed the asbestos-caused cancer known as a mesothelioma due to negligence on behalf of the aforementioned corporations. Olsen's lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County and his wife, Susan, was also named on the lawsuit.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame writes that Olsen was a "coach's player," and stated that he "stood out in every game he played for the Rams" during his fifteen-year NFL career. Olsen was voted into the Pro Bowl as a rookie and continued to play in the Bowl for the next fourteen years. After succeeding in the NFL, Olsen tried his hand at acting, and had a role on Little House on the Prairie.
Olsen believes that he first came into contact with asbestos materials when he was not yet a teenager, when he worked after school and during the summer doing "manual labor" task such as construction. He also claims he was "around workers working with asbestos drywall patching compounds" later on in life. The lawsuit documents did indicate that an investigation into which asbestos products actually caused Olsen's malignant mesothelioma diagnosis, and that Olsen was undergoing chemotherapy in an effort to treat his cancer. He was formally diagnosed in July of 2009, and his survival rate of about nine months is not atypical for patients with mesothelioma - generally, sufferers do not survive longer than two years following diagnosis.
In addition to the companies named above, Olsen's lawsuit also named Crane Co., Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC, Kaiser Gypsum Co., and John K. Bice Co., Inc. as being responsible for his asbestos exposure.
