Page Updated January 12, 2026

Millwright’s Mesothelioma Linked to Occupational & Childhood Asbestos Exposure

Page Reviewed and Edited by

Mesothelioma Attorney Paul Danziger

In May of 2024, Barney Horton, Jr.’s was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. His diagnosis followed asbestos exposure that began in his childhood and continued throughout his life and eventual occupational exposure as a millwright and laborer. The personal injury lawsuit that has been filed by his family paints a grim picture of both the occupational dangers that have been posed by asbestos for decades and the additional risks of secondary asbestos exposure that can occur within families of those who work with the deadly carcinogen.

Multi-Generational Asbestos Exposure Leads to Mesothelioma

Mr. Horton’s family is blaming his death from mesothelioma on an asbestos exposure history that spanned multiple sources and decades. Beginning in 1966, he worked as a laborer and millwright at various locations, performing duties that brought him into direct contact with asbestos-containing materials, but his first exposure occurred much earlier. His father, Barney Atwood Horton, Sr., had also worked as a millwright. The family’s lawsuit alleges that Horton experienced both occupational exposure and this secondary exposure from asbestos his father carried on his hair, skin, and clothing when he returned home from work each day. This common form of asbestos exposure has affected countless family members of industrial workers.

Beyond the secondary exposure to asbestos and his work as a millwright, the mesothelioma victim also did automotive and tractor repair work throughout his life, installing and removing products, including brake pads and clutches that contained asbestos. The family’s lawsuit asserts that this cumulative effect of direct occupational exposure, childhood household exposure, and automotive work ultimately caused his mesothelioma.

Legal Claims Against Multiple Defendants

In November 2024, Mr. Horton and his wife Linda filed their complaint with the Jefferson Circuit Court in Kentucky, naming General Electric, Ford Motor Company, Honeywell International, Deere & Company, and others as defendants. The lawsuit accused these companies of failure to warn workers about asbestos dangers, strict liability in designing and manufacturing asbestos-containing products, failure to exercise ordinary care, and violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Kentucky Occupational Safety and Health Act (KOSHA) regulations. The couple sought compensation for damages, loss of consortium, and punitive damages for what they called malicious, willful, wanton conduct, and gross negligence by the companies. When Barney Horton died in March of 2025, his estate continued pursuing the case.

As the legal process moved forward, General Electric learned that Horton had served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 to 1962 on a ship containing General Electric marine turbines, and that he’d previously filed a Veterans Affairs claim for service-related injuries, including asbestos exposure. Invoking a government contractor defense, the company removed the case to federal court, arguing that they were shielded from liability because they manufactured products according to government specifications.

Judge Rules in Mesothelioma Family’s Favor

The family responded by amending their complaint, waiving all claims related to Mr. Horton’s naval asbestos exposure from GE products. The judge ruled that this eliminated the company’s federal jurisdiction because, without military-related claims, GE had no grounds to use the government contractor defense. He returned the case to the Kentucky state court, where the family hopes to see a faster trial date, easier evidence discovery rules, and a local jury that may be more sympathetic to their argument.