Page Updated January 17, 2026

Asbestos-Containing Cement Pipes Blamed for Mesothelioma Death

Page Reviewed and Edited by

Mesothelioma Attorney Paul Danziger

Peter A. Lowe, Sr. died of malignant mesothelioma before he could get justice from the companies whose products exposed him to asbestos, particularly asbestos-containing cement pipes, but his widow and son are pursuing the case on his behalf. Their suit names several companies whose cement pipe he worked with for years while performing “all types of excavation and water/sewer connection” work. Though one of the companies attempted to have the case against it dismissed, the victim’s deposition testimony was enough to persuade the judge to allow the claim to stand.

Multiple Asbestos Pipe Companies Named in Mesothelioma Claim

Mr. Lowe died of his mesothelioma in 2019, sixty years after

He began working for his father’s excavating and construction company, and forty-one years later, he took over his father’s business.

His mesothelioma lawsuit named three companies whose brands of pipe he purchased and worked with: Johns-Manville, CertainTeed, and Italit. He was certain of the company names because they were stamped onto the pipes themselves. He also noted that none of the suppliers of the pipes had provided any type of warning about the dangers of inhaling asbestos dust.

Pipe Supplier Files Motion to Evade Liability for Mesothelioma Death

Colony Lumber was one of the companies that supplied asbestos to the mesothelioma victim’s company, and its successor, Kamco, was named in the suit. Kamco filed a motion to have the mesothelioma claim against it dismissed, asserting that, though it had merged with Colony Lumber in 1998, a fire had destroyed Colony Lumber’s records in the 1970s, and therefore, there was no proof that Colony had sold asbestos-containing pipes to the victim.

Though the Rhode Island judge hearing the case agreed that no evidence had been submitted, he ruled that the deposition testimony provided by the mesothelioma victim before his death was consistent with other supporting evidence pointing to the sale of the asbestos-containing pipes. Therefore, the case against the company will be allowed to continue.

The ruling underscores the importance of victim testimony in mesothelioma cases involving long-term occupational exposure. Even decades after asbestos-containing products were sold and records have been lost or destroyed, consistent deposition testimony supported by circumstantial evidence can be sufficient to keep claims moving forward. For families seeking justice after a mesothelioma death, the decision reinforces that suppliers and successors cannot avoid accountability simply by pointing to missing paperwork when credible evidence ties their products to asbestos exposure.

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