About Asbestos Exposure at Regional Hospital of Terre Haute — Critical Filing Deadline Guide for Workers and Tradesmen

Based on the types of construction, renovation, and mechanical installation common to Indiana hospitals of this era, tradesmen working at Regional Hospital of Terre Haute may have been exposed to asbestos-containing materials from the following manufacturers:

Pipe and Boiler Insulation

  • Thermobestos** — Industry-standard pipe covering for hospital mechanical systems throughout the 1940s–1970s, manufactured with chrysotile asbestos as the primary thermal insulation component
  • calcium silicate pipe insulation** — Pre-formed asbestos pipe insulation used in steam distribution systems at hospitals nationwide, reportedly containing up to 70% asbestos fibers
  • high-temperature block insulation** and pre-molded fitting covers with asbestos as the primary thermal component
  • insulated fittings and valve covers** — Asbestos-wrapped pressure vessel components standard in mid-century hospital steam systems
  • Pre-formed asbestos pipe sections from multiple manufacturers in 1-inch, 1.5-inch, and 2-inch diameter thermal insulation jackets

Spray-Applied Fireproofing

  • spray-applied fireproofing** — Spray fireproofing reportedly containing chrysotile and amosite asbestos, applied to structural steel during 1960s–1980s construction and renovation
  • fireproofing compounds** — Asbestos-containing spray-applied products reportedly used on boiler room structural elements
  • Products from ceiling tile, and other manufacturers reportedly containing asbestos fibers as the primary fireproofing agent

Floor Tiles and Adhesives

  • vinyl asbestos floor tiles** — 9-inch and 12-inch tile standard throughout institutional construction of this period, reportedly containing approximately 30–40% chrysotile asbestos
  • asbestos-containing floor tile** — Used in many hospitals with similar reported asbestos content
  • Asbestos-containing mastic adhesives from Armstrong and other manufacturers used to install and remove floor tiles throughout hospital corridors and utility areas

Ceiling Tiles and Plaster

  • Spray-applied acoustic ceilings reportedly containing asbestos — Products and others used in utility spaces above pipe and mechanical equipment
  • Asbestos-containing plaster reportedly installed in hospital public and utility spaces by skilled laborers and plasterers
  • Suspended ceiling tiles with asbestos binders from Armstrong and in utility areas and mechanical rooms
  • Transite ceiling board — Rigid asbestos-cement panels from James Hardie and other manufacturers used in fire-rated ceiling assemblies

Transite Board and Cement-Asbestos Panels

  • Cement-asbestos transite board — Reportedly used in boiler rooms, electrical rooms, and as fire-rated partition material, with asbestos content reportedly ranging from 20–40%
  • Rigid board panels for equipment enclosure from multiple manufacturers

General Equipment at Asbestos Exposure at Regional Hospital of Terre Haute — Critical Filing Deadline Guide for Workers and Tradesmen

The equipment below represents the systems and infrastructure documented or typically present at this facility during the era when asbestos-containing materials were specified in industrial construction. This is general facility-equipment reference — not a legal attribution of any specific product, manufacturer, or exposure event to this facility. Material-category and manufacturer information is addressed in the AsbestosIndex Product Crosswalk linked under the records table below.

Central Plant Boilers View crosswalk › Steam Distribution Piping View crosswalk › Hot Water Heaters View crosswalk › Autoclaves View crosswalk › Hospital Pipe Tunnels View crosswalk › HVAC Air Handlers View crosswalk › Industrial Chillers View crosswalk › Suspended Ceilings View crosswalk › Vinyl-Asbestos Floor Tile View crosswalk ›

Documented Asbestos Evidence — Indiana

The records below are verified, state-documented asbestos removals at this facility. Each entry represents a regulated abatement project where the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) was notified under federal NESHAP rules, the work was logged, and the asbestos-containing material was confirmed and removed under regulated conditions. These are not allegations or estimates — they are paper records tying documented asbestos-containing material to this specific site.

No IDEM NESHAP abatement notifications have been identified for this facility in current public records. Per the framing above, absence of state-agency documentation should not be read as absence of asbestos — only as absence of a formal, regulated abatement event meeting reporting thresholds. Workers who recall encountering pipe insulation, block insulation, gaskets, or other asbestos-era construction materials at this facility may still have viable claims regardless of whether a state record exists.

Material Categories in Documented Records

The materials documented above (and similar asbestos-containing materials commonly encountered in records of this type) appear in the AsbestosIndex catalog with historical manufacturer and trust-fund information. Click a category to view manufacturers historically associated with that material:

Thermal System Insulation View crosswalk › Asbestos-Cement Board View crosswalk › Pipe Insulation View crosswalk › Roofing & Flashing View crosswalk › Spray Fireproofing View crosswalk › Floor Tile & Mastic View crosswalk › Ceiling Tile View crosswalk › Gaskets & Packing View crosswalk ›

Indiana — Filing Deadline & Next Steps

Indiana law gives mesothelioma and asbestos-disease claimants 2 years from the date of medical diagnosis to file a personal-injury lawsuit (Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4). For wrongful-death claims after an asbestos-related death, the filing window is 2 years from the date of death (Ind. Code § 34-23-1-1). The two deadlines run on separate tracks — preserving one does not extend the other.

The personal-injury clock runs from diagnosis, not from exposure. Mesothelioma latency is typically 20 to 50 years, so workers exposed in the 1950s–1980s are being diagnosed today.

Practical first steps

  1. Document what you remember. Pay stubs, W-2s, union cards, photographs, coworker names, and dates of employment. The WorkChain widget on this page can save a copy you can email yourself.
  2. Preserve medical records. Pathology reports, biopsy results, imaging, and pulmonary-function tests are central to both civil claims and trust-fund filings.
  3. Identify household members. Spouses who laundered work clothing and children of plant workers are eligible for secondary-exposure claims when diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease.
  4. Speak with an asbestos attorney with Indiana experience. The first conversation is free and confidential. Asbestos trust-fund claims and civil claims run on different tracks — both can be pursued in parallel.

Asbestos-Related Diseases — Indiana

Asbestos fiber exposure can cause several specific diseases that typically appear decades after the original exposure. The latency period — the gap between exposure and diagnosis — usually runs 20 to 50 years. That's why workers exposed in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s are receiving diagnoses today.

Mesothelioma

A rare, aggressive cancer that affects the lining of the lungs (pleural mesothelioma), abdomen (peritoneal), or heart (pericardial). Mesothelioma is almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure, which is why a mesothelioma diagnosis often points directly to historical workplace exposure. Average latency from first exposure to diagnosis is 30-50 years.

Asbestosis

A chronic, non-cancerous scarring of lung tissue caused by inhaled asbestos fibers. Asbestosis causes progressive shortness of breath, persistent cough, and reduced lung function. It does not improve with treatment, and it is a recognized basis for compensation under most trust schedules and civil claims.

Lung Cancer

Asbestos exposure significantly increases the risk of lung cancer, particularly when combined with a history of smoking. Asbestos-related lung cancer is compensable under the same trust schedules and civil claim avenues as mesothelioma.

Other Recognized Diseases

Pleural plaques, pleural thickening, laryngeal cancer, ovarian cancer, and certain gastrointestinal cancers are also recognized as asbestos-related under various trust schedules and case-law authorities, though eligibility and proof requirements vary by claim type.

If you have any of these diagnoses and you worked at this facility, lived with someone who did, or were exposed in any documented capacity, you may have a claim worth pursuing. Speak with an attorney before assuming you don't qualify.

Data Sources — Indiana

Information about facility equipment, industrial materials, and occupational records referenced on this page is drawn from publicly available sources where applicable, including:

If specific equipment or product claims in this article are sourced from a non-public database, the source is identified parenthetically within the text above.