The Conwed mill in Cloquet, Minnesota, was a cornerstone of the local economy until 1986. It provided steady work for hundreds of families and shaped the community’s identity. But behind the paychecks and production lines was an invisible hazard—asbestos exposure.
Workers not only inhaled the deadly asbestos fibers, themselves, they also carried asbestos fibers home on their clothing, skin, and hair, unknowingly exposing their families to the same dangers faced on the factory floor. What seemed like routine daily life in a mill town would resurface decades later in devastating ways, putting generations at risk through everyday contact with products containing asbestos.
This retrospective tells the story of one Minnesota family’s fight for justice after a mesothelioma diagnosis. It is also a story about accountability, compassion, and the vital role Sieben Polk P.A. plays in standing up for Minnesotans harmed by corporate negligence.
Asbestos Exposure: A Diagnosis Decades Later
Exposure began long before our client ever stepped inside the mill. For decades, his father worked at Conwed as a millwright, repairing machinery in Mill C and Lo-Tone, areas later identified as heavily contaminated with asbestos. Each evening, he came home still wearing his work clothes, coated in fine white dust. Unknowingly, that dust carried danger into the family’s home, settling into the air they breathed and the spaces where they lived. From childhood, our client was exposed to dust that they didn’t know should be avoided.
As our client grew into his teenage years, a visit to the plant became part of their connection to their father and future career. What should have been a routine tour instead revealed areas overflowing with asbestos. During this visit, they watched workers dump burlap bags of asbestos into large vats, releasing thick clouds of fibers that clung to clothing, hair, and every surface in sight. They later described the factory floor as looking like a snowstorm, with dust hanging constantly in the air.
By 1963, our client was employed at the mill to save money for college, working on and off for about two years. Each shift took place in an environment where dust filled the air and settled on every surface. Yet despite the obvious danger, Conwed gave no warnings and offered no protective gear. Conwed’s safety director authored a memorandum to management identifying asbestos as a hazard and recommended a program that would minimize their employees and their families from exposure. Tragically, the memo was ignored, and no effort was made to safeguard the very workers who kept the mill running or their families.
More than 50 years after our client’s first exposure, the devastating diagnosis arrived. In December 2018, doctors confirmed malignant mesothelioma. For someone who had once been active in their community and daily life, the disease brought a swift and heartbreaking decline. Alongside the physical toll, the family faced mounting medical bills and the painful reality that this suffering could have been prevented.
In 2019, his family turned to Chad Alexander at Sieben Polk P.A. After years of uncertainty and just months after the life-changing diagnosis, they finally had experienced advocates on their side. Though decades had passed since the first exposure, the claim was still viable; Minnesota law generally begins the clock at diagnosis, not at the date of exposure. With the guidance from Sieben Polk P.A., the family took their first step toward justice.
“Sadly, many, many Cowned employees have died from mesothelioma after working at Conwed or living with a Conwed employee. We have represented dozens of Conwed families, so we had a very good understanding of what had occurred.” – Chad C. Alexander, Partner at Sieben Polk P.A.
The Hidden Dangers of Asbestos and Mesothelioma
The tragedy of asbestos is its long latency period. Mesothelioma often develops decades after the first fibers are inhaled, giving families a false sense of well-being until the disease suddenly appears. By the time symptoms emerge, the illness is already aggressive, leaving survivors and their loved ones facing overwhelming challenges with little warning.
Conwed’s actions make this case particularly troubling. In 1986, Cowned’s last safety director discovered the 1959 memorandum from Conwed’s safety director to Conwed management identifying asbestos as a hazard capable of causing lung disease while cleaning his office after USG purchased Conwed. That person turned the memorandum over to Sieben Polk. Another note in 1961 recommended masks in dispersing areas, stating that airborne asbestos fibers are a health hazard. Despite this knowledge, no protections were provided to employees or their families.
By the 1980s, health screenings in Cloquet revealed the impact. State investigators reported lung disease rates among men in the community were significantly higher than the state average. In 1993, a Minnesota Department of Health study confirmed nearly one-third of screened Conwed workers showed abnormalities tied to asbestos exposure. Findings like these highlight the widespread danger across job sites with asbestos exposure in Minnesota and beyond.
This evidence shows why mesothelioma lawsuits remain so critical. Survivors and their families carry a dual burden: overwhelming medical expenses and the painful truth that their suffering never should have happened. Legal action cannot undo the harm, but can provide the resources needed for care and stability while ensuring corporations are held accountable for choices that put lives at risk.
Accountability Through Asbestos and Mesothelioma Litigation
When the family filed their case in 2019, they alleged Conwed failed to warn workers and their households about asbestos hazards, even though internal documents showed the company had known for years.
What began as a product liability claim became a wrongful death lawsuit after the client’s passing in 2020. The shift from fighting an illness to mourning a loss underscored what was truly at stake, not just medical bills or legal arguments, but the absence of a parent, spouse, and community member whose life was cut short. After the client passed, the court ruled that a jury would be allowed to punish Conwed for its deliberate disregard of his rights, a claim that is rarely allowed in Minnesota in only cases where the company’s conduct is particularly egregious. Through litigation, Sieben Polk P.A. built a case grounded in decades of evidence, internal warnings ignored, safety measures delayed, and families left grieving.
“The compelling legal arguments are twofold.” said Chad C. Alexander, partner at the firm.
“First, holding Conwed to a standard of care that requires protecting those foreseeably at risk of exposure to asbestos, including families in the home. Conwed was therefore required to compensate our client’s family for his mesothelioma and death caused by Conwed’s asbestos. He did not have any other asbestos exposures. He became a teacher after college. He and many, many other college and high school kids worked at Conwed.”
“The second is the court’s ruling that our client’s spouse could sue Conwed for punitive damages, which are designed to punish the defendant, because we established with clear and convincing evidence that Conwed deliberately disregarded the rights and safety of our client. Conwed’s safety director authored a memo to management at the time Conwed started using asbestos notifying them that asbestos would cause disease and outlined a plan to protect workers and, by extension, the families. Conwed never instituted those protections and that resulted in his death and, sadly, many others in Cloquet and the surrounding area.”
The Outcome
Ultimately, Sieben Polk P.A. secured a confidential settlement. While no outcome could restore what was lost, the resolution brought financial security and affirmed the family’s pursuit of justice. It also reinforced a larger truth: corporations cannot erase their past, and families deserve both accountability and compassion in the face of preventable loss.
As the only Minnesota law firm actively handling asbestos and mesothelioma cases, Sieben Polk P.A. has recovered more than $840 million for Minnesotans. Attorney Chad Alexander and his colleagues have tried more asbestos lawsuits in Minnesota than all other firms combined. Their work reflects the firm’s nationally recognized and locally rooted mission.
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma after asbestos exposure, do not wait to act. Fill out our online form or call 651-437-3148 for a free consultation today. Our team is here to listen, guide, and stand with you every step of the way.