Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that they were exposed to asbestos while working at Hudson Motor Car Company plants in Wisconsin. This page documents the Wisconsin portion of Hudson Motor Car Company’s multi-state operations. For the full corporate summary and plants in other states, see the Hudson Motor Car Company manufacturer page.
Product and Premises Description
Hudson Motor Car Company (founded 1909 in Detroit Michigan by Roy D. Chapin, Howard E. Coffin, and department-store magnate Joseph L. Hudson) was through the first half of the 20th century one of the principal independent U.S. automobile manufacturers. Hudson’s product lines included the flagship Hudson, the mid-market Essex (1918-1932), and the light-car Terraplane (1932-1938). Hudson pioneered the “step-down” unibody design and dominated NASCAR stock-car racing in the early 1950s. In 1954 Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator to form American Motors Corporation (AMC); U.S. Hudson production at Detroit ended with the merger and remaining Hudson-badged cars were produced on Nash bodies at Kenosha WI through 1957.
Product-vector pathways Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation:
Asbestos brake linings on Hudson, Essex, and Terraplane passenger-car brake shoes supplied by Bendix, Raybestos, Abex, and other OEM friction manufacturers
Asbestos clutch facings on Hudson manual transmissions
Asbestos exhaust manifold gaskets and heat shields on Hudson engines
Asbestos undercoating and body deadener on Hudson vehicles
Premises-vector pathways at the Hudson Detroit MI manufacturing complex — principally the Hudson Main Plant on Jefferson Avenue (later occupied by Chrysler as the Jefferson Assembly / Jefferson North complex) and the Hudson Body Plant:
Asbestos pipe covering on plant steam, process, and heating piping
Asbestos refractory in foundry cupolas, heat-treat furnaces, and paint-bake ovens
Asbestos block insulation on plant boilers
Asbestos gaskets and packing at process equipment
Asbestos electrical insulation on plant motor and switchgear systems
Hudson Motor Car Company (and its successors in liability, including AMC and Chrysler) has been named as a Manufacturer Defendant and Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation.
Workers Exposed
UAW Local members at Hudson Detroit MI Main Plant, Body Plant, and Kenosha WI assembly
Auto mechanics servicing Hudson, Essex, and Terraplane brake linings, clutches, and engine gaskets
Brake mechanics working Hudson vehicle brake systems
Foundry workers at Hudson-associated foundry operations
Insulators (HFIAW Local members) on Hudson construction and turnaround crews
Construction-trade workforces on Hudson capital projects
If You Worked With Hudson Vehicles or at a Hudson Plant
If you worked with Hudson, Essex, or Terraplane brake linings, clutches, or engine gaskets during the asbestos era — or worked at the Hudson Detroit MI manufacturing complex — as an employee or as a dispatched contractor trade worker — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights.
Occupational and premises asbestos exposure like this is a leading cause of mesothelioma, often diagnosed decades later. If you or a family member worked here:
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Firsthand Accounts from the Trades
Did you work at Hudson Motor Car Company? Add your account.
Records show what a plant was. They don't show what the work was like. If you
were sent there — insulation, pipe, boilers, sheet metal, electrical, laborer — tell us what you
remember: which units or buildings, what you handled, what came down during an outage. Every account
helps another worker or a family understand where exposure happened, and where to look next.
About these accounts: they are personal recollections shared by
workers and their families — individual memory, not records, and not independently verified.
The site history and documented exposure record on this page come from public and regulatory sources.
These accounts sit alongside that record — they add to it, they don't change it.
What asbestos exposure pathways are associated with Hudson Motor Car Company?
Pathways in this report refer to commonly used asbestos-containing material systems at industrial facilities that may contribute to exposure practices, fiber transfer, and deposition. Activities include maintenance, repair, overhaul, and demolition across these systems.
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Facility History
Operations established during the high-use era of asbestos specification
O'Brien Law Firm · Attorneys with experience working in Wisconsin
General Equipment Walkthrough
Equipment systems documented or commonly present at Hudson Motor Car Company. Each link opens a research crosswalk on AsbestosIndex with manufacturer, trust-fund, and product history.
Equipment list drawn from public litigation records, EPA / state DNR filings, and facility-type defaults. Specific product identification depends on facility records and witness testimony.
Hudson Motor Car Company — Wisconsin Plant Asbestos Exposure — Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hudson Motor Car Company — Wisconsin Plant Asbestos Exposure documented in asbestos litigation records?
Yes. Hudson Motor Car Company — Wisconsin Plant Asbestos Exposure is documented in public asbestos litigation records, EPA NESHAP filings, OSHA inspection logs, and/or state regulatory databases. Workers at industrial facilities of this era routinely encountered asbestos-containing materials in pipe insulation, gaskets, packing, boiler block, refractory products, floor and ceiling tiles, and electrical components.
Which workers had the highest asbestos exposure at Hudson Motor Car Company — Wisconsin Plant Asbestos Exposure?
Trades with documented asbestos exposure at industrial facilities include pipefitters, insulators (laggers), boilermakers, millwrights, electricians, welders, sheet-metal workers, plumbers, carpenters, machinists, painters, and general laborers. Maintenance crews, refractory bricklayers, and shutdown contractors often had the most concentrated exposure during overhaul and tear-out work.
What asbestos products did workers handle at Hudson Motor Car Company — Wisconsin Plant Asbestos Exposure?
Asbestos-containing products commonly documented at industrial facilities of this era include thermal pipe lagging and block insulation (steam lines, valves, boilers), asbestos cement, refractory brick and burner-front gun-block, gaskets and braided packing (valves, pumps, flanges), boiler-tube insulation and lagging, vinyl asbestos floor tile, acoustic ceiling tile, and asbestos-containing transite board. Specific product manufacturers are catalogued at AsbestosIndex.
Is there a deadline to file an asbestos claim in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin law gives 3 years from the date of medical diagnosis to file a personal-injury asbestos lawsuit. Wrongful-death claims must be filed within 3 years from the date of death. The two deadlines run on separate tracks. The personal-injury clock starts at diagnosis, not at exposure — mesothelioma latency is typically 20 to 50 years.
Who else besides Hudson Motor Car Company — Wisconsin Plant Asbestos Exposure workers may have been exposed?
Yes. Spouses who laundered work clothing carrying asbestos fibers and children of workers who returned home covered in dust are recognized in Wisconsin asbestos litigation as eligible for secondary (household) exposure claims when they have been diagnosed with an asbestos-related disease. Wrongful-death claims may be filed by surviving family members.
Can workers file both a civil suit and trust-fund claims?
Yes — more than 60 asbestos bankruptcy trusts hold combined funds set aside specifically for victims of asbestos-related disease. Trust-fund claims and civil lawsuits run on separate tracks; both can be pursued in parallel. Each trust has its own filing requirements, exposure criteria, and processing timeline.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this site. References to companies, products, and facilities are drawn from public asbestos litigation records, court filings, and regulatory databases. Consult a licensed physician for medical guidance and a qualified attorney for legal advice regarding your specific situation.
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