Lawsuit Filed Against Pharmaceutical Co., Brake Shop Claims Asbestos and SV40 Virus-laced Vaccine Caused Tumor

OAKLAND, Calif. - A California man has sued a vaccine manufacturer and two auto shops that sold him asbestos-laden brake parts claiming that both are to blame for causing his almost-always-fatal form of cancer.

The lawsuit, served Wednesday on defendants Pfizer, Inc. and two San Francisco-area auto supply stores, alleges that the 57-year-old Alameda County man developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos-containing brake pads and a monkey virus that is believed to have contaminated Pfizer's polio vaccines until the early 1960s.

The virus, simian virus 40 (SV40), has recently been linked to cancers, including mesothelioma, which most …