Court Reverses Decision against Mesothelioma Cancer Victim

In mid-September 2008, the Pennsylvania Superior Court reversed a decision by a lower court that was in favor of the asbestos products manufacturer, Georgia-Pacific. The surviving family of the plaintiff, a man who worked for a construction company in Pennsylvania in a variety of jobs during the 1970s and 1980s, will be allowed another chance at a legal remedy for his death due to mesothelioma cancer in 2004.

Proof of Every Single Incident of Asbestos Exposure Not Necessary

The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County had ruled that the plaintiff did not have sufficient evidence that he'd been exposed to the asbestos based spackling compound made by Georgia-Pacific. The Superior Court apparently agreed with plaintiff's asbestos attorney Russell W. Budd, who stated, Georgia-Pacific cannot evade liability for harm caused by a worker's exposure to the company's asbestos-containing joint compound simply by suggesting that we have to present proof of every individual time this worker was exposed to Georgia Pacific's product.

Testimony from Coworker & Sons

The Superior Court was presented with evidence from both (a) the plaintiff's coworker, who testified that the plaintiff had regularly worked in close proximity to the spackling compound, and (b) the plaintiff's sons, who testified that the plaintiff worked with the compound numerous times.

The reversal by the Superior Court sends the plaintiff's case back to be tried on its merits. Appellate counsel for the plaintiff's family, asbestos attorney Sharon Bautista of Baron & Budd, P.C., contended that Georgia-Pacific did not see fit to warn workers about the hazards created when asbestos containing joint compound is mixed or sanded, or tell them about appropriate safety precautions, even though basic prevention methods have been known since the 1930s.

(Source: PRNewswire)

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