Alcoa Asbestos Lawsuit Can Proceed After Tennessee Supreme Court Ruling
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
On September 10, 2008, the Tennessee Supreme court ruled that Alcoa Inc. can be sued for the asbestos-related death of a former worker's daughter. The Pittsburgh-based company had argued that it should not be held responsible for the former worker’s daughter’s mesothelioma, a rare cancer associated with asbestos that lead to her death in 2005.
The daughter initially sued the company in 2003, claiming that the asbestos dust her father brought home on his clothes had caused her cancer. The ex Alcoa worker has continued the lawsuit as the representative of his daughter's estate. He hauled asbestos for the company in the 1970s.
The court ruled on September 10, 2008 that the employer had a duty to prevent others from being exposed to the asbestos-contaminated clothes of its workers. The lawsuit is seeking $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages.
The case was initially dismissed in Blount County, but the Tennessee Court of Appeals reversed that decision and reinstated the lawsuit. The company appealed that decision to the state Supreme Court.
The attorney representing the plaintiff, said the Supreme Court's ruling is a broad one that goes beyond the previous appeals court ruling.
Justice William Koch wrote in the opinion: "In light of the magnitude of the potential harm from exposure to asbestos and the means available to prevent or reduce this harm, we see no reason to prevent carpool members, baby sitters, or the domestic help from pursuing negligence claims against an employer should they develop mesothelioma after being repeatedly and regularly in close contact with an employee's asbestos-contaminated work clothes over an extended period of time."
Alcoa spokesman Kevin Lowery said that company officials were disappointed by the ruling, but that they still have confidence in their ability to argue the case in trial.
"We thought we had a good case in dismissing it once, and we still think we have a good case and will go that route," Lowery said.
Posted in Toxic Exposure • Asbestos • Mesothelioma