Asbestos Company’s Attempt to Overturn Mesothelioma Ruling Fails

In early 2019, Harold Cox was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. Determining that his fatal illness was caused by exposure to asbestos during the years that he served in the Navy onboard the USS Chukawan, he and his wife Doris filed a lawsuit against several companies including Foster Wheeler, the manufacture of the boilers that he worked on and in close proximity to. The company attempted to have the case dismissed, but a report and recommendation prepared by a magistrate denied their motion for summary judgment. Rather than face a jury, the company appealed the judge’s decision to The United States District Court for the District of Delaware, where a U.S. District judge upheld the lower court’s decision.

Mesothelioma Caused by Primary and Secondary Exposure to Asbestos on Ship

Prior to his death in October of 2019, Mr. Cox blamed his mesothelioma on both primary and secondary exposure to asbestos that he endured while serving in the U.S. Navy. In a deposition he testified to having been on active duty onboard the USS Chukawan, where on several occasions he removed the doors from Foster Wheeler boilers in the boiler room in order to perform maintenance work. He described the aftermath of that work, saying that after completing it sailors would cough up “black stuff” for days. He also described having stood on a catwalk directly above the boilers for four-hours at a time, and the particles from the work below rising to the level where he stood and inhaled them.

Despite Testimony, Foster Wheeler Denies Responsibility for Mesothelioma

In the face of testimony from Mr. Cox and others, Foster Wheeler argued that the mesothelioma lawsuit against them should be dismissed. They claimed that there was insufficient evidence that his exposure to asbestos was enough to cause the disease from their product, as well as that expert witness testimony should not have been allowed and that the maritime law in question had been misinterpreted. In her review of the case, the Honorable Maryellen Noreika addressed and overruled each of their objections. She adopted the magistrate’s report and recommendation, indicating that she disagreed with each point the company had made and determining that the genuine issues of fact in dispute required that the case be tried by a jury.