/ Blog / Asbestos in Safety Gloves Blamed for Man’s Mesothelioma

Page Updated May 10, 2024

Asbestos in Safety Gloves Blamed for Man’s Mesothelioma

Page Reviewed and Edited by

Mesothelioma Attorney Paul Danziger

One of the great ironies of mesothelioma is that it is often the products meant to protect the victim that led to their illness. That’s exactly what happened to Mario Caligiuri. The former welder wore asbestos-fortified gloves to protect him from the extreme heat of the materials he was working with, and as the glove material deteriorated, he breathed in the fibers that eventually sickened him.  

Former Welder with Mesothelioma Sues Safety Glove Company

When Mr. Caligiuri was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, he took legal action against the companies whose asbestos-contaminated products he worked with. Olympic Glove & Safety Company is a defendant named in the claim, but the company filed a petition for summary judgment asking the court to dismiss the case against them.

The mesothelioma victim included Olympic in his claim because he wore the company’s asbestos-contaminated gloves extensively in the 1970s. His claim of negligence was supported by testimony from expert witnesses who provided carefully collected scientific data regarding the quantity of asbestos he was likely to have inhaled based on the number of times Mr. Caligiuri says that he wore those gloves over the years.

Judge Denies Asbestos Glove Company’s Request for Dismissal from Mesothelioma Claim

Though they were confronted with highly specific, quantitative analysis from the plaintiff’s expert witnesses, the glove company justified its request for dismissal from the case on an industrial hygienist’s opinion that asbestos from their gloves would not have caused his mesothelioma. The company did not argue that their gloves did not contain asbestos and did not attempt to quantify the amount of asbestos he would have been exposed to over his years of use.

Basing his decision on the strict requirements for granting a motion for summary judgment, Justice Adam Silvera of the Supreme Court of New York County denied the company’s petition. He explained that for such a request to succeed, Olympic would have needed to establish that Mr. Caligiuri’s mesothelioma couldn’t have been caused by their gloves, and they came nowhere near that high bar. The case will proceed with Olympic included among the defendants.

.