Cleaning Up After Contractors Leads to Mesothelioma Death

Louis Decanio blamed his 2016 mesothelioma diagnosis on parts he had picked up over years of cleaning up after his colleagues. The long-time contractor’s laborer was regularly tasked with collecting boiler parts that had been disassembled, and when he got sick he and his wife filed suit against Kohler Company, whose name he remembers seeing on the boilers that the crews had worked on. Though Kohler tried to have the case against them dismissed, the judge in the case denied their motion, allowing the case to move forward.

Mesothelioma Blamed on Asbestos in Kohler Boilers 

Though mesothelioma claimed Mr. Decanio’s life, he was able to provide deposition testimony a few months after his diagnosis. He testified to having observed the Kohler brand name on the outside of the boilers at his worksites, and to having carted away frayed gaskets that were left on the floor after the boilers were disassembled. 

In response, Kohler moved for summary judgment, arguing that Mr. Decanio’s removal of the Kohler boiler parts after dismantling was not a foreseeable use of the product, and that therefore they owed no duty to prevent his mesothelioma. They also pointed out that Mr. Decanio had not testified to actually having seen asbestos on the parts that he removed.

Mesothelioma Attorneys Defeat Boiler Company Argument

The mesothelioma attorneys representing Mr. Decanio rejected Kohler’s arguments, pointing out that boilers are expected to be replaced or updated at some point and that would require disassembly and removal of used parts.  The asbestos company had also attempted to rely on a previous ruling in which salvage workers were unable to claim negligence for illnesses suffered when they were sickened by contaminated parts, but Judge Manuel J. Mendez denied them this argument, pointing out that there is a significant difference between salvage workers who “rip, cut, and smash pieces out of products that might contain asbestos” and when the products are “disassembled in a professional manner by someone skilled in such assembly.”