Mesothelioma Case Sees Conflicting Testimony from Both Victim and Asbestos Company

Mesothelioma victims struggling with the effects of both their disease and their treatment are often asked to summon memories from decades earlier to prove the source of their asbestos exposure, while asbestos companies work to contradict their testimony. One case saw a mesothelioma victim use multiple terms to describe the same asbestos-contaminated products, and as a result the asbestos company tried to have his case against them dismissed. But the judge denied the company’s motion for summary judgment, pointing out that the company’s representative had done the exact same thing.

New York Asbestos Litigation Court Allows Mesothelioma Claim to Progress

Louis Stiglitz died from mesothelioma in 2018, one year after his diagnosis and almost 60 years after he had worked with asbestos-contaminated products as a union apprentice. He provided four days of testimony about the products that he used, during which time he used different terms to describe the same product. 

Though the mesothelioma victim’s descriptions of the products he worked and how he used them were highly detailed, he alternated between different names for it in his deposition. In response, the Homasote Company named as defendant in his personal injury claim, and whose products he described using, filed a motion to have the case dismissed.

Representative of Asbestos Company Also Offers Conflicting Testimony

Though the Homasote Company’s attorneys indicated that Mr. Stiglitz’s testimony gave conflicting information, the mesothelioma victim’s attorneys pointed out that the same was true of testimony about the product’s characteristics and names provided by the company’s representative.  Because of the conflict and the requirement that defendants must unequivocally establish that their products were not the cause of the victim’s illness, the judge denied the motion for summary judgment. The case will proceed and the victim’s family will be able to continue in their pursuit of justice.