Repairman’s Death Blamed on Asbestos from Radios
When Kenneth Anderson died of malignant mesothelioma, his widow Thelma filed a personal injury lawsuit against Motorola Solutions Inc. and Zenith Electronics, LLC. She argued that the companies’ radios were contaminated with asbestos, and that over the course of his career as a radio and television repairman he had inhaled that carcinogenic dust. Both companies filed for and were granted summary judgment based on the widow’s inability to establish proof that their products were at fault for her late husband’s illness and death. An appeals court reversed this decision and permitted the case to move forward.
Widow Argues that Lower Court Should Not Have Dismissed her Mesothelioma Claim
In her petition to the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, the mesothelioma widow argued that her husband had testified to having worked on both companies’ equipment. She noted that both Motorola and Zenith acknowledged that their radios had contained asbestos heat shields, and that those shields generally were not replaced throughout the life of the product.
Additionally, she pointed to testimony by an industrial hygienist indicating that cleaning the radios during repair would have generated significant asbestos to which her husband would have been exposed. She also highlighted the testimony of her husband’s physician, who had asserted that the amount of asbestos the industrial hygienist estimated Mr. Anderson had breathed in over the years would have been more than enough to have caused his illness.
Court Agrees with Mesothelioma Widow, Reverses Summary Judgment Decision
In reviewing the mesothelioma widow’s argument, the judges of the appeals court agreed that there was sufficient proof of the companies’ roles, and overturned the granting of summary judgment. They noted that though the evidence was circumstantial, in total it was probative enough to create genuine issues of material fact that warranted being reviewed and decided by a jury.
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