A mesothelioma lawsuit currently making its way through the New York City Asbestos Litigation courts provides the perfect snapshot of how dangerous asbestos is. The case involves Mrs Albina Licul, a 73-year-old woman who was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma on May 11th, 2015. Mrs. Licul died exactly two months after being told that she had the fatal disease, but in the 60 days between her diagnosis and her death, she and her family were able to file a legal claim against those responsible for her illness, and even to give testimony in a deposition prior to her death.
Woman’s Mesothelioma Blamed on Laundering Husband’s Asbestos-Covered Clothing
The mesothelioma claim filed by Mrs. Licul, and continued by her surviving family, blames Mario DiBono Plastering Co., Inc for her death, accusing the company of having exposed her to asbestos during the years that Mr. Licul worked as a union carpenter at construction sites between 1968 and 1980. Mr. Licul did not work for the plastering company: rather, he was a union carpenter who worked on doors and floors and installing sheetrock for a company called Design Office Partition. The family claims that it was while he was working at the World Trade Center that he was exposed to Mario DiBono’s asbestos fireproofing, which was sprayed on the structural steel beams of the building. When Mr. Licul was finished work each day, his work clothes were completely coated with asbestos dust. He would then go home wearing these clothes, hug his wife while still wearing them, and then she would wash the clothes, shaking them in the utility sink in their home prior to putting them in the washing machine. Mr. Licul gave a deposition just months after his wife’s death, attesting to the fact that she frequently breathed in the toxic dust.
Judge Denies Asbestos Company’s Arguments
Though Mario DiBono’s attorneys argued against being held responsible for Mrs. Licul’s mesothelioma and subsequent death, the court denied their motion for summary judgment. Judge Manuel J. Mendez ruled that the issues of fact in the case needed to be presented at trial for a jury to make a decision on the facts of the case.
Exposure to asbestos can lead to malignant mesothelioma, whether you were working with the material directly or, like Mrs. Licul, simply washing a loved one’s asbestos-contaminated clothing. For information about resources to help you through the many aspects of your illness, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
