It’s been decades since asbestos fibers blew around Libby, Montana, but malignant mesothelioma victims and others who suffered asbestos-related illnesses continue seeking justice against the companies responsible for their illnesses and deaths. In a case scheduled to be heard early next month, the family of a mesothelioma victim recently avoided sanctions being sought by BNSF Railway for having cremated her remains before the company could obtain additional tissue samples for testing.
Woman Blamed Community Exposure to Asbestos from Railroad Yard for Mesothelioma
Several mesothelioma lawsuits are pending or ongoing in Libby, Montana, including the case surrounding Mary Diana Moe. Ms. Moe’s claim against BNSF Railway was filed in 2022, and though tissue samples from her lungs were provided to the defendant, they demanded more. Though they asked for preservation of her organ tissues should she pass away three months before she died, the woman and her family did not respond until days before she died. At that time they rejected the request on religious and privacy grounds.
Though the company informed the mesothelioma victim’s attorneys of their intent to file an emergency motion for preservation of tissue samples so that they could confirm her mesothelioma diagnosis, they did not submit it until after she had died, and by that time her remains had been cremated. The company moved for sanctions against the family, which the court rejected, and they recently resubmitted that same request because the court’s decision had indicated that if they’d had good cause to warrant the tissue samples, then sanctions might have been appropriate.
Railway Resubmits Request for Sanctions Against Mesothelioma Victim’s Estate
The railway filed a second motion for spoliation sanction for the estate’s failure to preserve the mesothelioma victim’s remains, arguing that good cause existed for them to obtain the tissue samples they sought. Their argument rested on a statement from an expert pathologist, but the court said that their motion was procedurally improper, both because they failed to ask for permission to file the motion for reconsideration and because they had not identified any new facts or applicable law that had been revealed since the court’s first decision.
In the same proceeding, the court did agree to BNSF’s request to split the trial into two separate portions so that punitive damages for Ms. Moe’s mesothelioma death would be considered after the question of negligence was addressed.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, working with experienced representatives will boost your ability to move forward with confidence. For more information, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
