The Supreme Court of New York County recently decided in favor of the family of a mesothelioma victim and against the asbestos tile company that the family blames for the death of their loved one. The decision means that the man’s survivors will be able to proceed with their mesothelioma lawsuit seeking justice for the loss that they suffered.
The mesothelioma victim in the recently-hear case was Steven Hall, who died in April of 2017 after having been diagnosed with the rare and fatal form of cancer just 6 months earlier. Mr. Hall had spent more than a dozen years renovating homes, and during that time he had multiple exposures to asbestos, the mineral that causes the disease. One of those sources was Amtico floor tiles, which he described using for ten years. He remembered the asbestos dust residue that would lie on top of the tiles in the boxes that he opened, as well as the dust raised by cutting, scoring, breaking and sanding tiles so that they would fit in the rooms where he was installing them. Despite the apparent connection between Mr. Hall’s exposure to their products and his illness, the company moved for summary judgment, arguing that Mr. Hall’s family members had not provided evidence that established causation of his illness.
In handing down its decision denying Amtico’s motion for summary judgment, the court points out that the law requires the plaintiff to establish exposure to a toxin, that the toxin is capable of causing the harm suffered, and that the victim was exposed to enough of the toxin to cause the harm suffered. The court reviews the evidence that Amtico submitted in its own defense and point out that even the company’s expert witness does not contest the causal relationship between the asbestos in their product and mesothelioma. They also ruled that the issues of fact that Amtico raised needed to be decided at trial, as Mr. Hall’s family had shown “facts and conditions from which Amtico’s liability may be reasonably inferred.”
Understanding the legal ins and outs that face mesothelioma victims is just one part of dealing with the rare and challenging disease. If you need assistance with any aspect of your mesothelioma diagnosis, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net at 1-800-692-8608.
