After Erica Dandry Constanza and Monica Dandry Hallner’s father, Michael Dandry, Jr., died of malignant mesothelioma, the sisters filed a personal injury lawsuit accusing Avondale Shipyard and several other defendants of negligently exposing him to asbestos. In response, Avondale and defendant Paramount Global argue that his illness was caused by secondary and environmental exposure to his own father’s employment at Johns Manville. Both sides’ arguments were reviewed by the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Mesothelioma Victim’s Father’s Employment and Cause of Death Questioned
After the mesothelioma victim’s daughters filed their mesothelioma claim, Avondale and other defendants discovered that before the victim had been born, his father had spent several days working for another notorious asbestos company, Johns-Manville. In an effort to suggest that the blame for the man’s death lay elsewhere, the companies attempted to introduce this information into evidence.
The sisters objected to the companies’ maneuver and responded by filing a petition for summary judgment establishing that their grandfather had not died of mesothelioma and that their father had not been exposed to asbestos through his father’s 11 days of employment with Johns Manville in 1948m five years before their father’s birth.
Alternate Theory of Asbestos Exposure Is Dismissed in Mesothelioma Claim
Basing their decision on established Louisiana laws regarding burden of proof and the admissibility of death certificates as evidence, the judges of the District Court rendered a split decision in the mesothelioma claim. They agreed with the sisters that the asbestos companies had not met their burden of proof to establish that their father’s mesothelioma death could have been the result of their grandfather’s workplace exposure to asbestos.
At the same time, the judges agreed with the asbestos companies that there was conflicting information about whether the women’s grandfather had also died of mesothelioma, and with that genuine dispute at issue, they allowed the defendants the ability to tell a jury about the possibility that their grandfather had also died of mesothelioma.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to guide you through the many challenges you’ll be facing. For more information, call us today at 1-800-692-8608.
