After his mesothelioma diagnosis, Richard Shellenberger and his wife Pamela filed a lawsuit against several defendants. Among them were Kreider Dairy Farms, Inc. and Noah W. Kreider & Sons, LLP, the company for whom he worked from 1972 through September 1980. Though the trial court granted the dairy and its owners’ petition for summary judgment, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania overturned that decision. The justices agreed with the victim’s family that by the time they opened the dairy, the dangers of asbestos were known, and that the defendant’s duty to its employee included protecting him against workplace dangers “that might be discovered with reasonable care.”
Mesothelioma Victim Worked on Asbestos-Contaminated Boiler at Dairy Processing Plant
According to the original mesothelioma claim, Mr. Shellenberger was exposed to asbestos when he worked on boilers at Kreider Farms’ dairy processing plant from 1972 through 1980. The company’s motion for summary judgment was based on its lack of knowledge of the dangers of asbestos during that time, and the trial court granted the request.
Ms. Shellenberger appealed the trial court’s decision, arguing that it had been wrongly decided. Upon review, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania noted that the duty of care that Kreider was accused of failing to provide goes beyond protecting against known dangers and that employers are also expected “to create and maintain a safe work environment conforming to the conduct of an ordinary, prudent person who has special knowledge as a person experienced in business.”
Court Notes Employer’s Duty to Protect Employees Against Mesothelioma
Though the defendants argued that they were unaware that asbestos was dangerous or that exposure to asbestos could cause mesothelioma, the court agreed that they should have known. They pointed to evidence presented by the widow showing that medical journals and publications from the 1960s had established asbestos’ dangers and that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had issued a workplace asbestos exposure standard in the same month that the dairy first opened its doors.
As a result of this finding, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania overturned the trial court’s decision to dismiss Kreider as a defendant. The company will have to face the mesothelioma widow at trial.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, it is important for you to have the resources you need to seek justice. For information on how the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help, contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
