Nearly two years after a Washington state jury ordered Scapa Waycross to pay a mesothelioma widow almost $17 million in compensation, a Washington appeals court denied the company’s request to throw out the verdict. Though the asbestos company argued that the jury’s decision was based on “pure speculation” about the cause of Kevan Holdsworth’s illness, the three-judge panel identified sufficient evidence to support their findings.
Original Mesothelioma Trial Recounts Significant Exposure to Asbestos
The original mesothelioma lawsuit was filed by Kevan A. Holdsworth after his 2018 mesothelioma diagnosis and continued by his widow Sherrie after his 2019 death. At trial the jury heard of Kevan’s almost forty years of work as a papermill worker, where his duties included using air hoses to blow dust off of paper machines and to shoot air through dryer felts. More than half of the felts that Scapa Waycross supplied to the mill during the years that Mr. Holdsworth performed this task were contaminated with asbestos.
The mesothelioma widow maintained that this duty exposed her husband to significant amounts of asbestos. Though Scapa Waycross argued against the case being heard and decided multiple times during the trial, their motions to dismiss were denied and the jury ultimately awarded Mrs. Holdsworth $16.6 million in damages. The company then appealed the decision again, continuing to argue that the evidence the jury’s decision was based on called for speculation.
Appeals Court Denies Petition to Overturn Mesothelioma Verdict
In a 28-page opinion, the appeals court rejected Scapa Waycross’ motion to overturn the mesothelioma verdict. They noted that Washington state law has a specific standard for determining asbestos exposure, and that the widow had met that requirement. In their conclusion, the court wrote, “Scapa boldly asserts that this evidence called for speculation and, as a result, the claims should never have been allowed to go to a jury. This position crumbles when considered under the proper legal standard; we need only conclude that it was either substantial evidence to meet the exposure element of Holdsworth’s claims, or that reasonable inferences could be drawn therefrom for a jury to determine that the element had been satisfied.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, the road to justice can be long. For support along the way, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
