Michel Salvemini is a former marine engineer who blames his wife’s mesothelioma death on second hand exposure to his work clothes and his own asbestos-related illness on his occupational exposure. In 2022, he filed a personal injury lawsuit and a wrongful death claim on behalf of his wife against multiple companies. The case has been proceeding through the Delaware courts.
Marine Engineer’s Wife Died of Mesothelioma After Secondary Asbestos Exposure
According to Mr. Salvemini’s claim, his wife’s mesothelioma was a result of secondary asbestos exposure to the asbestos he carried home on his work clothes, which she laundered. He had worked from September to November of 1974 on the USS Phillips, New Jersey, from November 1974 and April 1975 on the Arctic Tokyo, from September to December of 1975 on the Good Hope, and from 1985 to his retirement in 2007 at a shipyard for Nuova Mechanica Navale, an Italian marine repair company, where he performed maintenance work in the engine rooms of various U.S. Navy ships.
Mr. Salvemini asserts that his exposure to asbestos-containing insulation, gaskets, and equipment led to his wife’s malignant mesothelioma caused by her exposure to asbestos fibers on his clothing and other items he took home from the ships, and that his own progressive lung disease was a result of his repeated and sustained occupational exposure.
Companies Seek Dismissal from Mesothelioma Lawsuit
The mesothelioma lawsuit has been progressing through Delaware’s courts for three years, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware recently handed down a ruling on three separate summary judgment requests from Buffalo Pumps, Conoco Phillips, and Hess Corporation. Buffalo Pumps was the manufacturer of the pumps installed on all the ships on which he worked as an engineer, and Conoco Phillips and Hess Corporation were his employers when he worked on the three oil tankers from 1974 to 1975, and he was exposed to asbestos-containing equipment.
Because Mr. Salvemini was unable to directly show that he was exposed to asbestos in Buffalo Pumps, the manufacturer’s motion for summary judgment was granted. ConocoPhillips and Hess both moved for summary judgment based on applicable law and other legal complexities: their motion was granted in part and denied in part. The court ruled that the lawsuit was filed in the proper jurisdiction under American general maritime law, although that law’s protections did not extend to Mrs. Salvemini. They also granted the companies dismissal of Mr. Salvemini’s claim under the Jones Act, but that he was eligible to file for punitive damages against both companies. Most important of all, the court denied the companies’ motion for the case to be heard in Italy, where the Salvemini’s lived. The case will continue in the Delaware courts.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
