When Peter A. Lowe, Sr. was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma in 2018, he filed suit against several companies whose cement pipe he had worked with through his years of work in “all types of excavation and water/sewer connections.” After he died, his widow and son are continuing the case and recently won a victory in their pursuit of justice.
Mesothelioma Victim’s Deposition Testimony Details Asbestos Exposure
Before his 2019 death from malignant mesothelioma, Mr. Lowe provided a detailed deposition regarding his years of asbestos exposure. He explained that his father had owned an excavating and construction company and that he had begun working there in 1959 and eventually took over the business in 1978, working there until his diagnosis.
Mr. Lowe asserted that his mesothelioma was the result of sizing and cutting concrete pipes that contained asbestos in the years between 1965 and the late 1970s and that those pipes were made from asbestos. He identified the three brands of cement pipe that he worked with, Italit, Johns-Manville, and CertainTeed, indicating that the name of each brand was stamped on the side of each pipe. He also identified the companies that had supplied those brands of pipes to his company. He said that none of the suppliers had provided a warning that breathing asbestos dust could cause mesothelioma.
Asbestos Pipe Supplier Argues Against Mesothelioma Liability
In its motion for summary judgment, cement pipe supplier Kamco argued that it should be dismissed from the claim because there was no proof that they had sold the asbestos pipes the mesothelioma victim blamed for his illness. Kamco had merged with Colony Lumber, the company named in the lawsuit, in 1998, and that company’s offices had experienced a fire in 1979 that destroyed all of its records.
In deciding whether to dismiss the claim against Kamco, Judge P.J. Gibney of the Superior Court of Rhode Island agreed that the mesothelioma victim’s family had provided no proof that Colony Lumber had ever sold CertainTeed cement pipe, but that the deposition testimony the victim had provided was in keeping with the dates when the company had sold Johns-Manville’s cement pipe, and therefore Kamco’s motion could only be partly granted. With sufficient evidence that the company had supplied the Johns-Manville cement pipes, the case against Kamco will continue.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
