When an engineer who’d worked at the University of Pittsburgh died of mesothelioma, his family filed a personal injury lawsuit that included the university among the named defendants. Though the university argued that they were protected from the claim by Pennsylvania state Occupational Disease Law, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that the protection afforded by that law only applies to illnesses that appear within four years of exposure, and not to illnesses with such a long latency period.
Asbestos Exposure at University of Pittsburgh Blamed for Engineer’s Mesothelioma
The suit was originally filed by William Herold and taken over by the executor of his estate after his death from malignant mesothelioma. Herold had worked as an engineer for the University of Pittsburgh from 1976 to 2015, and claimed that he’d been exposed to asbestos-contaminated products there until the year 2004. He was diagnosed with the rare form of cancer in 2019.
In response to his mesothelioma lawsuit, the university filed a motion for summary judgment citing the exclusivity provision of the Occupational Disease Law and asserting that only Workers’ Compensation claims could be pursued. An Allegheny County, Pennsylvania court denied their motion and the university then appealed. Though they noted a previous ruling by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania that recognized exceptions to the exclusivity provision, they argued that those exceptions did not apply to their motion.
Court Explains that Long Latency Diseases Like Mesothelioma Create Exceptions to the Law
In explaining its decision regarding the mesothelioma claim and the university’s appeal, the three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court said that though the laws may limit compensation for diseases like mesothelioma, which manifest more than four years after exposure, that does not mean that they preclude litigation for long-latency conditions that occur beyond the four-year period.
In their conclusion, the judges wrote, “Clearly, the court has rejected any construction that grants full immunity to employers, leaving injured employees without any opportunity for reasonable compensation for their injuries. This would do irreparable harm to the basic compromise inherent to the workers’ compensation system.” They continued, “We conclude that the legislature did not intend for employees suffering from an occupational disease that manifests outside the ODA’s four-year limitations period to surrender their rights.”
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net can help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608 to learn more.
