It’s been eight years since Kevin Sinyard was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma, and six years since he first filed suit against Georgia Power Company, Ford Motor Company, and Piedmont Hospital, Inc. Though those claims were all dismissed after the companies successfully filed motions to dismiss, a Georgia appeals court has responded favorably to an appeal of that decision, saying there was a question as to whether two of the three had “superior knowledge” of the dangers of asbestos at the time that he worked at their facilities.
Mesothelioma Victim Worked as Union Employee for Various Contractors
For over two decades, Mr. Sinyard worked as a union-employed pipefitter assigned to a variety of contractors and job sites. Following his initial claims having been dismissed, he filed appeals arguing that while working at Georgia Power and Ford Motor Company sites, the two companies were aware of the dangers of asbestos to a degree that neither he nor his employer had been.
The mesothelioma victim’s attorneys pointed to evidence that by the time he had worked at both companies’ sites, they each had begun training their own employees on the dangers of asbestos and in safe handling practices. They had also begun providing their employees with respirators.
Georgia Law Requires Mesothelioma Victim to Show Companies’ Superior Knowledge
Mr. Sinyard based his appeal of the lower court’s decision on Georgia’s requirement that premises liability claims prove that the owner of a named site knew more about asbestos’ dangers and the risk of mesothelioma than the worker or his employer did.
Though Georgia Power pointed to articles in national union newsletters to infer that Sinyard knew about his risk of mesothelioma, the judges agreed that many of the articles were published before he had joined the union. They also accepted his statement that he simply threw the newsletters away as “junk mail.” Finding that there was evidence of the companies superior knowledge and that there were further issues of fact to be determined, the judicial panel overturned the previous dismissal and allowed the case to move forward.
Obtaining justice can take a significant amount of time, but the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. Contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
