Louie Scudder died of mesothelioma in June 2022, more than two decades after he retired from working at the La Gloria oil refinery in Tyler, Texas. Last week, a Texas appeals court handed his family a significant decision in the wrongful death lawsuit they filed against the refinery’s corporate successor, Tyler MD Holdings LLC.
Mesothelioma Blamed on Decades of Work at Texas Refinery
Mr. Scudder was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2019. Other than a two-year layoff, he worked at La Gloria from 1958 until 1998. In his roles as maintenance helper, insulator helper, and painter, he drilled through asbestos pipe covering, mixed powdered asbestos cement, swept the insulation shop, and cleaned up asbestos-contaminated debris. In testimony provided before his death, he said that no one had warned him about asbestos until 1980; nor had he been given a respirator or had he seen anyone testing the air in his work environment. He died at the age of 8383.
Mesothelioma lawsuits are generally filed against companies that supply asbestos-contaminated equipment rather than against employers, because workers’ compensation law bars most claims against companies that carry coverage. That was the case for Mr. Scudder’s family; a lower court dismissed all of the family’s claims except those citing gross negligence. The Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas disagreed with the lower court, noting that mesothelioma was not a covered occupational disease under Texas law until 1971, and pointing out that the company offered no proof of coverage for Mr. Scudder’s earlier years of exposure. The company’s paperwork for the 1970s was incomplete, and key policy endorsements had never been countersigned. As a result, the court sent the family’s negligence claims back for further proceedings.
Mesothelioma Risk Below OSHA Limits
The jury hearing Mr. Scudder’s case was provided with information about mesothelioma and how it can develop from low levels of asbestos exposure. Jurors also heard that the company knew about the hazards of asbestos for decades yet did little to protect workers until 1989. Though the company argued that Mr. Scudder’s asbestos exposure was a small fraction of what OSHA allowed, the jury found the company guilty of gross negligence and the court upheld its finding. The justices said that OSHA limits are a regulatory floor rather than a safe threshold.
Despite these findings, mesothelioma families in Texas face limits on the amount of punitive awards they can receive. The jury had awarded the Scudder family $325,000 in damages, but the appeals court found too little evidence of financial losses, and that triggered the state’s $200,000 cap. Despite the disappointment in having the award reduced, the decision gives the Scudder family the opportunity to seek full compensation for the years Louie spent breathing asbestos dust before Texas law recognized his disease.
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.
