Reversing what originally appeared to be a legal defeat, the Washington Supreme Court has ruled that the estate of an oil refinery worker can still bring mesothelioma claims against an insulation company over its role as a seller of asbestos-containing products. A lower court had originally halted Lee Hetterly’s family’s case on the grounds that their construction-related claims were time-barred.
Man’s Mesothelioma Blamed on Oil Refinery Asbestos
Lee Hetterly began working at the Cherry Point Refinery in Washington state in 1971 and spent more than a decade maintaining asbestos-contaminated insulated piping and equipment. Fifty years later, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma and filed suit against Brand Insulation Inc., the company that had supplied and installed the insulation, and which was hired as a subcontractor for most of the insulation work on the refinery.
The trial court hearing the mesothelioma case granted summary judgment to Brand based on its argument that a six-year time limit on construction-related negligence claims applied to how it had installed the asbestos. The court later reversed its decision and denied the summary judgment request, and Brand appealed the decision to the state’s supreme court. Upon hearing arguments from both sides, the high court agreed that Washington’s construction statute of repose limits claims arising from construction that improves property to six years. However, the court also said that this statute of repose does not prevent the victim’s estate from bringing product liability claims against the company as a seller or supplier of the materials that caused Hetterly’s illness and death, even if those actions might tie into construction activities.
Mesothelioma Victim’s Family Can Pursue Product Liability Claims
The court noted that while it might be difficult to delineate between blaming the victim’s mesothelioma on Brand’s negligence in its asbestos installation and in its sale and supply of asbestos-containing products, that doing so would not undermine the construction statute of repose. The judges wrote, “The estate cannot avoid the construction statute of repose merely by recharacterizing a claim arising from Brand’s construction activity as a product claim, but where liability can be established without proof of Brand’s construction activity, the statute of repose does not apply.” The decision provides the legal pathway for the family to continue their lawsuit and pursue justice.
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net are here to help. For more information, contact us today at 1-800-692-8608.
