Earlier this month, the Wisconsin Supreme Court handed down a decision likely to have far-reaching repercussions for mesothelioma victims. The court decided that Pabst Brewing Company owed a duty of care to a union steamfitter who’d been exposed to asbestos on their premises, despite the man having been an independent contractor rather than the company’s employee.
Steamfitter’s Mesothelioma Claim Centers on Wisconsin’s Safe Place Statute
The court was asked to consider a jury’s verdict in a mesothelioma lawsuit originally filed by Gerald Lorbiecki and later continued by his estate. The union steamfitter developed the asbestos-related cancer after working with asbestos-insulated pipes at a Pabst brewery in the 1970s. After his 2017 diagnosis, he filed a claim asserting that the brewery had violated Wisconsin’s safe place, a unique workplace safety law that imposes higher standards of care on employers and building owners than typical negligence laws. Under the statute, property owners must do everything reasonably necessary to protect the life, health, safety, and welfare of employees and anyone who frequents the premises.
A jury found Pabst and other asbestos-related companies liable for Lorbiecki’s mesothelioma and awarded $26.5 million in damages, but the judge reduced the total mesothelioma verdict to $7 million after applying damage caps and apportioning liability. Pabst appealed the verdict, arguing that Lorbiecki was not a direct employee, that the company did not control his day-to-day work, and that it was Lorbiecki’s own work methods that had created the conditions that caused his mesothelioma.
State Supreme Court Reinforces Building Owner Liability for Mesothelioma
After hearing arguments from both the mesothelioma victim’s representative and the company, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the company had a legal obligation under the state’s safe place statute to protect everyone on its premises, including the employees of independent contractors. The court noted that Pabst had known its facility contained extensive asbestos insulation and that airborne asbestos was dangerous, yet failed to protect workers on the premises. “The record here demonstrates that before Lorbiecki worked there, Pabst knew ‘many miles of’ pipes in its facility were insulated with asbestos, and that airborne asbestos was dangerous to human health.” The family will receive the compensation that the jury ordered.
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.
