Legal News

Asbestos Illnesses ? Alcoa's Defeat

By (Legal News)

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued a ?huge victory? for workers nationwide, especially for victims of mesothelioma lung cancer and other asbestos-related diseases, in a ruling saying a corporation, Alcoa, ?has a full duty to prevent its employees from going home at the end of the workday in clothes that are contaminated with asbestos fibers.? Alcoa, a Fortune 100 company, ?knew that the families of such workers could be exposed to the tiny dangerous asbestos fibers that can easily be inhaled if they become airborne.? The company had, and now has, an important duty to set precautions for its employees and prevent asbestos exposure. ?

The plaintiff, Amanda Satterfield, was a beautiful 25-year-old young lady who died on January 1st, 2005. Amanda's family continued her lawsuit, suing Alcoa for $10 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages, and settled the case in September 2009. Amanda was exposed to asbestos in the late 1970s when she was just a few days old. Born in a premature birth, Amanda had to spend the first 3 months after her birth at a hospital in Knoxville, Tennessee, during which period her father was employed at Alcoa's aluminum plant. Her father was exposed to asbestos on the job, and he then visited his baby daughter in the hospital immediately after work, wearing the same asbestos-contaminated clothes.

The court was surprised at realizing that Amanda was exposed to asbestos from day one of her life, thanks to her father's asbestos-contaminated work clothes. Proof presented at the Supreme court included Alcoa knew that the air in its factories contained high amounts of asbestos fibers, and workers in the plant were inhaling these fibers that can easily get clogged up in the lungs and lead to lung scarring or inflammation. In fact, Alcoa conducted tests to determine the amount of asbestos fibers on their employees' asbestos-contaminated clothes, and the result was very high. It was proven that Alcoa knew that even a small amount of exposure to asbestos fibers could lead to deadly diseases.

http://www.insiderexclusive.com/component/content/article/1-shows/125-alcoas-defeat--the-amanda-satterfield-story-

Full post as published by Legal News Post on March 24, 2010 (boomark / email).