Personal Injury Law

Washington Ruling Bad for Asbestos Victims

By Robert Blanchard

The Supreme Court of Washington State has issued two bad rulings for asbestos victims, in the cases of Braaten v. Saberhagen and Simonetta v. Viad Corporation. the gist of these ruling is that equipment manufacturers who supplied equipment that was known by them to utilize asbestos products in its final use and installation would no be held liable for the injuries (like mesothelioma cancer) caused by the asbestos. The court overlooked the reasoning of other courts that have addressed this issue favorably for the Plaintiffs. Also overlooked is the abundant evidence already of record in numerous cases that these manufacturers knew of the dangers, ofter supplied or instructed on the use of asbestos products and failed to warn user of their equipment of the dangers.

It is well documented that there was an industry-wide conspiracy of silence regarding the dangers of asbestos for many years. while the companies now receiving amnesty in Washington State may not have always been the main players in the conspiracies, they were nonetheless some of the main beneficiaries of it. The victims of asbestos exposure did nothing wrong and the courts should be looking to expand their protections under the law, not trying to limit those protections.

Full post as published by Pensacola Personal Injury Lawyer on December 19, 2008 (boomark / email).