Press Room

Alcoa Mesothelioma Cancer Civil Trial Moved

November 17, 2008 - CAMERON, TX -- A civil trial resulting from what could be a landmark ruling favoring the rights of injured workers will be heard in Cameron next year.

A former Alcoa employee suffering from mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer, is suing the company for intentional injury. Attorneys for Alcoa had asked that the trial be moved from the Dallas County court, where it had been filed, to Milam County. Attorneys for the injured man agreed to the change of venue.

"We’re happy to bring this case home to Milam County,” said Richard A. Dodd, of Texas mesothelioma attorneys Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP in Cameron. "People in Milam County are the salt of the earth. They know what it’s like to put in a hard day’s work and they understand the pain of discovering that someone you worked for and trusted for decades had deceived you.”

The Rockdale man worked at the Alcoa plant in Rockdale for 27 years and was exposed to asbestos-containing materials during most of his career. He developed mesothelioma, a rare cancer that is almost exclusively caused by asbestos and is fatal.

In August, the Multi-Jurisdictional Law Court in Houston charged with hearing pretrial motions denied Alcoa's motion that the case be quashed. This month, the judge granted the change of venue.

At issue in the original motion was the obligation of industry to maintain a safe workplace and, if they fail in that obligation, the rights of workers who are injured in that hazardous environment to have their day in court.

The arguments dwelled on the question of "substantial certainty." Is there a substantial certainty that some workers exposed to certain known toxic materials, such as asbestos, would develop debilitating illnesses? And, once the company had that information, what did Alcoa do to protect its workforce and at what point does a company’s knowledge cross over from a suspicion to certainty?

"Alcoa had evidence in the 1940s and 1950s linking asbestos exposure to asbestosis and, in the 1960s, linking it to lung cancer," said Valerie Farwell, an attorney with the firm. "Alcoa's own documents and testimony established that it was substantially certain that some of its employees would develop asbestos-related diseases if exposed to asbestos."

Because Alcoa knew that at least some of its employees would contract asbestos-related diseases and was careless in making sure its employees were adequately protected, Farwell argued that Alcoa met both “substantial certainty” and “intentional harm.”

“Had Alcoa’s position stood, an entire class of Texas workers would have been denied their rights under our state’s constitution,” she said.

The trial has been set for late April 2009.

Asbestos attorneys Richard A. Dodd and Valerie Farwell were mentioned in this article. To speak with him or another asbestos exposure lawyer at our office, please contact the firm today.